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Ukraine: Russian strike on village kills over 20, mostly pensioners

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The attack on Yarova injured nearly 20 others. Many elderly civilians have decided to stay at home in frontline communities, despite the escalating danger from Russia’s continuing offensive, said Assistant Secretary-General Matthias Schmale, the UN’s top humanitarian official in the country.

“This lasting violence continues to tear lives apart. In recent days, the Donetsk region has seen a rise in civilian casualties and damage as hostilities have intensified,” he said in a statement.

“On behalf of the United Nations and the humanitarian community, we stand with all families grieving their loved ones and with all those injured. Attacks affecting civilians as they go about their daily lives are unconscionable.”

‘Relentless’ attacks on healthcare

Ambulances attacked, chronically ill patients lacking care and no peace in sight: for millions of Ukrainians, the run-up to another winter of war is just the latest life-or-death challenge they face, the UN health agency (WHO) said on Tuesday.

Speaking from Kyiv in the wake of deadly strikes on the Ukrainian capital by Russia on Sunday, WHO’s representative in the country, Dr. Jarno Habicht, told reporters in Geneva that more than 800 drones and missiles were involved in the latest attack, making it one of the biggest since the start of the war in February 2022.

“This is a reality [which] many aid workers, humanitarians, but most importantly, millions of Ukrainians are living day and night,” he said.

Mission to the frontline

Dr. Habicht described his recent mission to the frontline Zaporizhzhia region which he said had suffered “relentless” attacks, including on healthcare.

“The strikes are continuous,” he insisted, explaining that WHO is constantly delivering medical kits to the facilities where patients with trauma injuries receive care. “We have daily injuries, unfortunately, across Ukraine,” he said.

The WHO official pointed to a concerning 12 per cent year-on-year increase in attacks affecting health infrastructure in the country. One in four attacks is against an ambulance, he said.

“If we think about non-war environments, when anybody calls an ambulance, this is for a reason…This is for a reason of life and death,” he said. “But in Ukraine, the ambulances are under attack.”

According to UN humanitarian affairs coordination office, OCHA, on Monday, casualties from the latest attacks were reported in a number of other cities including Odesa, Chernihiv, Kharkiv, Kremenchuk, Kryvyi Rih and Kherson. Strikes also targeted energy infrastructure, disrupting power and water supplies ahead of the winter season, OCHA said.

“We need to prepare for a winter in war because we don’t see peace in sight,” Dr. Habicht insisted.

Following his Zaporizhzhia visit and discussion with the authorities and health workers there, he highlighted the need to keep heating stations open as the cold season approaches and ensure that clean water is available in healthcare facilities.

Dr. Habicht also underscored the magnitude of the mental health burden of the conflict, which will “stay for generations”.

Urgent needs

According to WHO’s latest Health Needs Assessment conducted in Ukraine in April, seven in 10 people reported mental health issues, anxiety, depression and severe stress over the last 12 months, “directly linked to attacks on civilian infrastructure”.

The WHO representative added that as he visited hospital wards on Monday in Zaporizhzhia he saw a number of men and women over 60 needing rehabilitation support after suffering a stroke. “All the other diseases are continuing at the time of war,” he said, stressing that “recovery cannot wait” for patients with chronic diseases such as cancer and heart conditions.

Increased funding is needed for the humanitarian response in Ukraine and to support recovery and restoration efforts. But only 35.5 per cent of the required resources (around $46 million) have been made available for humanitarian partners, allowing WHO and its partners to reach one million people out of its three million target.

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World News in Brief: Shipwreck off Italy kills at least 27, anniversary of Taliban takeover, Peru amnesty law

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UNHCR is supporting at least 60 survivors who have been brought ashore, but the Italian coast guard warned more bodies could still be recovered.  

According to local news reports, the passengers were travelling from Libya in the hopes of reaching Italy.

Migrants and refugees heading to Italy from the African coast often use leaky or overcrowded boats organized by human traffickers and travel via the often-deadly Mediterranean route, aiming to reach Lampedusa.

In a social media statement on Thursday, the High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, reported that over 700 refugees and migrants have died in the Central Mediterranean in 2025.

“All responses – rescue at sea, safe pathways, helping transit countries and addressing root causes – must be strengthened,” he said.  

UN Women marks four years since Taliban takeover

UN Women Afghanistan Special Representative Susan Ferguson addressed the widescale erosion of human rights of women in the country in a briefing to reporters in New York on Thursday, just ahead of the fourth anniversary of the Taliban takeover.

Since the takeover, dozens of permanent decrees have curtailed women’s and girls’ rights and dignity.  

“The most severe women’s rights crisis in the world is being normalised,” she told correspondents at the daily noon briefing from Kabul.  

For example, last year’s “morality law” crystallised the systematic erasure of women from public life, codifying long-standing social norms.

Banned from schools and most jobs, women “continue to feel – and often are – unsafe in public places, in their communities or families, and are unable to reap the benefits of an increase in the overall security situation since the takeover,” Ms. Ferguson stressed.

Migration and women-run organizations

This year, 1.7 million Afghans have returned, but women among them cannot interact with male aid workers to access education, healthcare or economic support.  

Women-run organizations are therefore essential, providing healthcare, psychosocial services and protection from violence.

However, this March, it was reported across civil society organizations that funding cuts have meant layoffs for 50 per cent of women staffers, and over one-third of these organizations warned they may have to scale back or close.

These organizations are trying to keep going – but they urgently need more financial assistance.

“We must keep investing in their NGOs, their businesses and their voice in international dialogues,” Ms. Ferguson concluded.

Türk: Peru amnesty law is an ‘affront’ to victims of country’s war

The UN’s top human rights official Volker Türk on Thursday described Peru’s amnesty law as an “affront” to victims of the country’s armed conflict.

The development comes after the President of Peru signed into law legislation a day earlier granting amnesty to the armed forces, the national police and self-defence committees, for crimes committed between 1980 and 2000.  

An estimated 70,000 people were killed during the conflict and at least 20,000 were disappeared, according to the National Commission on Truth and Reconciliation. 

‘Backwards step’

Mr. Türk said that hundreds of cases, both concluded and ongoing, will be affected by the new law. And he described it as a “backwards step” in the search for justice for gross human rights violations committed.

“It is an affront to the thousands of victims who deserve truth, justice, reparations, and guarantees of non-recurrence, not impunity,” Mr. Türk said.

International law, to which Peru is bound, clearly prohibits amnesties and statutes of limitations for gross violations of human rights and serious violations of humanitarian law.

OHCHR called for its immediate reversal. 

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Russian attack on Ukrainian capital kills at least 11 civilians

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Among the confirmed dead is a six-year-old boy. At least 10 of the injured were children, the mission said, and news reports indicate that figure is rising.

City-wide damage

Russia reportedly launched 309 drones and eight cruise missiles during the night,  and despite air defences managing to destroy many of them, the damage across the capital was severe.  

At least 27 locations across Kyiv were hit by the attack, with the heaviest damage seen in the Solomianskyi and Sviatoshynskyi districts, where UN rescue efforts are ongoing.  

In the Sviatoshynskyi district, a missile destroyed a section of a nine-story apartment building.

In the Solomianskyi district, a five-story apartment building was severely damaged, and at least two people were killed.

UN Ukraine reported that witnesses described shock at the strike, which happened so quickly that they did not have time to seek shelter.

“Homes, businesses and public buildings are being destroyed, and it may take years to rebuild them. And each new attack compounds the psychological toll on people who have to spend night after night in shelters,” said Danielle Bell, Head of HRMMU.

More than 100 buildings were reportedly damaged in the capital, including homes, schools, kindergartens, medical facilities and universities, according to news reports.  

Unprecedented civilian toll

This attack follows a wave of violence close and far from the frontline, including weekend assaults that killed at least 20 civilians and injured over 120, a prison attack on Monday that killed 16 inmates, a hospital strike that killed three and the death of five civilians in the east on Tuesday.

This violent pattern continues from June, when HRMMU reported that Russia launched 10 times more missile and loitering munitions attacks against Ukraine compared with June 2024, killing 232 and injuring 1,343.

The UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Ukraine, Matthias Schmale, stressed on social media that “international humanitarian law must be respected. All efforts must be taken to protect civilians. They are not a target.” 

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Russian attack on Ukrainian prison kills 16: UN rights monitors

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Meanwhile, another attack on Tuesday reportedly killed five civilians and injured three in the Kharkiv region, located in eastern Ukraine.

According to authorities, Russian armed forces dropped several powerful glide bombs on Bilenkivska Penal Colony No. 99 on 28 July. The prison is located about 25 kilometres from the frontline in the Zaporizhzhia region.

All those killed were prisoners, according to HRMMU. The mission plans to visit the site as soon as possible to gather additional information.

Russia has denied responsibility for the attack.

Violation of international law

“Prisoners are civilians, and they must be protected under international humanitarian law,” said Danielle Bell, head of HRMMU.

International humanitarian law stipulates that attacks must only be directed at military objectives, not at civilians or civilian objects. Since a prison is a civilian object, it should not be attacked unless it is being used for military purposes.

Deadly civilian attacks

Also on Monday, Russian forces reportedly struck near a hospital in Kamianske in the Dnipropetrovsk region. The attack damaged the hospital and its maternity ward, killing three and injuring 22, according to authorities.

At least two of the dead were reportedly patients, including a woman who was seven months pregnant.

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World News in Brief: violence spurs displacement in Syria, Israeli forces cross the Blue Line in Lebanon, mall fire kills dozens in Iraq

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As of Thursday, nearly 2,000 families have been displaced from violence-affected areas in Sweida governate and are currently sheltering in a dozen collective sites. Many are unable to return home due to damage, looting or destruction of their homes.

The health systems in Sweida and neighbouring Dar’a governorate remain under critical strain, operating without power and facing severe supply shortages. Reports also suggest that at least two doctors were killed in the recent clashes, and some armed groups have occupied health facilities, putting patients and staff at risk.

Mobilisation amid constrained access

The UN and its partners are mobilising humanitarian assistance as security allows and working with authorities to facilitate access.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has dispatched 35 trauma and emergency surgery kits for 1,750 interventions, but many remain undelivered because of constrained access.  

“We urge all parties to protect people caught up in the violence, including by allowing them to move freely to seek safety and medical assistance,” said Associate Spokesperson for the Secretary-General Stephanie Tremblay at Thursday’s daily press briefing in New York.

She also stressed that security forces must respect applicable international law, norms and standards throughout their operations.

Lebanon: UN peacekeepers observe unauthorised Israeli activities  

Ms. Tremblay also reported that peacekeepers at the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) continue to observe Israeli military activities in its area of operations.

On 16 July, Israeli soldiers crossed north of the Blue Line to conduct military exercises.  

UNIFIL peacekeepers have also heard several explosions, including one on 17 July near the Mission Headquarters in Naqoura.  

The “blue helmets” have additionally discovered unauthorized weapons and ammunition caches at one site, rocket launchers, rocket-propelled grenades, mortar rounds and ammunition boxes.  

Commitment to Lebanon

In response to recent observations the UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, and UNIFIL Head of Mission and Force Commander, Major General Diodato Abagnara, met with the Lebanese Army’s South Litani Sector Commander Brigadier General Nicolas Tabet in Tyre on 17 July.  

“Ms. Hennis-Plasschaert and General Abagnara underlined our commitment to supporting the implementation of Security Council resolution 1701, including strengthening State authority and helping restore stability in southern Lebanon,” Ms. Tremblay said.

As part of UNIFIL’s support, peacekeepers trained with Lebanese Armed Forces personnel in Tyre on 16 July, enhancing the operational competency of the Lebanese Army personnel.

Fire in Iraqi shopping mall

The United Nations has expressed condolences to the families of the victims of a tragic fire in the eastern Iraqi city of Kut on Wednesday.

According to news reports, the fire tore through the shopping centre – which opened only a week ago – leaving at least 61 people dead.  

“We express our strong solidarity with the people of Wasit Governorate in this profound loss,” Ms. Tremblay said.  

She also emphasised that the UN and its partners are ready to provide humanitarian assistance to help mitigate the tragedy’s impact.

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New horror in Gaza as double strike on school shelter kills 30

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The UN agency for Palestine refugees, UNRWA, maintained that Israeli forces hit the school in Al Bureij, Middle Gaza, at around 6pm on Tuesday and again at 10.20pm.

“The school sustained severe damage and a fire broke out in the shelter, making it difficult to evacuate the casualties. Residents had to open a hole in the wall to evacuate the dead and wounded,” UNRWA told UN News.

Since the start of the war between Hamas and Israel on 7 October 2023, more than 400 schools have received a direct hit, according to satellite imagery analyzed by the UN.

Deadly aftermath

Footage from the scene provided by the UN agency showed walls and floors blown out in the main school building.

In the courtyard, hundreds of people can be seen standing amid crumpled metal sheeting on the morning after the attack, with rubble and wooden planks strewn around where their shelters had been standing just hours earlier.

“Our colleagues are reporting that surviving parents and children are trying to salvage their belongings among the blood and body parts of their relatives and neighbours,” UNRWA said.

The agency noted that fatalities included women and children, while search and rescue operations are ongoing for several people still missing.

Many of those living at the school when it was hit have been displaced “countless times” by the war, which began on 7 October 2023, following Hamas-led terror attacks on Israel, UNRWA stressed.

The attack also sparked a fire in an adjacent school where more tents and temporary shelters were burned and damaged.

Education destroyed

According to the UN Satellite Service, UNOSAT, 95.4 per cent of schools in Gaza have sustained damage since the start of the war.

Of the enclave’s 564 schools, 501 will either need full reconstruction or major rehabilitation work to be functional again.

“There is no humanity left in Gaza, and no humanity left as the world continues to watch day after day as families are bombed, burned alive and starved,” UNRWA said after the latest attack.

Failed strategy won’t work: Türk

In a related development, the UN human rights chief Volker Türk on Wednesday condemned Israel’s reported plans to forcibly transfer Gaza’s population to a small area in the south of the Strip.

The move fuels concern that Israel’s intention is to make life for Palestinians “increasingly incompatible with their continued existence in Gaza”, he said in a statement.

Surviving parents and children are trying to salvage their belongings among the blood and body parts of their relatives and neighbours – UNRWA

“There is no reason to believe that doubling down on military strategies, which, for a year and eight months, have not led to a durable resolution, including the release of all hostages, will now succeed,” insisted the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Expanding the offensive on Gaza “will almost certainly cause further mass displacement, more deaths and injuries of innocent civilians, and the destruction of Gaza’s little remaining infrastructure”, he continued.

Rights experts warn of irreversible consequences

Escalating atrocities in Gaza mark a critical moral turning point and demand urgent international action, UN-appointed independent human rights experts said in a statement.

“While States debate terminology – is it or is it not genocide? – Israel continues its relentless destruction of life in Gaza,” they warned, citing attacks by land, air and sea, and a soaring civilian death toll.

“No one is spared – not children, persons with disabilities, nursing mothers, journalists, health professionals, aid workers, or hostages,” they said, noting that on 18 March alone, 600 Palestinians were reportedly killed, 400 of them children. The independent experts are appointed by the Human Rights Council, are not UN staff members and receive no salary for their work.

Occupied West Bank update

In the occupied West Bank, meanwhile, UN aid teams warned of worsening conditions for Palestinian communities because of “violence by Israeli forces and settlers”.

The alert comes after Israeli forces on Monday demolished more than 30 structures in Khallet Athaba, a hamlet in Hebron governorate, displacing nearly a dozen families – or around 50 people.

“This constitutes most of the structures in the community and marks the third and largest demolition there since February,” said UN aid coordination office, OCHA. It noted that the area is designated by Israel as a military training zone.

In addition, Israeli forces also began demolishing six homes in Nur Shams refugee camp in Tulkarm on Monday, impacting 17 families. They are among more than 100 buildings slated for demolition, following an Israeli notice issued at the start of the month.

Forcible transfer fears

OCHA described how dozens of families in the camp were given little time on Monday to collect their belongings before their homes were demolished.

The agency highlighted the “strong push” to uproot Palestinians living in the area “once again raising concerns about the risks of forcible transfer of the population”.

Under international law, Israel as the occupying power, has the responsibility to protect Palestinians in the West Bank and ensure their safety and dignity, OCHA insisted.

Humanitarian partners are mobilizing assistance, but urgent international engagement is needed to stop these coercive measures and protect vulnerable communities, the UN aid office said.

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