An Israeli attack in Doha, a US assassination, and how to pick the next UN chief: The Cheat Sheet

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Our editors’ weekly take on humanitarian news, trends, and developments from around the globe.

On our radar

Gaza City evacuation order overshadowed by Israel’s Qatar attack

The Israeli military ordered around one million Palestinians in Gaza City to evacuate south on 10 September as it escalated its invasion of the enclave’s largest metropolis with the explicit goal of taking it over. The order was quickly overshadowed by an Israeli attack in Doha, Qatar on Hamas political leaders who had gathered to discuss a US-backed ceasefire proposal. Qatar has been one of the main mediators in a ceasefire process that was already moribound and now appears to have reached a final dead-end. The strike – after attacks in the past two years on Lebanon, Yemen, Iran, and Syria – heightened fears across the Middle East that Israel is operating with absolute impunity and no restraint. The same day, President of the EU Commission Ursula von der Leyen called for the EU to suspend its free trade deal with Israel and to take other measures to put pressure over Gaza and settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank. Over the past nearly two years, Von der Leyen has faced criticism for her pro-Israel stance, and countries in the bloc remain divided over whether and what action to take. Meanwhile, in Gaza City, TNH contributor Rasha Abou Jalal writes, “I have grown accustomed to silence and abandonment [from the world]. All I want is for the day to pass without hearing that the Israeli army is getting closer to us.” Read the diary she kept last week, “A battle of identity and existence”, and stay tuned for an update next week.

Fears of repression, more US political violence following Charlie Kirk killing

Right-wing provocateur and political activist Charlie Kirk was shot and killed while speaking at an event at a university in the state of Utah on 10 September. Kirk was a close ally of US President Donald Trump and played a significant role in mobilising young voters – particularly young men – to support Trump’s “Make America Great Again” movement. At the time the Cheat Sheet went to print, the shooter had not been identified or apprehended and no motive had been established for the killing. Republican and Democrat politicians both condemned the assassination, which is the latest act in a rising trend of political violence in the US. Kirk, who promoted a divisive, combative, and nativist brand of politics, is being lionised as a martyr for free speech by his right-wing supporters, influencers, and politicians – including the president. Trump and other Republicans and right-wing influencers were quick to blame the assassination, and political violence in the US in general, on the “radical left”. Many on the left fear the killing will pave the way for an authoritarian crackdown or revenge attacks.

ICC confirms Kony charges, but he remains on the run

The International Criminal Court (ICC) held hearings this week to confirm charges against Joseph Kony – 20 years after an arrest warrant was issued. The catch? Kony wasn’t there. This was the ICC’s first in absentia hearing, designed for judges to decide whether the charges merit a trial. Under the Rome Statute, however, the ICC cannot proceed to trial in Kony’s absence, so… what’s the point? Supporters say the hearing could speed up a trial if Kony is ever brought to The Hague, and even galvanise efforts to apprehend him. The procedure could also be applied to other fugitives, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Sceptics, however, say the ICC is mainly trying to prove its relevance, especially as it faces pressure from Israel, the United States, and Russia. Following the hearing from Gulu, a Ugandan town once at the heart of the conflict between Kony’s Lord’s Resistance Army and the Ugandan military, many expressed frustration. “Watching the screen without seeing Kony's face is not satisfying at all,” Richard Ochola, a 34-year-old farmer, told AFP. “Our dream is to have Kony face trial, denying or confirming he killed people.” For more on the LRA and Kony, read the narrative piece we published earlier this year about one of his sons: Ali Kony and the Twilight of the Lord’s Resistance Army.

Deadly Nigeria attack renews fears of resurgent Boko Haram

Boko Haram killed more than 60 people in an overnight attack on a large village and army post in northeast Nigeria – the latest in a rising tempo of strikes by jihadist groups. Darul Jamal, on the Nigeria-Cameroon border, had recently been resettled by former internally displaced persons (IDPs) sent home by Borno State Governor Babagana Zulum. The attack on 5 September is believed to have been carried out by Darul Gazuwa – one of three surviving Boko Haram factions. Its gunmen – with a reputation for plunder – had repeatedly robbed villagers prior to the raid. A Maiduguri-based analyst said Darul Jamal was targeted after frustrated villagers were perceived to have passed information to the military. Zulum – who visited the day after the attack – urged residents to stay and called for military reinforcements. But swathes of Borno are slipping from the authority’s control – increasingly reminiscent of a decade ago when Boko Haram controlled much of the rural areas. “People are getting nervous,” the analyst told The New Humanitarian. “They fear things might fall apart again.” Look out for our upcoming story documenting attacks on returning IDPs.

Who wants to be Secretary-General?

The 80th session of the UN General Assembly is under way, and a high-level week of grand speeches, traffic-snarling convoys, and a few thoughtful panels kicks off in New York on 22 September. Before turning 80, however, the UN body quietly nudged the ball forward on a key bit of business: adopting a resolution that sets some guidelines on what will be a closely watched but less-than-transparent race to pick a new Secretary-General (current SG António Guterres’ term ends at the end of 2026). The resolution lays out a clearer timeline even if it falls short elsewhere, notes 1 for 8 Billion, an advocacy network pushing for a fair selection process and an end to the dubious all-male streak at the top of the UN. On the one hand, there’s a clearer timeline for the selection process – potentially beginning as early as October and concluding with a swearing-in during the last quarter of 2026. The resolution also calls for candidates to disclose who’s funding them (read more on past adventures in UN financial disclosure). On the other hand, however, member states are urged to “strongly consider nominating women as candidates” – not exactly resoundingly emphatic wording for a body with an unbroken, eight-decade streak of male secretaries-general. It’s too early for official nominations. But speculation has centred on a range of people – from current and former PMs Mia Mottley and Jacinda Ardern (Barbados and New Zealand, respectively) to former UN rights boss Michelle Bachelet and current UN Trade and Development head Rebeca Grynspan. A former candidate who lost to Guterres last time around, Serbia’s Vuk Jeremić was this year involved in a campaign styled after Elon Musk’s DOGE, and is also said to have interest.

UNGA event: Join us on 25 September for a panel that tries to reimagine the international humanitarian system: Remaking humanitarianism: Dispatches from the future

In case you missed it

AFGHANISTAN: More than 4.7 million Afghan women and children require treatment for severe malnutrition, with 2025 marking “the highest spike in acute malnutrition ever recorded”, the UN has warned. But one southern province is showing signs of progress in child healthcare: Officials in Kandahar say child mortality rates have dropped 13%, thanks mostly to a charity donating $300,000-worth of modern medical equipment.

CUBA: A report by the Cuban Observatory of Human Rights shows that 89% of the population lives in poverty, with seven in 10 Cubans skipping at least one meal every day. The study also shows that food insecurity is the main social issue (71%) after power cuts (72%). On 10 September, 10 million people were left without power in the fifth nationwide blackout in under a year. The report also revealed that 78% of Cubans intend to migrate.

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO: The Allied Democratic Forces has killed at least 61 civilians at a funeral in the eastern territory of Lubero. The attack is a reminder of the group’s enduring threat, even as its activities are overshadowed by the focus on the Rwandan-backed M23 insurgency. The ADF formed in the 1990s after members fled to DRC amid military pressure in Uganda. It has its roots in the repression of Ugandan Muslims.

EBOLA: At least 68 people are now suspected of contracting Ebola in Kasai province, and 16 people have died since the outbreak was declared on 4 September, according to a briefing by the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. The outbreak is DRC’s 16th since Ebola was identified in 1976.

ETHIOPIA: Africa’s largest hydroelectric dam, the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, has officially been inaugurated. Ethiopia says the dam – built on a Nile tributary – will expand electricity access for millions of its citizens and allow it to export surplus power. However, downstream countries, most notably Egypt, have opposed the project, arguing that it violates water treaties and threatens their water security.

GAZA: According to a BBC investigation, members of an Islamophobic biker gang in the United States have been hired to guard the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation’s (GHF) food distribution sites, where thousands of Palestinians have been killed and injured in the past three months. UG Solutions, the US security firm guarding the GHF sites, hired Johnny Mulford, a US army veteran and leader of the Infidels biker gang, as their “country team leader” in Gaza. Mulford in turn hired other members of the Infidels, who have posted photos on social media of armed contractors in Gaza holding a banner that says “Make Gaza Great Again”. Another banner reads: “FOB [forward operating base] Mar-a-Lago”.

HAITI: The acting prime minister expressed his support for a resolution presented by the US and Panama to replace the unsuccessful Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission with a new Gang Repression Force (GRF). The new force to fight rampant insecurity in Haiti would have 5,500 members and be backed by a UN Support Office in Port-au-Prince. Further details on how it would differ from the MSS are unclear. For more on why the MSS failed, read our in-depth story: Why the Kenya-led security mission is floundering.

INTERNAL DISPLACEMENT: The vast majority of internally displaced people are younger, poorer, less educated, and dying earlier than the global average, according to a 10 September report by IOM and the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre. The vulnerabilities that internally displaced people experience have worsened over time, with the average annual income of communities living in areas affected by displacement dropping from $11,800 in 2018 to $1,600 in 2024.

NEPAL: At least 51 people have been killed during so-called Gen-Z protests that toppled Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli, with the police cracking down hard as demonstrators set fire to parliament and the Supreme Court. The unrest began after the government banned social media sites but quickly grew into a wider revolt against corruption, nepotism, and inequality. Drawing inspiration from Sheikh Hasina’s ouster in Bangladesh last year, protesters now await former chief justice Sushila Karki’s swearing-in as interim prime minister.

PAKISTAN: More than two million people have been evacuated from Punjab province due to massive flooding that has killed at least 900 people since late June and seen more than 4,000 villages become submerged under floodwaters.

POLAND/RUSSIA: Poland has requested an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council and invoked Article 4 of the NATO treaty – allowing urgent discussions among alliance members – after an incursion of at least 19 Russian drones into the country’s airspace on 10 September. Russia has denied targeting Poland, while Belarus, where some drones entered from, said they had “lost their course” because they were jammed. The EU’s foreign policy chief accused Russia of an intentional escalation in its war with Ukraine, despite Russia appearing in recent months to hold the upper hand.

SOUTH SUDAN: First Vice-President Riek Machar has been charged with murder, treason, and crimes against humanity, and has been suspended from government – moves that could reignite the country's civil war. The charges relate to an attack in March by a militia (allegedly linked to the vice-president) that killed 250 soldiers and a general. The charges escalated a feud between Machar and President Salva Kiir, who faced off against each other in a 2013-2018 conflict that directly and indirectly killed an estimated 400,000 people.

US: US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has launched major operations in Chicago and Boston. Both cities are led by Democrat mayors who have been outspoken in their opposition to the Trump administration’s widespread crackdown on immigration and immigrant communities. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has temporarily allowed federal agents to resume stopping people in Los Angeles and question them about their immigration status based on their ethnicity – a tactic that critics say is unconstitutional racial profiling.

YEMEN: Houthi rebels said the death toll from Israel’s 10 August strikes on Yemen has risen to 46, shortly after they claimed responsibility for an airstrike on a small airport in southern Israel. Late last month, Israel killed the Houthis’ prime minister and several officials.

Weekend read

A hospital under gang fire: The reality for health workers in Haiti

Many doctors in Haiti go home asking themselves if they are truly useful despite doing everything they can.

A Haitian doctor who survived an attack on her hospital gives a personal account of the impact of gang violence on the healthcare system and beyond.

And finally…

Petrified Survivors

The first global memorial honouring survivors of sexual violence in conflicts has been unveiled in Berlin, Germany. Petrified Survivors, a bronze sculpture depicting a bound woman and a dove is the work of British artist Rebecca Hawkins. Also involved in its creation were survivors from over 30 countries, and 20 charities, including The Mukwege Foundation (named after Congolese gynaecologist Denis Mukwege) and Nadia’s Initiative, led by Nadia Murad, a Yazidi human rights activist who was kidnapped by Islamic State. “This memorial is a living testament to survivors' suffering and resilience,” said Murad. “Our collective stories and symbols of hope are etched into the sculpture – making sure that our voices and experiences are heard.”

An Israeli attack in Doha, a US assassination, and how to pick the next UN chief: The Cheat Sheet

Ethiopia’s resurgent conflict, Rohingya repatriations, and Gaza’s devastation on Google Maps

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