Tag Archives: limited

Limited access restored to Syria’s Al Hol camp amid security concerns

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Briefing reporters in New York, Farhan Haq said the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, was able to access the camp on Friday together with Syrian Government officials and establish contact with some residents. Essential supplies have also resumed.

Al Hol is one of the region’s largest displacement sites, housing tens of thousands of people, mostly women and children, many with alleged family links to ISIL terrorist fighters.

UN agencies have long warned of dire humanitarian conditions there, including overcrowding, poor access to healthcare, water and sanitation, and persistent protection and security risks, while repeatedly urging durable solutions, including safe returns, reintegration and repatriation in line with international law.

“Trucks carrying bread entered the camp today, facilitated by UNHCR, following a three-day interruption caused by the volatile security situation inside the camp,” Mr. Haq said, adding that water trucks reached the camp on Thursday, helping to partially restore access to basic services for the camp population.

Al Hol camp, located in Syria’s northeast, hosts tens of thousands of people, including internally displaced Syrians and family members of suspected former fighters.

UN agencies have long warned that insecurity, overcrowding and limited services leave residents – many of them women and children – in extremely vulnerable conditions.

UN agencies and aid partners reaffirmed their commitment to supporting the Syrian authorities in delivering humanitarian assistance, while underscoring the critical need to ensure security inside the camp.

They also highlighted the importance of facilitating the movement of personnel and supplies between Al-Hasakeh and Qamishli.

Concerns in Aleppo

Beyond Al Hol, the situation in Kobani, in Aleppo Governorate, remains concerning.

According to the UN relief coordination office, OCHA, all roads connecting to the city are currently closed, while disruptions to electricity, water and internet services are hampering access to basic needs.

Partners have begun reporting shortages of food, essential items and medicines, although health facilities remain operational, Mr. Haq said.

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‘Very limited time to react’: Texas flash floods expose challenges in early warning

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The UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said that the tragedy highlights growing global challenges around extreme rainfall, warning dissemination and community preparedness.

Flash floods are the most lethal form of flooding, responsible for over 5,000 deaths annually and 85 per cent of all flood-related fatalities worldwide, according to WMO data, and result in economic losses of more than $50 billion annually.

“Unlike slow-onset river floods, flash floods leave very limited time for reaction,” the agency said in a news release on Wednesday.

“That makes accurate short-term forecasting and community preparedness essential.”

One-day precipitation totals from NASA’s IMERG multi-satellite precipitation product show heavy rainfall over central Texas on July 4, 2025.

Months of rains in hours

Overnight 3 into 4 July, torrential rains – up to 46 centimetres (about 18 inches) in a matter of hours – sent a wall of water surging through Kerr County’s Guadalupe River basin at around 4 AM, catching many residents and vacationers off guard.

The US National Weather Service issued timely alerts – including a flash flood watch more than 12 hours in advance, upgraded to a flash flood emergency about three hours before impact.

The warnings were disseminated by Weather Radio, emergency management systems and television and radio stations, but many people, including hundreds of children at summer camps, were not reached in time.

Floodwaters surged dramatically as the Guadalupe River rose nearly 8 metres (about 26 feet) in about 45 minutes.

Among the hardest hit was the all-girls summer camp, Camp Mystic, along the river, where at least 27 campers and counsellors died, according to media reports. Texas state authorities report that more than 160 people remain missing.

The disaster has triggered one of the largest search-and-rescue efforts in state history.

More frequent and severe floods

Flash floods are not new, but their frequency and intensity are increasing in many regions due to rapid urbanization, land-use change and a warming climate.

“A warmer atmosphere holds more moisture and so this means that extreme rainfall events are becoming more frequent,” WMO said.

The Texas disaster joins a string of recent catastrophic floods. In 2022, flash floods in Pakistan killed over 1,700 people and displaced millions. In 2024, floods in Europe, the Middle East and Africa saw $36 billion in economic damages.

And just this week, a flash flood along the Nepalese-Chinese border swept away the main bridge linking the two countries.

In September 2022, Pakistan was hit by devastating flooding which left large swathes of the country under water.

Supporting countries

To help countries predict such hazards, WMO operates the Flash Flood Guidance System, a real-time forecasting platform used in over 70 countries. It integrates satellite data, radar, and weather models to detect local flash flood threats and supports training programs to build national capacity.

Beyond technology, the agency plays a convening role by building national capacity, certifying experts, and facilitating real-time coordination between forecasting agencies and disaster managers.

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UN relief chief welcomes limited Gaza aid resumption – but it’s a ‘drop in the ocean’

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Tom Fletcher said in a statement on Monday that nine UN trucks were cleared to enter the southern Kerem Shalom crossing earlier in the day.

“But it is a drop in the ocean of what is urgently needed…We have been reassured that our work will be facilitated through existing, proven mechanisms. I am grateful for that reassurance, and Israel’s agreement to humanitarian notification measures that reduce the immense security threats of the operation.”

Alarm over Israeli bombardment: UN chief

The UN Secretary-General on Monday expressed his alarm over the intensifying air strikes and ground operations in Gaza “which have resulted in the killing of hundreds of Palestinian civilians in recent days, including many women and children, and, of course, large-scale evacuation orders.”

António Guterres reiterated his call for the rapid, safe, and unimpeded delivery of humanitarian assistance at scale directly to civilians, in order to avert famine, alleviate widespread suffering, and prevent further loss of life.

Briefing reporters on Monday, UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said Mr. Guterres “welcomes the ongoing efforts by the mediators to reach a deal in Gaza. He has repeatedly warned that the continued violence and the destruction will only compound civilian suffering and heighten the risk of a broader regional conflict.”

He added that the Secretary-General “firmly rejects any forced displacement of the Palestinian population.”

Minimise risk of aid theft

Relief chief Fletcher said in his statement that he was determined to ensure UN aid reaches those in greatest need and make sure that any risk of theft by Hamas or other militants battling Israeli forces in the Strip amid a new offensive, would be minimised.

He said the UN aid coordination office, OCHA, had realistic expectations: “Given ongoing bombardment and acute hunger levels, the risks of looting and insecurity are significant.”

UN aid workers are committed to doing their jobs, “even against these odds,” he said, thanking humanitarian colleagues for their courage and determination.

Practical plan

“The limited quantities of aid now being allowed into Gaza are of course no substitute for unimpeded access to civilians in such dire need,” Mr. Fletcher continued.

“The UN has a clear, principled and practical plan to save lives at scale, as I set out last week.”

He called on Israeli authorities to:

  • Open at least two crossings into Gaza, in the north and south
  • Simplify and expedite procedures together with removing quotas limiting aid
  • Lift access impediments and cease military operations when and where aid is being delivered
  • Allow UN teams to cover the whole range of needs – food, water, hygiene, shelter, health, fuel and gas for cooking

Ready to respond

Mr. Fletcher said to reduce looting, there must be a regular flow of aid, and humanitarians must be permitted to use multiple routes.

“We are ready and determined to scale up our life-saving operation Gaza and respond to the needs of people, wherever they are,” he stressed – calling again for the protection of civilians, a resumption of the ceasefire and the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages.

He concluded saying the operation would be tough – “but the humanitarian community will take any opening we have.”

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Gaza: Israel ‘approaches UN’ to resume limited aid deliveries, says aid agency

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“We have been approached by Israeli authorities to resume limited aid delivery, and we are in discussions with them now on how this would take place given the conditions on the ground,” OCHA said in a statement.

It is now 11 weeks since the Israeli authorities closed off all food, fuel and medicines to Gaza.

The decision has been widely condemned by the international community – including the UN Secretary-General – who on Sunday insisted that Israel’s “siege and starvation” of Gazans “makes a mockery of international law”.

According to news reports the Israel Government has taken the decision to resume “basic” levels of aid delivery to ensure against starvation, on the recommendation of the Israeli Defense Forces and in support of a renewed Gaza offensive.

“The situation for Palestinians in Gaza is beyond description, beyond atrocious and beyond inhumane,” António Guterres wrote online. “The blockade against humanitarian aid must end immediately.”

The aid blockade has created life-threatening hunger across Gaza – something that humanitarians have pointed out did not exist before the war started on 7 October 2023, sparked by Hamas-led terror attacks on Israel.

Basic principles

“I emphasize that the United Nations will not participate in any operation that does not adhere to international law and humanitarian principles of humanity, impartiality, independence and neutrality,” Mr. Guterres insisted, before underlining his “full support” for UNRWA, the largest aid agency in Gaza.

In an update on Monday, UNRWA reported that more than nine in 10 homes in Gaza have been damaged or destroyed. On Sunday the agency’s Commissioner-General, Philippe Lazzarini announced that more than 300 staff have been killed in the Gaza war. “The vast majority of staff were killed by the Israeli army with their children and loved ones: whole families wiped out,” he noted.

“Several were killed in the line of duty while serving their communities. Those killed were mostly UN health workers and teachers, supporting their communities.”

Ahead of unconfirmed reports on Monday that 20 aid trucks were expected to enter Gaza on Monday, UN agencies OCHA and the World Health Organization (WHO) warned that hungry and sick Gazans continue to live in terror because of ongoing bombardment.

In a new call to lift the blockade, both agencies rejected allegations of aid diversion to Hamas and highlighted the humanitarian nature of the goods being denied entry into Gaza, everything from children’s shoes to eggs, pasta, baby formula and tents.

“How much war can you wage with this?” asked OCHA spokesperson Jens Laerke.

Briefing Member States in Geneva, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned on Monday that the risk of famine “is increasing” as aid continues to be withheld deliberately by Israel.

Health system destroyed

The enclave’s health system is “already on its knees”, he insisted.

“Two million people are starving, while 116 000 tonnes of food is blocked at the border just minutes away,” he told the World Health Assembly.

In response to a resurgence of polio in Gaza, WHO negotiated a humanitarian pause for a vaccination campaign that reached more than 560,000 children, Tedros continued.

“We stopped polio, but the people of Gaza continue to face multiple other threats,” he said. “People are dying from preventable diseases as medicines wait at the border, while attacks on hospitals deny people care, and deter them from seeking it.”

At the same time, the WHO chief called out “increasing hostilities, evacuation orders, [the] shrinking humanitarian space and the aid blockade [that] are driving an influx of casualties”.

Tedros’s comments come as UN aid teams who remain committed to helping all Gazans confirmed intensifying bombing across the devastated Strip. “It has increased, of course,” said one worker, who wished to remain anonymous. They added that in the last 72 hours around 63,000 people have been uprooted.

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