Israel

In Burkina Faso, nearly 6 million people are estimated to need assistance this year, according to the UN’s newly released 2025 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan, which aims to help 3.7 million people in support of the transitional authority’s national plan.

Speakers in the Security Council urged Israel today to respect its long-established ceasefire agreements with Lebanon and Syria and stay clear of the areas where United Nations peacekeeping missions are deployed to carry out their duties.

The Head of the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) expressed concern about recent actions against Serbia-funded institutions there. UNMIK notes that the actions resulted in the closure of several institutions, including post offices, provisional institutions’ buildings and social welfare centres.

The following statement by UN Secretary-General António Guterres was issued today:

In Haiti, over 1 million people are now internally displaced, three times more than a year ago, with displacement nearly doubling in the capital Port-au-Prince, the International Organization for Migration reports. In 2025, the UN and its partners will need $900 million to support 4 million people across the country.

The United Nations Children’s Fund today released a report warning that the world is facing a new, intensifying era of crisis for children, with those impacted by conflict nearly doubling to almost 19 per cent today from around 10 per cent in the 1990s.

The Humanitarian and Resident Coordinator for Lebanon, Imran Riza, today announced a $30 million allocation from the Lebanon Humanitarian Fund to support the response in the country, enabling the UN’s partners to assist with food security, shelter, nutrition, protection, healthcare, water and sanitation, and education.

In Central and Southern Gaza, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports that humanitarian partners had exhausted all supplies at their warehouses, at a time when Israeli authorities continue to deny most requests to bring food assistance from the Erez West crossing to areas south of Wadi Gaza.

In Ukraine, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports that, according to authorities and partners, hostilities in the first week of January resulted in hundreds of casualties. Over the past three days, homes, gas facilities and electricity infrastructure have been damaged in front-line regions.

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs is deeply concerned by reports that a one-month-old baby in Gaza has died of hypothermia – the eighth child death due to the cold and lack of aid access in less than three weeks. Of 37 UN-led humanitarian missions planned over the weekend, 15 were denied outright.