The UN and the crisis in the Middle East: What you need to know (Jul-Dec 2024)

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

31 December

  • Gaza: UNRWA chief renews call for probe into attacks on humanitarians in Gaza (UN News)
  • Gaza: Israel attacks push Gaza healthcare ‘to brink of collapse’ (UN News)
  • Gaza: Destroyed homes, destroyed dreams: hungry Gazans end a grim year (WFP)
  • Gaza: Pattern of Israeli attacks on Gaza hospitals raises grave concerns – report (OHCHR)
  • Gaza: Fifteen months on the war in Gaza horrors continue unabated under the world’s watch (UNRWA)
  • Syria: Aid trucks deliver food to northwest Syria (UN News)

30 December

  • Gaza: Hospitals closed, aid denied, civilians trapped (UN News)
  • Gaza: Israel’s assault on the foundations of international law must have consequences: UN experts (OHCHR)
  • Syria: Fifty tonnes of EU-funded medical supplies destined for Syria’s overstretched health facilities reach Türkiye (WHO)

28 December

  • Gaza: Kamal Adwan Hospital out of service following a raid yesterday and repeated attacks since October (WHO)
  • Lebanon: Rapid needs assessment on the impact of conflict on agriculture (FAO)

27 December

  • Gaza: ‘Hunger is everywhere’, babies die from the cold, airstrike on unarmed journalists condemned (UN News)
  • Syria: Health needs in Syria worsen amid winter conditions (UN News)

26 December

  • Lebanon: UNIFIL statement
  • Yemen: UN chief condemns escalation in Yemen as airstrikes hit Sana’a Airport, key infrastructure (UN News)
  • Gaza: Ongoing civilian casualties amid aid challenges (UN News)
  • Gaza: Statement by UNICEF Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa Edouard Beigbeder on continued deaths of children in Gaza (UNICEF)

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)

More Crisis Situations