22 August 2025
Multiple strikes overnight into
Friday were reported in the Jabalya Al Balad and An Nazla
neighbourhoods, the UN Office for the Coordination of
Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in its latest
update.
As a result, around 900 people reportedly fled
towards the Sheikh Radwan neighbourhood and western Gaza
City.
Safe passage, more aid
The UN and
partners again reminded parties to the conflict of their
obligation to protect civilians, in line with international
law, including humanitarian workers and people who cannot or
choose not to move.
“Those fleeing must be allowed
to do so safely. They must also be allowed to return if they
wish to do so, as the situation allows,” OCHA
said.
The agency underscored the need to ensure that
people have access to aid and basic services, whether they
leave or stay.
Supplies also must be allowed to enter
the Gaza Strip through all available crossings and
corridors, and humanitarians must have safe, predictable and
sustained access to deliver aid at scale.
Hospitals
under strain
Meanwhile, as strikes continue to
intensify across the enclave, casualties are flooding
hospital emergency departments.
Humanitarians warned
that the expansion of military operations would further
cripple the collapsing healthcare system.
Nearly half
of all hospitals and field hospitals are located in Gaza
City, accounting for some 40 per cent of bed capacity in the
entire enclave. Additionally, many medical facilities in the
south are operating several times over their bedspace
capacity.
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Humanitarians stressed that access to
healthcare must be immediately restored to avert more
preventable deaths.
Sudan: UN rights office horrified
by recent killings in El Fasher
Recent brutal attacks
by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Sudan have
left at least 89 people dead in North Darfur state, the UN
human rights office, OHCHR, said on Friday
The RSF
have been battling the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) for
control of the country for more than two years.
OHCHR
said RSF attacks on the besieged North Darfur capital El
Fasher and the adjoining Abu Shouk camp for displaced people
resulted in the killing of at least 89 civilians, though the
actual number could be higher.
The attacks took place
over a 10-day period ending on 20 August.
Apparent
summary executions
At least 32 civilians were killed
in attacks between 16 and 20 August, while at least 57 were
killed in previous attacks on 11 August.
OHCHR was
particularly horrified that 16 of the most recent killings
appear to have been summary executions, Spokesman Jeremy
Laurence told journalists in Geneva.
“Most of the
victims were killed in Abu Shouk camp and belonged to the
African Zaghawa tribe, according to information gathered by
our Office,” he said.
“In another case in the El
Fasher area, a victim was asked which tribe he belonged to.
He was killed after responding that he was from the African
Berti tribe.”
Meanwhile, the humanitarian situation
in El Fasher has reached a critical stage after more than a
year of siege, and there is growing risk of famine in the
city and other areas of North Darfur.
OHCHR was
appalled by two separate attacks on UN humanitarian convoys
in North Darfur this month and in June, saying such attacks
only worsen the human rights situation for
civilians.
Ending impunity for violence critical for
Rohingya in Myanmar
The UN human rights office has
also called for ending impunity in the violence against the
Rohingya people in Myanmar and ensuring their rights to
security, citizenship and equality.
It said the
Rohingya – a mostly Muslim minority community in
predominantly Buddhist Myanmar – continue to suffer, eight
years after a deadly crackdown by the military.
More
than 700,000 fled to Bangladesh in the wake of the assault
which began on 25 August 2017, joining others who had
escaped earlier waves of attacks.
Break the
cycle
OHCHR said that ending impunity and ensuring
the Rohingya’s rights to security, citizenship and
equality, are essential for breaking the cycle of
violence.
The Rohingya mainly live in Myanmar’s
Rakhine state, and the office noted that the human rights
and humanitarian situation there have sharply deteriorated
since November 2023, further deepening the already
life-threatening conditions they face.
OHCHR urged the
international community to step up support for the Rohingya
by increasing humanitarian funding to secure access to basic
needs, essential services, and to ensure
accountability.
