The escalation of hostilities in the Gaza Strip is having a catastrophic impact on children and families. Around 1.7 million people in the Gaza Strip are estimated to have been internally displaced – half of them children. 

Even wars have rules. No child should be cut off from essential services, nor fall from the reach of humanitarian hands. 

WFP shares firsthand accounts from refugees, aid workers, and experts on the ground about the challenges and the critical assistance being provided due to the ongoing conflict in Sudan.

Ukraine is heavily landmine-contaminated due to war, with an area four and a half times the size of Switzerland affected. The UN has been leading the mine action programme since 2016. Clearing mines is a difficult and expensive long-term prospect, with the full demining package estimated to cost more than $37 billion. International partners, including UNDP, are helping Ukraine.

Food distribution has been halted in the North of Gaza due to heightened safety and security risks to both the delivery personnel and recipients.

The Security Council is hearing a briefing today from the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process. With almost 30,000 killed in Gaza, intense Israeli bombardment is causing further civilian casualties and displacement. Amid already widespread hunger, WFP has announced that it is pausing deliveries of food aid to northern Gaza, because of the deteriorating security situation. The Secretary-General has repeatedly called for the unconditional release of all hostages and a humanitarian ceasefire, and called the Security Council failure to implement such measures a 'global deadlock’. 

Radio Miraya has been broadcasting its core message of peace across South Sudan since 2006. For World Radio Day, celebrated on 13 February every year, Ben Dotsei Malor shares his thoughts on his time in Juba. 
Audio Credit: Daniel Johnson, UN News

Violent extremism is an affront to the purposes and principles of the United Nations. It undermines peace and security, human rights and sustainable development. No country or region is immune from its impacts. The General Assembly has declared 12 February the International Day for the Prevention of Violent Extremism as and when Conducive to Terrorism, to raise awareness of the threats linked to violent extremism conducive to terrorism, and to enhance international cooperation in this regard. The initiative supports the Secretary-General’s 2016 Plan of Action to Prevent Violent Extremism.

For the people of Gaza, the past 100 days have felt like 100 years. This has been the largest displacement of the Palestinian people since 1948. 

The conflict that began on October 7 has not only displaced Hala, a mother of four and humanitarian worker from Gaza, but has also resulted in over 22,000 casualties, nearly 2 million displacements.

The Secretary-General’s vision for centering the Organization’s work on peace and security around prevention and through a surge in diplomacy for peace reaffirms the United Nations' founding mission. Since its inception, the UN has played a crucial role in helping to mediate conflicts at all stages: before they escalate into armed conflict, after the outbreak of violence, and during the implementation of peace agreements. UN peacemaking flourished in the decade following the end of the Cold War and the Organization continues to play a preeminent role in this field.

As hostilities in Gaza reached the grim milestone of 100 days, the UN reiterated calls for an immediate ceasefire and the unconditional release of hostages. In the aftermath of the attack on Israel last October that left 1,200 dead, Israel started a military response that has killed more than 23,000 Palestinians so far - two-thirds of them women and children. The UN General Assembly and the UN Security Council have passed resolutions demanding immediate and unhindered delivery of humanitarian assistance, and the UN Secretary-General has vowed not to give up on his calls for a humanitarian ceasefire, and has expressed grave concerns about the conflict spilling over and destabilizing the entire region.

Israel's attacks on the Gaza Strip continue, causing significant Palestinian casualties and widespread devastation. Overwhelmed hospitals are struggling with shortages; evacuation mandates have uprooted more than a million residents, leaving humanitarian organizations unable to provide vital assistance amid escalating food insecurity, restricted distribution channels, and mounting water and sanitation challenges. At the same time, violence continues in the West Bank, where escalating Israeli military actions and settler attacks contribute to numerous Palestinian casualties.

The people of Gaza are in the midst of an epic humanitarian catastrophe. UNWOMEN offers a snapshot of how women and girls in Gaza have endured attacks and displacement. 

In all wars, it is children who suffer first and suffer most.

Bearing witness, James Elder gives a firsthand account of the impact of the war on children and families. Read the UNICEF blogpost here

Civilians are dying while the world watches and families are being displaced en masse. UNRWA is calling for immediate access to humanitarian aid and urgent funding for Palestine Refugees.