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UPDATED: Amid ongoing airstrikes targeting Gaza's southernmost city of Rafah and reports that Israeli forces have conducted a military operation inside the Nasser Hospital Complex, concerns over a potential ground invasion of the densely populated border city are escalating. 

Despite unprecedented challenges, the UN relief agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA) continues to provide lifesaving supplies and services to more than 1.5 million displaced people in southern Gaza.

In the battle to slow global warming, January was the hottest month on record according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) on Thursday.

UN medics said on Wednesday that they feared a humanitarian disaster “beyond imagination” if a full-scale incursion by the Israeli military happens in Rafah in southern Gaza.

As international efforts continue to secure a ceasefire in Gaza, the head of UNRWA, the UN aid agency for Palestinians, warned on Tuesday that those in the enclave remain deeply traumatised by the war with Israel and afraid of a full-scale assault on Rafah in the south.

Civilians continue to bear the brunt as the war between rival militaries in Sudan spreads into new areas, driving displacement and hunger while exposing communities to deadly diseases, UN humanitarians warned on Tuesday.

UN Humanitarian Affairs Coordinator Martin Griffith has reiterated his warning against a full-scale military assault on Rafah, where more than half of Gaza’s population is now sheltered.   

Countries must act now to break the deadly links between conflict, climate and food insecurity, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said on Tuesday, addressing a Security Council meeting focused on these challenges. 

Amid reports on Monday that two hostages have been rescued during a raid by Israeli special forces in Rafah City, the head of the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said the spiralling humanitarian crisis in Gaza is still not being met with anywhere near sufficient aid relief. 

Two critical lifelines for millions of people in northwest Syria have been extended for an additional three months, UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said on Monday.   

Migratory species globally are facing critical challenges, with nearly half in decline and over 20 per cent threatened with extinction, a landmark UN report has pointed out.

Small-scale chicken farmers in the south of Madagascar are hatching a plan to boost their incomes and improve the stock of local poultry breeds, thanks to support from the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

The unrelenting war in Gaza hasn’t spared hospitals, their staff or the people sheltering there, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday as it unveiled data indicating more than 350 attacks on healthcare in the enclave since hostilities erupted.

The unprecedented population density in Rafah in southern Gaza makes it nearly impossible to protect civilians in the event of ground attacks, the UN humanitarian affairs office, OCHA, warned on Friday. 

The ongoing “white and iron” dzud in Mongolia has reached a “critical” level, with over 90 per cent of the country facing high levels of risk from the unique weather phenomenon, UN agencies have reported.

Amid further fighting across Gaza on Thursday, including reports of deadly airstrikes in the Rafah governorate, the UN’s top aid official, Martin Griffiths, echoed widespread international fears about a further escalation of the conflict.

The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) this week undertook his fourth visit to the beleaguered Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) in southern Ukraine, his office said on Thursday. 

As the devastating Gaza-Israel war entered its fifth month on Wednesday leaving a reported 27,585 Palestinians dead and nearly 70,000 injured, the UN’s top humanitarian official welcomed early indications of a “potential breakthrough” in negotiations for a ceasefire and the release of all remaining hostages.

The United Nations on Wednesday urged countries not to forget millions of people caught up in the war between rival militaries in Sudan, calling for $4.1 billion to help stave off famine and assist those who have fled into neighbouring countries.

The top UN official in the Middle East underscored the importance of a ceasefire in Gaza during a briefing to journalists at UN Headquarters on Wednesday. 

As severe hunger ripples across northern Ethiopia, the World Food Programme (WFP) is ramping up efforts to deliver lifesaving assistance to three million people in the coming weeks to avert “a major humanitarian catastrophe”, the agency announced on Tuesday.

Tens of thousands of families that survived last year’s devastating earthquakes in Türkiye and Syria have yet to recover on multiple fronts, the UN’s top humanitarian official warned on Tuesday.

Cancer patients, young students and families are among the 250,000 Palestinians – 80 per cent already living under the poverty line – who could lose access to lifesaving services in Lebanon by March amid looming funding cuts, the UN agency for Palestine refugees, UNRWA, country director told UN News on Tuesday.

Despite being the driving force for sustainable development, middle-income countries face unique challenges and require more international support and vision to thrive, the UN deputy chief said on Tuesday.

UN humanitarians reported on Monday that a food convoy in Gaza had been hit by shelling after a deadly weekend of hostilities in Gaza in which at least 234 Palestinians were reportedly killed, stoking regional tensions in the Middle East. 

Some of the world’s leading tech companies have signed a ground-breaking agreement with the UN to build more ethical artificial intelligence (AI) systems.

With the war in Sudan triggering widespread violence and instability, youth-driven emergency response rooms (ERRs) are among a growing number of community-led initiatives reaching vulnerable civilians with myriad assistance, from repairing damaged power lines to carving out safe evacuation routes for millions fleeing the conflict.

The UN agency assisting Palestine refugees (UNRWA) plays a “critical role” in delivering aid to civilians in the Gaza Strip and it is vital to restore international confidence in the agency, the United States Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield said on Friday.

The number of hungry people in Sudan has doubled over the past year, the World Food Programme (WFP) said on Friday, adding that it is already receiving reports of people dying from starvation. 

The UN and the Government of Ethiopia have appealed for urgent funding to respond to rising hunger in the northern highlands region, the UN humanitarian affairs office, OCHA, reported on Friday.