Our editors’ weekly take on humanitarian news, trends, and developments from around the globe.
On our radar
After seizing Hama, Syrian rebels set sights on Homs
Syrian rebels have taken control of the city of Hama, the latest victory in a lightning offensive against the forces of President Bashar al-Assad that – in the space of less than 10 days – has also seen them sweep through northwestern Idlib province and seize the city of Aleppo. Led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the rebels say their aim is to overthrow al-Assad, who faces the greatest challenge in years to his family’s five-decade rule. The UN estimates that more than 178,000 people have fled their homes because of the eruption of conflict, which has included heavy fighting as well as Russian and Syrian bombing of the rebel stronghold of Idlib. Russia and Iran, which has promised to send missiles and drones, are key al-Assad allies. The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says more people are fleeing Homs, where the rebels appear to be headed, potentially cutting off a key supply line to the coast. Damascus appears to have been caught off-guard, but, given the international actors involved (Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has urged the rebels to advance further, while the Gulf states and the US are watching the situation closely), it’s hard to predict what comes next. For some Syrian refugees, the offensive may rekindle hopes for an end to al-Assad's rule and of possible return after almost 13 years of civil war, but for millions of civilians in what had been relatively calm – if never easy – parts of the country, the immediate future has just become a lot more dangerous and uncertain.
For a view from Idlib city, where Russian and Syrian jets have been heavily bombing in response to the assault, reportedly hitting hospitals and residential neighbourhoods, watch this video from Syrian photojournalist Abd Almajed Alkarh.
RSF begins assault on Sudan’s largest displacement camp
The paramilitary-turned-rebel Rapid Support Forces has started shelling the biggest displacement camp in Sudan, a long-feared assault that could jeopardise efforts to provide humanitarian relief there following an August famine declaration. Zam Zam camp is just south of El Fasher, which is the last major urban centre in the western Darfur region where the RSF hasn’t fully ousted the Sudanese army. RSF fighters have been besieging the city since April, causing a mass flight to Zam Zam. The camp’s population has swollen to half a million people, yet it has only received one World Food Programme (WFP) convoy since the famine announcement. Reports suggest the camp became more militarised in recent months, with army-aligned anti-RSF forces stationed there in larger numbers. The recent shelling has forced thousands to abandon the area, and WFP has warned that further attacks could delay the arrival of other aid convoys. See our report on El Fasher and Zam Zam from last week for more details.
Hamas and Fatah agree post-war Gaza committee
Negotiations for a ceasefire in Gaza have restarted, shortly after reports emerged that Hamas and Fatah – the two main Palestinian factions that have been at odds for years – have agreed to create a committee that would jointly run a post-war Gaza. But Israel has refused to consider such an option, and it's not clear if the main sticking points that have blocked previous progress have shifted. Meanwhile, Israel’s onslaught continues: The director of the Kamal Adwan Hospital, one of the few functioning medical facilities in north Gaza, said it was hit multiple times early on 6 December. Israel has raided and bombed the hospital, which it says is being used by Hamas, several times before. In Lebanon, last week’s truce between Israel and Hezbollah appears to be holding, despite the fact that Hezbollah sent shells across the border and Israel bombed targets in Lebanon. The latest UN figures suggest that more than 786,000 internally displaced people have begun to return to their communities in Lebanon, although that’s not an option for everyone. In the days following the deal, Israel’s army released a map warning residents not to return to some 60 southern villages it said were dangerous.
“This is genocide”
Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, Amnesty International said in a 5 December report it says is a “wake-up call” to the international community. “This is genocide,” Agnès Callamard, Amnesty’s secretary general, said in a statement. “It must stop now.” The 300-page report examines civilian killings, destruction of infrastructure, forced displacement, the denial of aid and goods, visual evidence, and statements by Israeli government and military officials to conclude that Israel carried out acts prohibited under the Genocide Convention “with the specific intent to destroy Palestinians in Gaza”. German media outlet Tagesschau had published details of the report a week before its official release. The report adds to mounting assessments and legal allegations that Israel has committed war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide in Gaza. Some organisations have been eyeing the Amnesty report to inform their thinking about how to describe what they’re seeing: Israel’s destruction and starvation of Gaza. Mostly under the radar, ActionAid International has been one of the first international aid groups to use the word genocide in their public messaging on Gaza. Palestinian people under Israeli occupation, the anti-poverty group said in an October statement, face “violent forceful displacement, oppression, and genocide”. Read our investigation: Targeted aid killings: How Israel starved a population and sowed chaos in northern Gaza
The UN says it has a fire extinguisher for 2025
UN-backed humanitarian response plans will cost at least $47 billion in 2025, the UN’s new relief chief, Tom Fletcher, announced on 4 December, launching a slimmed-down appeal for donor funding. “The world is on fire,” he told reporters, waving a printout of the response plan, “and this is how we put it out.” The 2025 appeal targets some 189 million people living in emergency situations from Afghanistan to Venezuela. It’s the second year of a boundary-setting budget process that will leave out millions of people with identified needs. Proponents say it’s a sober assessment of what the international system can afford, given grim forecasts of squeezed or cut budgets from the likes of the United States. Others say it’s counterproductive to lower ambition when crises are spiralling. Read more: Key takeaways from the UN’s “ruthless” aid blueprint for 2025
Asylum seekers arrive in UK after three years on Diego Garcia
Dozens of Sri Lankan Tamil asylum seekers arrived in the UK this week, most of them having spent the last three years stranded on the remote, militarised island of Diego Garcia. With support from British lawyers, the group resisted efforts by the UK government and the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) administration to deport them. They were confined to a fenced compound and lived in rat-infested tents, prompting accusations of unlawful detention. Dozens attempted suicide in response to the harsh conditions, some of whom were transferred to Rwanda for medical treatment last year. An attempt by the British authorities in October to transfer the group to a transit centre in Romania for six months was quickly reversed following legal challenges, and the group were informed they would be admitted to the UK last month. Those wishing to spend more than six months in the UK will have to apply for permission. Read more: “Independence day”: Diego Garcia asylum seekers celebrate arrival in UK
Weekend read
African-led peacekeeping fills a UN-sized hole
As the UN shifts to more of a support role, regional powers have launched a series of leaner, cheaper stabilisation and intervention missions.
And finally…
Nigeria gets a new mosquito vaccine that’s 75% effective
And some good news, at last.
Nigeria, which has more malaria deaths than any other country in the world, has begun the first-time rollout of a vaccine. The R21/Matrix-M vaccine is for children aged between five and 15 months, and researchers say it is 75% effective. Nigeria, which accounts for almost a third of those who die from malaria each year, is procuring one million doses with the support of Gavi and UNICEF. R21/Matrix-M, co-developed by the Jenner Institute at Oxford University and the Serum Institute of India, uses three doses administered four weeks apart, and a booster shot after one year. Health experts recommend using it alongside mosquito nets and insecticides. Nigeria is anticipating a 13% drop in mortality rates among children under five and a 22% fall in hospitalisations of severe malaria cases.
