The UN and the crisis in the Middle East: What you need to know (Jan-Jun 2025)

UNRWA An UNRWA worker in Gaza checks a child for signs of malnutrition.
© UNRWA An UNRWA worker in Gaza checks a child for signs of malnutrition.
Modified date:

What you need to know about the United Nations response to the conflict in the Middle East.

Links, Videos & Infographics
Gaza emergency appeal

13 January

  • Gaza: Humanitarians continue to call for Israel to facilitate aid delivery in Gaza (UN News)
  • Gaza: Al Jazeera ban must be lifted, rights experts urge Palestinian Authority (UN News)
  • Lebanon: United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon briefs Security Council (UNSCOL)
  • Lebanon: Guterres to conduct solidarity visit to Lebanon (UN News)

12 January

  • Gaza: Top humanitarian official issues ceasefire appeal during visit to Gaza City (UN News)

10 January

  • Syria: Syria has real opportunity to ‘move from the darkness to the light’ (UN News)
  • Gaza: Critical aid blocked in Gaza, as fuel shortages threaten lifesaving services (UN News)

9 January

  • Syria: More than 125,000 refugees return to Syria in desperate conditions (UN News)
  • Lebanon: UN hails election of new President as a critical first step (UN News)
  • Lebanon: Statement attributable to the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General – on the election of the President of the Republic of Lebanon (OSSG)
  • Lebanon: UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert On the Election of Lebanon’s President (UNSCOL)
  • Gaza: ‘Children are now freezing to death’: harrowing updates from Gaza (UN News)
UNRWA school turned into a shelter
© UNRWA/Ashraf Amra, Shelters have have been built in an UNRWA school-turned-shelter in Deir Al-Balah.

8 January

  • Gaza: New year brings little new hope for children in Gaza, with at least 74 children reportedly killed in first week of 2025 (UNICEF)
  • oPt: UN Human Rights Office – OPT: A Week into The New Year: Violence Shows no Sign of Abating in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OHCHR)

7 January

  • Gaza: Humanitarians assist families impacted by recent airstrike in Deir Al-Balah (UN News)
  • Lebanon: Appeal for $371.4 million to boost life-saving support (UN News)

6 January

  • Gaza: First Person: Gaza, where starving people are trapped in a land reduced to rubble (UN News)
  • Gaza: UN relief chief – “Our effort to save lives of survivors in Gaza is at breaking point” (OCHA)
  • Gaza: Statement on shooting at a WFP convoy in Gaza (WFP)

4 January

  • Lebanon: UNIFIL Statement (UNIFIL)

3 January

  • Syria: UN teams support cholera vaccination in northeastern camps (UN News)
  • Lebanon: UN continues to call for timely Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon (UN News)
  • Gaza: The clock is ticking fast towards the implementation of the Knesset bill (UNRWA)
  • Gaza: ‘Hospitals have become battlegrounds’: Gaza’s health system on brink of collapse (UN News)
  • Gaza: Winter Deaths are Preventable: Ceasefire, Access Needed for Shelter Aid (IOM)
  • Gaza: Israel’s attacks have devastating impact on Gaza’s hospitals, Türk tells Security Council (OHCHR)

2 January

  • Gaza: ‘Every day without a ceasefire will bring more tragedy’ (UN News)
  • Gaza: Fresh evacuation orders and airstrikes highlight ongoing insecurity in Gaza (UN News)
  • Gaza: UN experts horrified at blatant disregard for health rights in Gaza following deadly raid on Kamal Adwan hospital (OHCHR)
  • Syria: Over 115,000 Syrians have returned home since end of Assad dictatorship (UN News)

The UN Charter remains humanity’s best hope for peace.

Amid geopolitical divisions, member countries must uphold it & ensure that the UN lives up to what it was meant to be:

A forum for solutions.

A guardian of international law.

And a force for peace and security.

António Guterres

Secretary-General of the United Nations (27 May 2026)

KEY RESOURCES

United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA):

United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)

United Nations

AskDag: Where can I find information about the State of Palestine's participation at the UN?

image of strait of hormuz taken from space with hot topic wirtten next to it

Information related to shipping and seafarers - Strait of Hormuz and the Middle East.

Gaza Emergency Appeal
Resources
Videos
Visuals

United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)

UNOSAT Maps – Gaza Damage:

OCHA – Situation in Lebanon:

  • Flash Update #24 – Escalation of hostilities in South Lebanon, as of 08 August 2024

UNRWA

United Nations Interim Force In Lebanon (UNIFIL)

UN-I-SPAL:

The United Nations Information System on the Question of Palestine
Gaza-Israel: Escalation of Violence:

United Nations in Palestine (Resident Coordinator Office)

United Nations in Lebanon

UNRIC Library Backgrounders:

United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia, HQ in Beirut (ESCWA)

FAO:

ILO:

  • Report: Impact of the Israel-Hamas conflict on the labour market and livelihoods in the Occupied Palestinian Territory
  • Bulletin No. 2

IOM:

Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC):

OHCHR

UNDP:

  • UNDP: War in Gaza
  • Expected Socio-Economic Impacts on the State of Palestine – Update (April 2024) (ESCWA/UNDP)

UNEP:

  • Gaza Strip – Suspected asbestos and hazardous waste contaminated debris: Damage assessment analysis (Published July 2025)
  • Gaza Strip – Preliminary debris quantification (April 2025)

UNESCO:

UNHCR:

UNICEF:

UNFPA:

UNMAS (UN Mine Action Service):

UNOPS

UN WOMEN:

  • Gender alert: Voices of strength: Contributions of Palestinian women-led organizations to the humanitarian response in the Occupied Palestinian Territory [EN/AR]
  • A gender analysis of the impact of the war in Gaza on vital services essential to women’s and girls’ health, safety, and dignity
  • In-focus: The conflict in Gaza (dedicated website)
  • Facts and figures: Women and girls during the war in Gaza (UN Women)
  • UN Women Palestine 6-month response framework (UN Women)

WFP:

2023/24 – WFP Palestine – Monthly Market Dashboard

WHO:

ReliefWeb – Occupied Palestinian Territory:

http://reliefweb.int/country/pse

Gaza Population Movement Monitoring Flash Update 29 (17 – 20 September, 2025)
UNRWA Situation Report #160 on the situation in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. All information updated for 12-18 February 2025
Reported impact snapshot | Gaza Strip (6 August 2025)
UNRWA Situation Report #160 on the situation in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. All information updated for 12-18 February 2025
UN 2720 Mechanism for Gaza Infographics
UN 2720 Mechanism for Gaza Infographics
Gaza Strip: Humanitarian response by the UN and humanitarian partners during phase one of the ceasefire (19 January to 1 March 2025)
UN 2720 Mechanism for Gaza Infographic: Monthly Overview (July 2025)
Lebanon: At a Glance - Escalation of hostilities in Lebanon, as of 14 November 2024 [EN/AR]
Lebanon: At a Glance - Escalation of hostilities in Lebanon, as of 11 November 2024 [EN/AR]
Lebanon: At a Glance - Escalation of hostilities in Lebanon, as of 11 November 2024.
Humanitarian Access Snapshot - Gaza Strip | October 2024
Humanitarian Access Snapshot - Gaza Strip | October 2024
Lebanon: At a Glance - Escalation of hostilities in Lebanon, as of 07 November 2024 [EN/AR]
Lebanon: At a Glance - Escalation of hostilities in Lebanon, as of 07 November 2024 [EN/AR]
Reported impact snapshot | Gaza Strip, 5 November 2024
Reported impact snapshot | Gaza Strip, 5 November 2024
Lebanon: Conflict Intensity, October 2023 - 7 November 2024
Lebanon: Conflict Intensity, October 2023 - 14 November 2024
State of Palestine - Child Protection Area of Responsibility Monthly Snapshot (October 2024)
State of Palestine - Child Protection Area of Responsibility Monthly Snapshot (October 2024)
Lebanon: At a Glance - Escalation of hostilities in Lebanon, as of 31 October 2024 [EN/AR]
Lebanon: At a Glance - Escalation of hostilities in Lebanon, as of 31 October 2024 [EN/AR]
Reported impact snapshot | Gaza Strip, 29 October 2024
Reported impact snapshot | Gaza Strip, 29 October 2024
Lebanon: At a Glance - Escalation of hostilities in Lebanon, as of 24 October 2024 [EN/AR]
Lebanon: At a Glance - Escalation of hostilities in Lebanon, as of 24 October 2024 [EN/AR]
Reported impact snapshot | Gaza Strip, 22 October 2024
Reported impact snapshot | Gaza Strip, 22 October 2024
ETC Palestine: A Year of Response in Gaza (31 Oct 2024)
ETC Palestine: A Year of Response in Gaza (31 Oct 2024)
HeRAMS Gaza: Snapshot September 2024 - all hospitals
HeRAMS Gaza: Snapshot September 2024 - all hospitals
Lebanon: Conflict Intensity, October 2023 - 10 October 2024
Lebanon: Conflict Intensity, October 2023 - 10 October 2024
Lebanon: At a Glance - Escalation of hostilities in Lebanon, as of 10 October 2024
Impact of attacks on health care in the Gaza Strip (7 October 2023 until 30 July 2024, 14:00)
oPt Emergency Situation Update 45 (7 Oct 2023 - 18 Sep 2024)
oPt Emergency Situation Update 45 (7 Oct 2023 - 18 Sep 2024)
Impact of attacks on health care in the Gaza Strip (7 October 2023 until 30 July 2024, 14:00)
Impact of attacks on health care in the Gaza Strip (7 October 2023 until 30 July 2024, 14:00)
Impact of attacks on health care in the West Bank (7 October 2023 until 30 July 2024, 14:00)
Impact of health attacks in the West Bank (7 October 2023 until 23 July 2024)
oPt Emergency Situation Update 41 (7 Oct 2023 - 20 Aug 2024)
oPt Emergency Situation Update 41 (7 Oct 2023 - 20 Aug 2024)
300 Days of War (WHO - Gaza)
oPt: 300 days of war - Health Cluster Overview, 7 August 2024
oPt: Humanitarian Fund Dashboard (July 2024)
oPt: Humanitarian Fund Dashboard (July 2024)
Gaza Strip: Access Constraints on Humanitarian Aid (27 March 2024)
Gaza Strip: Access Constraints on Humanitarian Aid (27 March 2024)
Impact of health attacks in the West Bank (7 October 2023 until 12 March 2024)
Impact of health attacks in the West Bank (7 October 2023 until 12 March 2024)
Lebanon: At a Glance - Escalation of hostilities in South Lebanon, as of 7 March 2024
Lebanon: At a Glance - Escalation of hostilities in South Lebanon, as of 7 March 2024
Flash Appeal for the Occupied Palestinian Territory 2023 Extension through March 2024
Flash Appeal for the Occupied Palestinian Territory 2023 Extension through March 2024
200 days of War – Health Cluster Overview (WHO)
200 days of War – Health Cluster Overview (WHO - 25 April 2024)
oPt: Humanitarian Fund Dashboard (February 2024)
oPt: Humanitarian Fund Dashboard (February 2024)
Education under attack in the Gaza Strip, as of 30 January 2024
Education under attack in the Gaza Strip, as of 30 January 2024
oPt Emergency Situation Update 20 (As of 11 January 2024 at 13:00)
oPt Emergency Situation Update 20 (As of 11 January 2024 at 13:00)
Gaza: Partners presence by governorate (directly implementing partners) (as of 17 January 2024)
Gaza: Partners presence by governorate (directly implementing partners) (as of 17 January 2024)
https://unric.org/en/wp-content/uploads/sites/15/2024/01/100-days-of-war-Health-Cluster-Overview.pdf
oPt: 100 days of war - Health Cluster Overview
Overview of the damage to agricultural land and infrastructure due to the conflict in the Gaza Strip as of 31 December 2023
Overview of the damage to agricultural land and infrastructure due to the conflict in the Gaza Strip as of 31 December 2023
Impact of health attacks in the Gaza Strip (Update 28 November 2023)
Impact of health attacks in the Gaza Strip, as of 28 November
Gaza response: Palestine Logistics Cluster - One month after activation (16 November 2023)
Gaza response: Palestine Logistics Cluster - One month after activation (16 November 2023)
oPt: a Month of War (Update 6 November 2023)
oPt: a Month of War (Update 6 November 2023)
Health System Functioning: Gaza, 7 October - 6 November 2023
Health System Functioning: Gaza, 7 October - 6 November 2023
Aid Trucks Crossing From Egypt to Gaza (As of 15 November 2023)
Aid Trucks Crossing From Egypt to Gaza (As of 15 November 2023)
Gaza updated flash appeal
Occupied Palestinian Territory - Flash Appeal, as of 3 November 2023
Gaza Strip critical water and wastewater infrastructure, as of 22 October
Gaza Strip critical water and wastewater infrastructure, as of 22 October
Health Attacks in the oPt (7-17 October 2023)
Health Attacks in the oPt (7-17 October 2023)
Gaza hospital evacuation orders map
Hospital Evacuation Orders Mapping as of 16th October 2023

More Crisis Situations