Lebanon

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) reported that 220,000 internally displaced people are sheltering in 88 UNRWA schools across the Gaza Strip, also noting that numerous personnel, teachers and students have been killed. Agency staff are working around the clock, caring for the people in the shelters.

The World Food Programme (WFP) has begun rolling out food distributions to nearly 900,000 refugees in Ethiopia following a full revamp of the safeguards and controls at its refugee operations, with refugee camps across five regions receiving food parcels for the first time since WFP paused food distributions in June.

On the situation in the Caucasus, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) says it’s deeply concerned about the rapidly increasing number of refugees fleeing into Armenia, with long queues reported at the border.

A report released over the weekend by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) shows that methamphetamine trafficking in Afghanistan and neighbouring countries is surging.

The Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator for Lebanon warned today that the continuing clashes in the Ein El-Hilweh Palestine Refugee Camp, along with the ongoing takeover of eight schools, are preventing the access of nearly 6,000 children who are about to begin their school year.

The Security Council today extended the mandate of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) until 31 August 2024, as speakers debated the matter of the Force being allowed access to some areas around the Blue Line.

The UN Children’s Fund reports that in Sudan at least 2 million children have been forced from their homes since the hostilities erupted four months ago, with an average of more than 700 children being newly displaced every hour. In areas with high internal displacement, disease outbreaks, including measles, are resurfacing.

In Haiti, amid intensifying violence, Volker Türk, the High Commissioner for Human Rights, called for urgent action to be taken on the UN Secretary-General’s appeal for a non-United Nations multinational force to support the Haitian police in addressing the grave security situation and restoring the rule of law.

In the Occupied Palestinian Territory, an elementary school was demolished days before the start of the new school year. It served pupils from the few Palestinian families remaining in the herding community of Ein Samiya, following the displacement of most amid settler violence and diminishing grazing land.

In Lebanon, after a week-long suspension of services in Ein el Hilweh camp due to armed clashes, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) has resumed operations. Health Centre II reopened today. UNRWA is also preparing to assess and clear remnants of war from affected zones.