Tag Archives: families

UNICEF deplores ‘unconscionable’ killing of families lining up for aid in Gaza

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Catherine Russell said she was appalled by the reported killing of 15 Palestinians, including nine children and four women, who were waiting in line for nutritional supplements provided by Project Hope, a UNICEF partner organization.

The incident occurred in Deir Al-Balah. An additional 30 people were injured, including 19 children. News reports indicate that it resulted from an Israel strike. 

‘Mothers seeking a lifeline’

“The killing of families trying to access life-saving aid is unconscionable,” she said in a statement.

“These were mothers seeking a lifeline for their children after months of hunger and desperation.”

They included Donia, whose one-year-old son, Mohammed, was killed. She reported that the boy had spoken his first words to her just hours earlier.

“Donia now lies in a hospital bed, critically injured by the blast, clutching Mohammed’s tiny shoe,” said Ms. Russell.  “No parent should have to face such tragedy.”

A ‘cruel reality’

For the UNICEF chief, “this is the cruel reality confronting many in Gaza today after months of insufficient aid being allowed into the territory, and parties to the conflict failing to uphold basic responsibilities to protect civilians.”

She explained that “the lack of aid means children are facing starvation while the risk of famine grows,” warning that “the number of malnourished children will continue to rise until life-saving aid and services are resumed at full scale.”

“International law is clear: all parties to the conflict have an obligation to protect civilians and ensure the safe and unimpeded delivery of humanitarian assistance,” she said.

“We call on Israel to urgently review its rules of engagement to ensure full compliance with international humanitarian law, notably the protection of civilians including children, and to conduct a thorough and independent investigation of this incident and all allegations of violations.”

UN condemns killings

The UN yet again condemned the killing of civilians in Gaza, Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric told journalists in New York.

Furthermore, the UN humanitarian affairs office OCHA “stresses that parties are bound by international humanitarian law to prevent such excessive death and injury of civilians in the midst of war,” he added.

OCHA reported that another strike on Thursday reportedly hit the office of a humanitarian partner in Gaza City. Three staff there were killed. 

Fuel running out

Mr. Dujarric also updated journalists on the dire fuel situation in Gaza, which impacts both the population and humanitarians.

A UN team managed to bring roughly 75,000 litres of fuel from Israel into the beleaguered enclave on Wednesday, marking the first such provision in 130 days.

He warned, however, that fuel is still running out and services will shut down if greater volumes do not enter immediately.

Water services at risk

“We and our humanitarian partners need hundreds of thousands of litres of fuel each day to keep essential lifesaving and life-sustaining operations going, meaning the amount entered yesterday isn’t sufficient to cover even one day of energy requirements,” he said.

One aid partner reported that fuel shortages could soon cut off supplies of clean drinking water to about 44,000 children, he added, which would further increase the risk of cholera, diarrhoea, dysentery and other waterborne illnesses. 

Meanwhile, UN partners providing education services said that between October 2023 and this June, 626 temporary learning spaces have been established in Gaza, with 240,000 students enrolled, roughly half of them girls. 

However, only 299 spaces are currently operational due to the ongoing displacement orders, funding shortfalls and other challenges.

Aid workers also going hungry

Humanitarian partners in Gaza – who include first responders, health workers, and aid workers – “continue to deliver food and other assistance under intolerable conditions, and they themselves are facing hunger,” said Mr. Dujarric.

“A number of our own colleagues are also facing hunger. They also face water scarcity and threats to their personal safety, just like everyone else in Gaza,” he added.

The Spokesperson reiterated the UN’s long-standing message that “this catastrophic situation must end.”  He stressed that “a ceasefire is not only urgent, it is long overdue,” while also calling for the unconditional and immediate release of all hostages. 

Some Palestinians have been forced to flee their homes in the West Bank.

West Bank operations

Mr. Dujarric also addressed the situation in the West Bank, where humanitarians report and continue to warn of the intensification of Israeli operations in the northern areas.

“These operations are causing massive destruction, driving further humanitarian needs and dampening hopes of thousands of displaced families that they will eventually be able to go back home,” he said.

“Meanwhile, attacks, harassment and intimidation by Israeli settlers against Palestinians have become a daily reality.”

He cited a settler attack on 3 July that led to the displacement of the Mu’arrajat East Bedouin community in the central West Bank. 

“This is the ninth community to be fully displaced in the Ramallah and Jericho areas since January 2023 following the recurrent attacks by Israeli settlers.” 

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Gaza: Families deprived of the means for survival, humanitarians warn

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“As humanitarian assistance and basic services dwindle, people in Gaza have been increasingly deprived of the means for their survival,” UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric told reporters at the UN Headquarters in New York.

It has been 17 weeks since any fuel has entered Gaza, according to Mr. Dujarric – a critical shortage that forced the Al-Shifa Medical Complex to suspend its kidney dialysis services and restrict its intensive care unit services to just a few hours per day.

Other hospitals, including Al-Aqsa in Deir al-Balah, have also come under attack, with the World Health Organization (WHO) reporting a strike on a tent sheltering displaced civilians in its courtyard.

Over the past 48 hours, five school buildings sheltering displaced families  were also hit, reportedly causing deaths and injuries, while a new evacuation order issued on Sudan displaced 1,500 families from northern Gaza.  

Living in terror

Olga Cherevko, an official at the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), described conditions for families in Gaza as “living in terror.”

“The only thing that is on their minds right now is a ceasefire and peace at last,” she said.  

Ms. Cherevko called for Israel to open all border crossings and allow a steady and sufficient flow humanitarian aid.

“The thing that needs to happen for us…to address the emergency on the ground, is to reopen additional crossings, to allow supplies to enter through multiple corridors and remove the constraints that are in place for us to deliver supplies to people in need,” she said.  

She warned that unless conditions change quickly, essential services will continue to shut down — and the broader humanitarian response could stall entirely.

“If the situation doesn’t change very, very urgently, more such services will continue shutting down,” Ms. Cherevko said.

“And if the situation doesn’t change going forward, the entire humanitarian operation could grind to a halt.” 

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‘Our kids cry for food’: Most Gaza families survive on one meal a day

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The meals which families are able to obtain are nutritiously poor — thin broths, lentils or rice, one piece of bread or sometimes just a combination of herbs and olive oil known as duqqa. 

Adults are routinely skipping meals in order to leave more for children, the elderly and the ill. And still, on average since January, 112 children have been admitted on a daily basis for acute malnutrition.  

“[When my children wake up at night hungry] I tell them ‘Drink water and close your eyes.’ It breaks me. I do the same – drink water and pray for morning,” as one parent said. 

Risking lives for food

Due to these extreme food shortages, people in Gaza are forced to risk their lives on a daily basis to access small amounts of food. Since 27 May, 549 Palestinians have been killed and 4,066 have been injured trying to access food, according to the Ministry of Health (MoH) in Gaza.

“The majority of casualties have been shot or shelled trying to reach US-Israeli distribution sites purposefully set up in militarized zones,” said Johnathan Whittall, head of office for the UN humanitarian affairs agency, OCHA, in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. 

Since the end of May, the US-Israeli backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) has been distributing aid in Gaza, bypassing the UN and established NGOs.

The UN has said Palestinians who seek aid from the GHF face threats of gunfire, shelling and stampedes.

“We don’t want to be out there. But what choice do we have? Our kids cry for food. We don’t sleep at night. We walk, wait, and hope we come back,” one Palestinian told WFP.

Water is delivered to Gazans sheltering at an UNRWA school.

Systems near collapse

Protracted conflict and bombardment have pushed almost all service systems in Gaza to the brink.

As a result of fuel shortages, only 40 per cent of drinking water facilities are functional and 93 per cent of households face water insecurity. 

The fuel shortage is also negatively affecting the provision of medical services with medical equipment and medicine storage reliant on electricity.

For the first time since the resumption of limited aid entry on 19 May, nine trucks containing medical items offloaded supplies on the Israeli side of the Kerem Shalom crossing on Wednesday.

Displaced, over and over again

Since the resumption of Israeli bombardment in Gaza on 18 March after a 42-day ceasefire, over 684,000 Palestinians have been displaced. And for almost all of them, this is not the first time.

With over 82 per cent of Gaza either designated as an Israeli militarized zone or under a displacement order, there are few places — much less safe places — that the newly displaced can go.

They have been forced to take shelter in overcrowded displacement camps, makeshift shelters, damaged buildings and sometimes just on open streets. Schools are no longer buildings of learning but of shelter.

An UNRWA member of staff inspects destroyed infrastructure.

“Schools have transformed into empty shelters, devoid of any elements of a safe learning environment,” said Kamla, a teacher with the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in Nuseirat. 

All of these shelters are experiencing rapidly deteriorating conditions as a result of insufficient shelter materials, according to Stéphane Dujarric, spokesperson for the Secretary-General. 

“No shelter materials have entered Gaza since 1 March, before the Israeli authorities imposed a full blockade on aid and any other supplies for nearly 80 days,” he said at a briefing on 19 June.

“While some commodities have subsequently been allowed in small quantities, tents, timber, tarpaulins and any other shelter items remain prohibited.”

The UN and its partners have 980,000 shelter items prepared to dispatch into Gaza once authorization is granted by the Israeli authorities. 

‘Symbols of hope’

Since the beginning of the violence in Gaza, UNRWA has continued to work tirelessly to provide displaced and injured Palestinians with many types of support.

“Despite all this, the eyes and hopes of our community remain fixed on us. UNRWA staff are not merely service providers. In the eyes of people in Gaza, we are pillars of resilience, lifelines of stability and symbols of hope,” said Hussein, an UNRWA worker in Gaza City. 

An UNRWA worker carries a young boy in Gaza.

But as fuel shortages continue and only small amounts of humanitarian aid — food, medicine, shelter materials — trickle through the Kerem Shalom border crossing, the job of UNRWA workers and other humanitarians in Gaza is increasingly untenable. 

“We have lost all the tools needed to work, so we have had to adapt,” said Neven, a psychosocial UNRWA worker in Khan Younis.

Dspite their best efforts, the bombardment and devastation of Gaza continues with children going hungry and some even expressing suicidal thoughts. 

“I told my daughter her deceased father is safe, eating and drinking with God,” one mother said. “Now, she cries every day and says, ‘I’m hungry and want to go to my father because he has food to feed us.’” 

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Ukraine’s frontline families struggle to cultivate mined fields amid conflict

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According to the UN, many frontline Ukrainian families are at risk of missing critical planting and harvesting windows.

“Agriculture is a fabric of rural society. It’s not just a way to make a living – it’s a way of being. And vulnerable rural families are holding on. They need support not just to survive, but to thrive and rebuild,” said Rein Paulsen, Director of Emergencies and Resilience at the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) during a recent visit to Ukraine.

Rural households across Ukraine – many headed by an elderly relative or woman – depend on agriculture for survival, often tending a single cow or a small flock of chickens.

But these families are among the most vulnerable and least supported, especially those living near the frontlines.

Hardship growing

As the war provoked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine enters its fourth year, these households face growing challenges cultivating their land due to anti-personnel mines, land contamination, labour shortages, lack of inputs, shelling and frequent electricity cuts.

Veronika, 4, stands near a sign that reads “Danger of Mines”. Chistovodivka, Kharkiv region, Ukraine (file, May 2025)

According to the Fourth Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment, Ukraine’s agriculture sector has suffered $83.9 billion in damages and losses since the war began, with an additional $1.6 billion in the irrigation sector. A significant portion of this burden falls on rural households.

Call for support

On Monday, the FAO warned that without urgent and sustained support, thousands of rural households may be unable to plant or harvest on time, jeopardising national food security and rural livelihoods. 

Since the start of the war, FAO has supported more than 250,000 rural families with vegetable seeds, animal feed, day-old chicks, cash and vouchers. Over 15,000 farmers have also received crop seeds, temporary storage, and financial assistance.

In addition, the FAO and partners have worked to survey mined areas, restore access to farmland, and support national systems for monitoring and recovery.

But this assistance is not enough, especially as funding shortfalls limit the full implementation of the FAO’s Emergency and Early Recovery Response Plan for 2025–2026 in Ukraine.

The organization is calling for urgent support to help rural households safely access their land and secure essential resources such as seeds, fertiliser, storage and reliable energy.

This requires more than emergency funds alone – a sustained and coordinated response is needed to meet long-term needs.

Without increased support, these families’ ability to plant, harvest and recover remains under serious threat.

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Helpless in the face of hunger: Gaza families pray for deliverance – or death

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Zeenat and her husband, Moamen Abu Asr, live with their children in a flimsy canvas tent, one of thousands that now line Gaza’s coastline. 

Once a place of rest and leisure, the beach has become a last refuge for Palestinians displaced by relentless Israeli bombardment and military operations.

As displacement orders push people into ever smaller pockets of land, the strip of coast around Gaza’s seaport has turned into a makeshift camp. Its frayed tents and overcrowded conditions reflect the gravity of a humanitarian crisis that has plunged to unprecedented depths after more than 600 days of conflict between Israeli forces and Hamas.

The seaport, once a centre of Gaza’s fishing economy, is now a wasteland. All the boats have been destroyed, and in their place stands a sprawling encampment – a harsh and barren environment with almost none of the basic necessities for survival.

Moamen Abu Asr fixing a water tank by his tent.

A family with nothing left

Moamen and his family have been living in the camp for around two months, surviving in a tent cobbled together from salvaged mats and broken utensils recovered from nearby rubble.

He sits outside with his children, scrolling through pictures on his phone – fragments of a past life left behind in Shujaiya, east of Gaza City, when residents were ordered to evacuate without warning.

“There have been times when we’ve been displaced once every two months,” he told UN News. “Every day is suffering for us. We came to Gaza port with no food, no water – not even our iron tent.”

“There is nothing of life’s basics for us,” he said. To feed his family, Moamen repairs small water tanks for five shekels – about $1.43 – barely enough for anything in a place where prices have soared. “One kilo of flour is a hundred shekels [around $28.60],” he explained. “Our situation is very difficult, and we do not know what to do. By God, this is not life. We would rather die.”

Flies hover over one of the Abu Asr family’s sleeping children in their tent in Gaza.

‘We live on water’

The humanitarian situation has worsened since March, when Israeli authorities imposed a complete blockade on aid. Though this was slightly eased in recent weeks, the limited trickle of supplies cannot meet the overwhelming demand. Desperate civilians, starving and fearful, have resorted to looting whatever aid does arrive.

In their tent, Zeenat washes a few cooking utensils – all she could find in the communal makeshift kitchen. Most days, there is no food to prepare.

“Yesterday I cried a lot about my son,” she said. “He told me, ‘Mum, I want to eat.’ I stood helpless, not knowing what to do. The food didn’t come from the charity kitchen. We now live on fresh water. I recommend it to my children to help fill their stomachs. Today, thank God, we got a plate of food and ate it.”

Zeinat Abu Asr describes the hardship her family is facing in Gaza.

‘Enough is enough’

Conditions in the tent are dire. Flies swarm everywhere, and stray dogs – thin and hungry – prowl nearby. “Yesterday, a dog came into the tent and was pulling on a tarpaulin while my son was sleeping. I thought it was pulling my baby. I screamed and my husband kicked the dog out.”

“We don’t know where to go or what to do. They uprooted us. Our hearts are extinguished. We can’t be patient anymore. Our patience has run out.”

The tents scattered along Gaza’s coastline are a stark symbol of the deepening humanitarian tragedy. The cries of hunger are louder than any voice of hope. There is no shelter left – only the sea remains.

Nothing encapsulates the despair more than Zeenat’s final plea: “Let the war end. Give us a break. Otherwise, let all countries come together and drop a nuclear bomb on us and end our misery, because we are tired of this life. Enough is enough.”

‘We are still waiting for our loved ones’: Families of the abducted speak out

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Each called for justice under international law and for perpetrators to be held accountable.

Sung-Eui Lee, daughter of a South Korean man abducted by North Korean forces during the Korean War, and Ruby Chen, father of an Israeli soldier taken by Hamas during the 7 October 2023 attacks on Israel, spoke in the Security Council.

Together they called for resolution 2474 to be upheld, which affirms the right of families to know the fate of missing relatives in armed conflict.

75-year-long wait

“For 75 years, I’ve been waiting for my father to come back,” said Ms. Lee, who was just 18 months old when her father, prosecutor Jong-Ryong Lee, was forcibly taken to North Korea.

“We still do not know where he is, whether he is alive or dead. This is the first and the largest case of enforced disappearance, and it remains unresolved.”

This is an ongoing crime
– Sung-Eui Lee, daughter of Jong Ryong Lee

Representing the Korean War Abductees Family Union, she described decades of effort to document the abductions and press for answers, efforts often met with silence from Pyongyang.  

An ongoing crime

“In spite of all the clear evidence including the living witnesses like us, the DPRK (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea – as North Korea is formally known) has never admitted their abduction crime. This is an ongoing crime, the first and the largest case of enforced disappearance,” Ms. Lee said.

She urged the international community to hold North Korea accountable, including by referring the case to the International Criminal Court (ICC), and to support the repatriation or identification of the remains of the nearly 100,000 others missing.

“This is an ongoing crime,” she said. “If this case was properly resolved…subsequent kidnapping crimes in Japan, Thailand, Romania – could have been prevented.”

Not knowing

Speaking next, Ruby Chen spoke of the pain of not knowing the fate of his son, Itay Chen – a joint US-German-Israeli national – after being captured by Hamas.

The 19-year-old soldier was stationed near the Gaza border when he and his tank crew were attacked and taken on 7 October 2023.

For 587 days, we have waited
– Ruby Chen, father of Itay Chen

“For 587 days, we have waited,” Mr. Chen said.

“In March, the Israeli military told us Itay likely did not survive. But Hamas refuses to confirm and refuses to return him – even in death.”

He described the refusal to acknowledge or release the bodies of deceased hostages as a form of “slow psychological torture,” not only for his family but for dozens of others.

Families deserve closure

“What kind of human beings take deceased people and use them as negotiation chips,” he said, “Who denies the deceased the last basic human dignity that they deserve?”

Mr. Chen called for the appointment of a dedicated UN special representative or envoy for hostage affairs and address the broad range violations and harms associated with hostage taking.

“There must be consequences,” Chen said. “This isn’t just a political issue – it’s a humanitarian one. Families deserve closure. Hostage-taking must become a liability, not a strategic asset.”

A wide view of the Security Council meeting.

Resolution 2474

The testimonies were delivered during a Security Council session dedicated to missing persons in armed conflict.

Resolution 2474, adopted unanimously in 2019, obliges all parties in conflict to take all appropriate measures to account for the missing, enable the return of their remains, and to provide families with information on their loved ones’ fate.

Also speaking in the Council, Khaled Khiari, Assistant Secretary-General at the UN Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, warned that the crisis of missing persons continues to deepen in conflicts worldwide. 

In Ukraine, large numbers of civilians – including children – remain unaccounted for in areas under Russian occupation. In Myanmar, disappearances have surged since the 2021 military coup, amid a lack of due process.

In Syria, the missing persons crisis has become a defining feature of the conflict, Mr. Khiari said, noting also that questions remain over the fate of those missing from the 1991 Gulf War, as well as the enduring impacts on families and communities in Cyprus.

Let us move on

Both speakers underscored the need for the Security Council deliver on the resolution’s promise.

“Time is running short,” Ms. Lee told ambassadors. “Most siblings and spouses of the abductees have already passed away. We, the children, are growing old. There is not much time left.”

Mr. Chen echoed her plea: “I request your support to enable families of this tragic fate, such as mine, have closure and the ability to move on to the next sad chapter in life.”

Assistant Secretary-General Khiari briefs the Security Council.

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Haiti: Displaced families grapple with death ‘from the inside’ and out

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In March, the family fled the gangs again – this time to Boucan-Carré where Leineda’s treatments were put on hold:

“Sometimes, we suffer from silent illnesses that destroy us from the inside,” Christiana said.

Gangs on the march

In the past few months, armed gangs in Haiti have been expanding their reach beyond Port-au-Prince towards the Centre and Artibonite Departments, displacing around 64,000 from those areas, according to UN estimates.

Humanitarian efforts to reach displaced communities have been disrupted by regional insecurity and funding shortages.

“What we’re seeing on the ground is unimaginable. Communities are being displaced daily, and the images of women and children fleeing for their lives with nothing are heartbreaking,” said Wanja Kaaria, the UN World Food Programme’s (WFP) Haiti director.

Attacks beyond the capital

The assassination of Haiti’s President Jovenel Moïse in 2021 triggered widespread gang violence in the capital Port-au-Prince. Around 85 per cent of the city is now controlled by gangs. Over one million Haitians have been displaced because of this violence.

In recent months, organised crime groups have expanded their attacks into the Centre Department in western Haiti and neighboring Artibonite in northern Haiti.

In late March, one of the gangs attacked Mirebalais, killing at least 15 civilians and leading to a jailbreak of 515 inmates. In late April, gang members attacked the commune of Petite-Rivière in Artibonite, killing dozens and damaging scores of homes.

Other gang attacks have occurred in the suburbs of Port-au-Prince and throughout Centre, including in Hinche, Boucan-Carré and Saut d’Eau.

Navigating humanitarian aid blockages

After these attacks in the Centre and Artibonite Departments, over 64,000 people have been displaced according to estimates from the UN International Organization for Migration (IOM).

“Across Haiti and as we have seen this week in the Centre region especially, children are trapped in a cycle of fear and suffering, reliving the same nightmare day after day. What they need most urgently is an end to the violence,” Geeta Narayan, United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) representative in Haiti, said.

As a result of ongoing gang activity and security conditions in the region, local authorities have had to scale back humanitarian aid deliveries. UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF, has cancelled planned field missions.

This is particularly difficult for displaced families who are fully reliant on this aid. Danise, a mother of two, has been displaced many times – first leaving her home in Jérémie, then being deported from the Dominican Republic, next, fleeing violence in Mirebalais before finally settling in Boucan Carré.

“I barely have anything to give [my children],” Danise said. “I always have to wait for food distributions to feed them…I just want to go home.”

Dozens of people displaced from the Haitian communes of Mirebalais and Saut-d’Eau attend hygiene awareness sessions in Boucan Carré.

Providing relief to displaced communities

In spite of deteriorating security, UN aid teams are working with local partners and departmental authorities to continue providing resources to displaced civilians.

“[Displaced people have had their] lives upended – entire families struggling to access water, healthcare or adequate shelter.”

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) “remains engaged alongside local authorities and partners to strengthen humanitarian action, despite limited resources, and continues to advocate for increased support,” Modibo Traore, OCHA’s Head of Office in Haiti, said.

Across the Centre Department, UNICEF has reached 8,500 people with resources, including six mobile clinics.

“We are scaling up our response in the Centre department, providing critical health care, reaching thousands of children with psychosocial support, safe water and access to education where it’s needed most,” Ms. Narayan said.

WFP is also working in the Centre Department to provide hot meals and food kits to displaced communities and has provided assistance to over 13,100 displaced individuals in this region as of early May.

This is the moment to step up. The future of Haiti depends on the actions we take today
– WFP Country Director Wanja Kaaria

“WFP food assistance offers dignity for families now living with little hope. However, funding constraints are impeding us from responding at scale.” Ms Kaaria said.

WFP estimates that it will need $72.4 million over the next 12 months and UNICEF estimates that it will need $1.2 million over the next six months to deal with the ongoing displacements in Haiti.

“This is the moment to step up. The future of Haiti depends on the actions we take today,” Ms Kaaria said.

Finding dignity through care

In recent days, young Leineda has begun to receive the treatment she needs for malnutrition at the Boucan Carré site.

“I feel happy today because before, we didn’t have any doctors to examine us or understand our pain,” Christiana said. The presence of the doctors brings back a sense of dignity. It helps us.”

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