Tensions undermine second phase of Gaza ceasefire
10/3/2025: The first phase of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire has enabled conditions for health, education and nutrition in Gaza to improve. Humanitarian progress is now impeded by the inability of all parties to secure agreement to Phase 2.
Source: Inter Press Service
Israel again blocks Gaza aid, further risking lives
5/3/2025: Since March 2 the Israeli government has again blocked all aid entering Gaza, including fuel, in flagrant violation of international humanitarian law. Supplies of food and water are at imminent risk. Israel as a warring party has an obligation to facilitate humanitarian aid, ceasefire or not, according to Human Rights Watch.
Source: Human Rights Watch
Gaza ceasefire looks doomed as Israel blockades humanitarian aid
4/3/2025: On March 1, as stage one of the ceasefire was due to end, Benjamin Netanyahu ordered a full blockade of humanitarian aid entering Gaza. A Middle East expert answers questions as to what is happening and how this situation may play out.
Source: The Conversation
Almost 80,000 flee DR Congo amid fighting, sexual violence
4/3/2025: Armed clashes between government forces and Rwanda-backed M23 rebels in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo have created insecurity and horrific sexual violence, according to the UN Refugee Agency Close to 80,000 people have fled into neighbouring countries.
Source: UN News
Guterres urges parties to find a way forward on next phase of Gaza ceasefire
1/3/2025: The six-week long ceasefire between Israel and Hamas has ended with further negotiations between the sides still pending. The Secretary-General has called for a permanent ceasefire and the release of all hostages. During the period of the truce, thousands of trucks carrying life-saving assistance entered Gaza, reaching nearly every person in the Strip.
Source: UN News
Trump’s proposed Gaza takeover denounced as ethnic cleansing
19/2/2025: President Trump has threatened to “seize Gaza,” turn it into a “Riviera of the Middle East,” and move Palestinians to Egypt and Jordan. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has condemned Trump’s plan, stating that: “ethnic cleansing is not acceptable in our world.”
Source: Inter Press Service
EU pressed to act on Rwanda-backed atrocities in Eastern DR Congo
17/2/2025: The European Parliament is calling on European Union executives to take action on the Rwanda-backed M23 armed group which is accused of mass displacement, indiscriminate shelling and killings and widespread sexual violence in the conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Source: Human Rights Watch
Sudan has become a devastating humanitarian and displacement crisis
14/2/2025: Recent fighting in Sudan has forced the UN to evacuate Khartoum, just as it is launching a call for record funding of $4.2 billion to support aid operations. Over two thirds of the total population is in need of humanitarian assistance, while over three million people are classified as refugees.
Source: UN News
Trump authorizes International Criminal Court sanctions
7/2/2025: US government sanctions targeting the International Criminal Court (ICC) would undermine international accountability for the worst crimes and deprive victims around the globe of justice, according to Human Rights Watch. US President Donald Trump has issued an executive order that authorizes asset freezes and entry bans on ICC officials and others supporting the court’s work.
Source: Human Rights Watch
UN Rights Council launches inquiry into atrocities in Eastern DR Congo
7/2/2025: The creation of a commission of inquiry by the UN Human Rights Council demonstrates growing international recognition of the need to address impunity for past abuses in eastern Congo. Human rights groups, the UN, and the media have reported summary killings, rapes including gang rapes, looting, and unlawful forced labor and conscription.
Source: Human Rights Watch