Our editors’ weekly take on humanitarian news, trends, and developments from around the globe.
On our radar
Israeli-orchestrated starvation grips Gaza
More than 45 starvation deaths over a four-day span, with the number increasing every day. Aid workers, journalists, and doctors so weak from hunger they struggle to continue their work. Almost a third of the population not eating for days. Flour so scarce that a one kilogram bag costs over $100. This is the reality on the ground in the Gaza Strip today. Over the course of nearly 22 months, Israel has: repeatedly displaced the vast majority of Gaza’s population; destroyed its economy; dismantled essential public infrastructure; decimated the medical system; used targeted violence to sow chaos and precipitate societal collapse; choked off essential food and supplies; obstructed and sidelined the UN-led humanitarian system; backed a politicised and militarised alternative; and repeatedly killed and injured people seeking desperately needed food from its distribution sites. To all but the most cynical observers, the conclusion that Israel is perpetrating a genocide is impossible to avoid. As the situation for Palestinians in Gaza plumbs ever greater depths, far-right Israeli government ministers and settlers met on 22 July to plan the luxury cities they aim to build on the ruins of the depopulated territory, and Israel and the US walked away from the latest round of ceasefire talks. As 22-year-old journalist Rita Baroud wrote in her latest, incredibly powerful article: “This war isn’t only about destruction, but also about erasure – making Gaza unlivable and pushing us out with no way back. It is a slow, deliberate ethnic cleansing”. Read the full piece here.
Syria’s ceasefire holds, but big questions remain
A ceasefire appears to be holding in Syria’s southern city of Sweida after more than a week of heavy fighting left more than 1,000 people dead, although the exact numbers are still not known. While many are still untangling exactly how the violence spiraled so quickly, the abbreviated version is that local disagreements between Bedouin and Druze communities escalated into fighting, the interim Syrian government moved to intervene, Israel stepped in with bombs, and various forces committed serious atrocities – including summary executions of civilians – as acts of both sectarian violence and revenge. The situation appears to have been inflamed by online disinformation campaigns that spread fear and sectarian narratives. More than 145,000 people are believed to have fled their homes because of the violence, and some 1,500 Bedouins were evacuated from Sweida as part of a truce deal. As the smoke clears and aid begins to reach civilians, questions are being asked (once again) about the future of a united Syria, the role of foreign powers – including the US, Israel, and Türkiye – in what happened, and in what’s to come.
Inching towards a peace deal in DRC
After three months of talks in Qatar, the Congolese government and the Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group have signed a declaration of principles – though not yet a peace deal – with full negotiations set to begin in August. The sides have agreed to a permanent ceasefire, prisoner swaps, and to help displaced people and refugees return home. They also agreed that state authority should be restored “on all national territories” as part of an eventual deal, though the M23 has since said that it will not withdraw from occupied areas even by a metre. On the ground, little has shifted: Clashes are continuing between the rebels and pro-government militias; and there is a prevailing scepticism about the deal among civil society. The Congolese government and Rwanda have also signed a separate US-brokered peace deal that is supposed to end the conflict, though many see that agreement as another Trump-led resource grab. For more context, read our latest on the conflict – and the civilians impacted by it: Back to ruins: The displaced Congolese forced home by M23 rebels.
Clashes along Thai-Cambodia border cause deaths and displacement
More than 100,000 people have been displaced by two days of cross-border fighting along the Thailand-Cambodia border. At least 15 people, mostly civilians, have been killed on both sides of the disputed 800-kilometre border, which dates back to French colonial rule over Cambodia. On the Thai side, 58,000 people have fled their homes, according to the Ministry of Public Health. Officials in Cambodia say 4,000 people were evacuated in the immediate vicinity of the border. What started as crossfire – with both sides saying the other took the first shot – quickly escalated to Bangkok using F-16 fighter jets to launch air strikes against Cambodia. Though the unrest is still seen as clashes, Thailand’s acting prime minister, Phumtham Wechayachai, warned: “If the situation escalates it could develop into war”. Cambodia’s defence ministry has accused Thailand of violating international law by using cluster munitions for attacks on Cambodian territory. Bangkok has also accused Cambodia of an “inhumane attack” on Phanom Dong Rak Hospital in Surin province.
Landmark climate ruling comes amid gloomy action outlook
The International Court of Justice (ICJ), the UN’s top court, has passed its long-awaited advisory opinion confirming that states have a legal obligation to mitigate climate change and that big polluters can be held responsible for its damages. Climate vulnerable countries and activists rejoiced at the decision, which – although non-binding – is expected to form an important part of international climate law and campaigning. “This moment will drive stronger action and accountability to protect our planet and peoples,” said Ralph Regenvanu, climate minister for the Pacific island nation of Vanuatu, which brought the case. But the joy among climate campaigners was dampened this week by bad news from the UN. Money to prepare for climate change (adaptation financing) remains far below the level of need, and just 27 countries have submitted their climate plans (called Nationally Determined Contributions, or NDCs), which are critical for how the world proceeds in implementing the 2015 Paris Agreement to limit warming. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres called for more to be delivered by September. This year’s UN climate summit, COP30, begins in Brazil in November, but preparations, as ever, have been riddled with problems. Read more: Beyond hosting COP, Brazil must act to protect the climate and those who defend it.
El Salvador ramps up repression
President Nayib Bukele’s authoritarian drift has significantly accelerated in the past few months, as the leader – who dubbed himself “the coolest dictator in the world” – ramped up his crackdown on dissent. The Associated Press reported that the country is currently registering “the highest exodus of journalists, academics, environmentalists, and human rights activists in years”, and that many of them are leaving due to consistent threats from the government. Earlier this month, Cristosal, a prominent rights group that exposed government corruption as well as widespread mistreatment and torture in Bukele’s recently built mega prison, was forced to suspend operations and go into exile. Only one of its members remains in El Salvador: Ruth López, head of the organisation’s anti-corruption and justice unit, who was arrested and imprisoned earlier this year. Bukele is also using El Salvador’s congress to limit civil rights. In May, he managed to have a “Foreign Agent” law, limiting the work of media and NGOs, approved. These are only the latest examples of Bukele´s disregard for democracy. Rights groups have long condemned him for introducing an ongoing state of emergency that has been in place since 2022 and for using systematic detentions, forced disappearances, and torture to crackdown on alleged gang-members. For more on the humanitarian fallout of Bukele’s security policies, read this interview and check out this photo essay.
Weekend read
Anatomy of a fall: Venezuela’s collapsing education system
Poverty, low teacher salaries, and a lack of basic infrastructure are leaving millions of Venezuelan children with little to no education.
And finally…
Deadly sanctions
Unilateral sanctions have killed over 560,000 people on average per year over the last five decades, according to research published in the August issue of the medical journal The Lancet Global Health. This estimate suggests that unilateral sanctions have been five-times more deadly than battlefield combat and about as deadly as the total impact of wars, including civilian casualties. Sanctions obstruct public health provision, imports of medical equipment, and humanitarian aid. The research, led by Venezuelan economist Francisco Rodríguez, found that US sanctions had the greatest adverse impact on mortality. Whereas UN sanctions largely aim to avoid impact on civilian populations, US sanctions are designed to target entire populations to influence their political behaviour and promote regime change. Despite concerns raised for decades over the negative humanitarian impact of sanctions, their use has trended upward, from 8% of countries targeted in the 1960s to 25% between 2010 and 2022.
