Our editors’ weekly take on humanitarian news, trends, and developments from around the globe.
On our radar
Israel ramps up West Bank raids as Gaza war reaches 12th month
Israeli forces have pulled out of three Palestinian refugee camps in the illegally occupied West Bank following a more than week-long operation, leaving behind a trail of destruction. The Israeli military said it was targeting militants in the camps in Jenin, Tulkarem, and al-Faraa. The UN said Israel was using “lethal, war-like tactics… deepening people’s humanitarian needs and raising concerns over excessive use of force”. At least 39 people were killed – including eight children and two elderly – according to Palestinian health officials, and the Israeli military extensively damaged roads and other infrastructure in the three cities. In Gaza, access to food has severely deteriorated due to repeated Israeli evacuation orders and the continued restriction of goods and aid entering the enclave. Over one million people – about half of Gaza’s population – did not receive any food rations in August. The entire population is dependent on aid following 11 months of war. Nearly 41,000 people have been killed – including almost 16,500 children – according to Palestinian health officials. Israel’s conduct of the war has led to legal allegations that it is committing genocide and war crimes. The UK on 2 September suspended 30 of its 350 arms export licences to Israel following a review that found a “clear risk” they might be used to commit serious violations of international law.
Trouble brewing in the Horn
Tensions are ratcheting up in the Horn of Africa over the deployment of Egyptian troops to Somalia. Ethiopia, Somalia’s neighbour, isn’t happy. It has soldiers in Somalia acting as a buffer against al-Shabab insurgents, but now Mogadishu has asked them to withdraw. High-stakes strategic interests are at play. Ethiopia and Egypt have been locked in a long-standing dispute over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, which Egypt regards as an existential threat. Meanwhile, landlocked Ethiopia has also enraged Somalia over its determination to find a port to lease. It has turned to the breakaway region of Somaliland, dangling the prospect of recognising its independence – an absolute red line for Mogadishu. The new defence agreement between Egypt and Somalia has underlined just how serious the tensions are. Egypt is planning to send 5,000 soldiers to Somalia to join a new-look African Union force, with a separate 5,000 stationed on the Ethiopian border.
Burkina Faso junta tries to hush up jihadist massacre
Religious leaders and victims’ groups in Burkina Faso have condemned the silence of the ruling junta after hundreds of civilians were killed by jihadists in one of the worst atrocities since an insurgency began in 2015. The attack was carried out in the northern town of Barsalogho and targeted civilians who were digging defensive trenches on the orders of the military. Jihadists have long told civilians not to engage in war efforts, yet the junta co-opted them as part of a general mobilisation drive. A Barsalogho victims’ group said authorities are gagging and seeking to arrest those who speak out about the tragedy, which claimed up to 400 lives. Jean Emmanuel Konvolbo, a prominent priest, also condemned the junta’s response. "To persist in silence and inaction, is to contribute to the extinction of humanity in the heart of every human being,” he said in a statement. Burkina Faso has been ruled by juntas since back-to-back coups in 2022. They inherited a bad situation from their predecessors, though insecurity has worsened significantly over the past two years. The current rulers are tight-lipped whenever massacres happen, preferencing regime survival above all else.
Flood disaster in Yemen
The UN’s migration agency (IOM) has appealed for $13.3 million to deliver “urgent life-saving assistance” to an estimated 562,000 people affected by storms and severe flooding across Yemen. Rainy seasons are nothing new for Yemenis, but this year’s second season, which began in July, has been unusually severe and disastrous. At least 45 people have been killed, and even the coastal areas – where it doesn’t usually rain until December – weren’t spared. The floods have been particularly hard on displaced people in places like Marib, where tents have become inundated and concerns about contaminated water have grown. Damage to roads and bridges means it’s hard to get help where it’s most needed, and the impact on agricultural lands and jobs will only make it harder for millions who are already struggling to get enough to eat. Even before most of the rain fell, severe acute malnutrition (SAM) – the most critical classification of malnourishment – was predicted to be 34% higher by the end of the year than in 2023. The flood disaster is compounding a complex humanitarian crisis in Yemen, fuelled by almost a decade of war. For more from Yemenis in their own voices, check out our Yemen Listening Project.
Christmas comes early for Venezuelans, but not in a good way
Despite mounting pressure from the United States and regional leaders, President Nicolás Maduro is continuing his violent and abusive post-election crackdown. After analysing dozens of videos, Human Rights Watch confirmed that 24 people had been killed and more than 2,400 people arrested, calling the repression “shockingly brutal”. Since the 28 July elections that he insists he won narrowly, Maduro has persecuted demonstrators, journalists, and political opponents alike. On 2 September, his government issued an arrest warrant for Edmundo González, the opposition candidate who is widely believed to have been the clear election victor. In response, the US drafted a list of 60 senior officials to sanction and seized Maduro’s plane on the grounds that it had been purchased in violation of existing sanctions. The appointment by Maduro of a hardline loyalist, Diosdado Cabello, as the new interior minister in charge of the police has only added to the climate of fear. To distract people from the crisis, Maduro has advanced Christmas celebrations to October. But most Venezuelans feel they have nothing to celebrate, and many have said they might now join the exodus that has seen more than 7.7 million Venezuelans leave their country since 2025. For more on the ongoing repression, read our report.
Is Elon Musk unstoppable?
If elected president in November, Donald Trump says he will create a government efficiency commission led by tech billionaire Elon Musk as part of his economic plans. Musk suggested the idea to Trump in a conversation on X, which he bought in 2022 when it was called Twitter. The announcement is the latest display of Musk’s growing influence in politics. A self-proclaimed “free speech absolutist”, critics say he has managed to consistently bend the notion of freedom of expression to his will – a dangerous game for democracy in an age of growing disinformation. Musk has been accused of censoring progressive opinions as well as those of governments, journalists, and activists, while amplifying the voices of far-right networks and other controversial figures. So far, no one seems to be able to check his growing power, as his recent legal battles with Australia and Brazil have proven. Both countries tried to curtail content deemed harmful, but Musk ignored their requests. After Musk ignored a judicial order to suspend dozens of accounts for allegedly spreading disinformation in Brazil, one of X’s largest markets, Brazil’s Supreme Court eventually ruled to ban it across the whole country. Journalists, who have relied heavily on it, have expressed a mixture of relief and regret at the ban.
Thailand acknowledges Uyghur detention ‘risk’
In response to questions from The New Humanitarian and two civil society organisations, a Thai government representative has offered a rare comment about the country’s decade-long detention of nearly 50 Uyghur asylum seekers from China. Speaking during an online event on 4 September for UN Human Rights Council candidates to discuss their pledges, the representative said the Thai government is “not complacent about the risk and possible effects of long-term detention”, but “it is difficult for us to move one way or the other, given the complexity of the situation”. In the meantime, the representative said, Thai authorities would try to improve the detainees’ living conditions. Five Uyghurs have died in Thai immigration detention. For more on how the Uyghurs are prohibited from speaking to other inmates in their Bangkok detention facility, and on how pressure from China has hampered UN efforts to assist them, read this piece.
Weekend read
Kenya’s security paradox: Police sent to Haiti as banditry plagues North Rift
‘Those who say there is calm in the North Rift don’t know the life we live.’
Some of Kenya’s best-trained officers are on a peacekeeping mission abroad, but bandit-affected communities say they’re urgently needed at home.
And finally…
Are goodwill ambassadors any good?
They’re nearly as ubiquitous as aid logos in a refugee camp: UN agencies rely on brigades of celebrity “goodwill ambassadors” to raise awareness and cash. Jackie Chan, Angélique Kidjo, and David Beckham have represented UNICEF. Angelina Jolie was formerly an ambassador for the UN’s refugee agency, UNHCR; footballer Alphonso Davies, born in a refugee camp, is one today. UNDP counts on Michelle Yeoh, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau of House Lannister, and for some reason, Grateful Dead co-founder Bob Weir. But does the marketing work? A new study published by Cambridge University Press aims to answer that question. Its authors say it’s the “first survey experiment” to test the effect of celebrity endorsement on donations to international organisations. Participants were shown a description of UNICEF’s work, highlighted by either a celebrity or non-celebrity. “Contrary to our expectations and much extant literature, we do not find clear effects of celebrity endorsement,” the researchers concluded. There’s nuance behind the findings around shared ethnicity and gender, and researchers allow that “further investigation is needed”. But for now, aid groups desperately searching for ways to top up their budget shortfalls may need a better plan.
