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Our editors’ weekly take on humanitarian news, trends, and developments from around the globe.
On our radar
Israel shutters “grotesque” Gaza aid operation
The US- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation announced on 6 June it was closing all aid distribution sites until further notice, after Israeli troops killed at least 27 people who were waiting for food on 3 June – the third such mass shooting in three days. There’s no question Gazans are desperate for food: New data projections from the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization suggest they’re eating only “67% of what a human body needs to survive”. The foundation’s work has been widely condemned for violating humanitarian principles and engendering chaos. As UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk put it: “Palestinians have been presented the grimmest of choices: Die from starvation or risk being killed while trying to access the meagre food that is being made available through Israel’s militarised humanitarian assistance mechanism.” The foundation also appointed a new head in Johnnie Moore, an evangelical Christian leader and adviser to US President Donald Trump. This was shortly before the US vetoed a UN Security Council resolution calling for an “unconditional and permanent” ceasefire in Gaza. All other 14 members of the council voted in favour. If you missed it last week, here’s another chance to read the view from the ground: The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation is a grotesque theatre of cruelty.
Up to 1,200 feared dead in worst Nigeria floods in 60 years
At least 200 people died and 1,000 are missing after flooding submerged the market town of Mokwa, in northcentral Nigeria. The flooding, the worst in 60 years, began on 28 May after torrential rains hammered districts in the Niger River area. Over 3,000 people have been displaced, with 2,000 homes destroyed and roads and bridges damaged. The authorities believe the missing are likely dead. Fearing disease, they have asked villagers to bury any corpses they find. The National Emergency Management Agency is delivering relief supplies, including potable water, to affected people – but washed-out roads have slowed the response. Mokwa is a transit hub – linking traders from southern Nigeria with food producers in the north – and it will take time for the local economy to recover. Aside from the businesses impacted, more than 10,000 hectares of paddy fields and croplands have also been lost.
Crunch time for the “reset”
Branded by UN relief chief Tom Fletcher as a collective response to a Trump-deepened funding and legitimacy crisis, the so-called “humanitarian reset” seems to have stirred up more concern than clarity. It doesn’t help that the process has unfolded behind closed doors under the umbrella of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee – the labyrinthine coordination structure dominated by the UN. The IASC principals – leaders at major UN agencies, with cameos from a few NGOs and others – are set to meet this month to discuss the “reset”, and the humanitarian sector’s future. Large parts of the “reset” so far have focused on slimming down bureaucracy, cutting already-cut response budgets, and figuring out areas (and countries) where the bulky international system can pull back. These processes started well before Trump retook office in January. The “reset” also calls for bigger ideas to reform and reimagine – but so far, the net hasn’t been cast very wide. In the meantime, there’s a growing list of concerns across the sector, from frontline responders to HQ leaders. Who’s left out of back-to-basics emergency response, especially if development funding is cut? Is civilian protection overlooked, especially given that services for survivors of gender-based violence have been deeply affected by aid cuts? Are entire countries being deprioritised too soon? Who’s asking affected people what they think? How about frontline responders? And whose job is it to think big? “The humanitarian reset cannot succeed if it focuses only on technocratic fixes or light touch reform,” NEAR, the southern civil society network warned.
Yemen aid workers mark one year in Houthi detention
This month marks a year since Houthi authorities arbitrarily detained more than 50 UN, NGO, and civil society workers in Yemen. More than two dozen remain in detention, including some who were arrested in 2021 and 2023. UN Secretary-General António Guterres reiterated calls for their immediate and unconditional release on 2 June. Earlier this year, The New Humanitarian investigated the circumstances surrounding some of these detentions. Several aid workers described feeling betrayed by their employers, whose leaders have allegedly prioritised appeasing Houthi interference and aid diversion over humanitarian principles and protecting workers. Some of the detainees anticipated their impending arrests and sought help from their employers, including Save the Children International staff member Hisham al-Hakimi, who died in detention in late 2023. A World Food Programme staff member died in detention earlier this year. Multiple aid and human rights experts have called on aid providers to impose tougher red lines against Houthi interference. Read our full investigation here.
Trump: Let Ukraine and Russia “fight for a while”
President Trump appears to have paused US efforts to broker a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine as the two countries exchange drone attacks. Trump said on 5 June he would let Russia and Ukraine “fight for a while” before pulling them apart, likening the two countries to children. Four days earlier, hours before direct peace talks were scheduled to begin in Istanbul, a massive Ukrainian drone strike – by far the largest covert operation deep inside Russian territory since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 – severely damaged or destroyed over 40 Russian warplanes. That same day, Russia launched a barrage of drones and missiles at Ukraine, killing at least a dozen troops. Subsequent Russian attacks have killed at least eight people, including a baby, and wounded dozens more. While publicly expressing his openness to peace talks, Russian President Vladimir Putin has overseen thousands of drone attacks and set out territorial demands that have been roundly rejected by Ukraine and its Western allies.
New Trump travel ban met with opprobrium
The Trump administration has issued a proclamation banning the entry of citizens of 12 countries into the United States and limiting those from several more nations. As of 9 June, all immigrants and non-immigrants of Afghanistan, Burma (Myanmar), Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen will be barred from entering. Along with “security” concerns, Washington claimed the governments of these countries lack the ability to properly vet their citizens or effectively distribute documents. Trump referred to the travel ban from his first term – challenged by the courts for targeting people from Muslim-majority nations. This time around, analysts say the administration has tried to work around those challenges by expanding the geographic reach of the affected nations, citing the perceived government shortcomings, and flagging the rates at which citizens of these countries overstay their visas. The order was met with a swift backlash. Afghans, for example, cited the irony of Trump banning them due in part to security fears after having also revoked their temporary protection status by claiming it is no longer a danger for Afghans to return to the now Taliban-run country. Venezuela, one of seven countries subject to limited entry, fired back saying: “Being in the United States is a great risk for anyone, not just for Venezuelans.” However, Somalia, a long-time US ally, was more acquiescent, saying the country “values its longstanding relationship with the United States and stands ready to engage in dialogue to address the concerns raised.”
Weekend read
As RSF attacks escalate, a Darfur town struggles to shelter the displaced
“We have no shelter except small makeshift structures that barely protect us.”
Tawila’s resources and solidarity are stretched to breaking point.
And finally…
Gates commits to Africa for the long haul
The majority of the Gates Foundation’s remaining spending – around $200 billion over 20 years – will go to addressing “challenges here in Africa”, billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates told the African Union in Ethiopia this week. Rubbing shoulders with the continent’s elite, praising authoritarian leaders, and remembering the good old days with Nelson Mandela, Gates – as usual – strictly avoided any mention of the political drivers of crises on the continent, keeping it technical as he spoke of his foundation’s spending on health programmes and agriculture while bigging up the prospects artificial intelligence could hold for development. In fact, the only politics Gates waded into at all was the US foreign aid cuts, which he described as a “huge mistake”, adding that he would be “as strong a voice as I can to get as much of that restored as possible”. As a key hate figure of MAGA and international right-wing populists – not to mention someone who is also criticised by liberals for the undue influence he holds over the global health system – the 69-year-old Microsoft founder is likely to have his work cut out.
