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Our editors’ weekly take on humanitarian news, trends, and developments from around the globe.
On our radar
US-Israeli war on Iran displaces 4 million and counting
The human toll of the Iran war is rising rapidly. Beyond the 2,000 or so people killed at time of publication (numbers are hard to verify), up to 3.2 million people (or one million households) have been displaced within Iran since the United States and Israel began their bombardments two weeks ago, according to the UN’s refugee agency. At least 800,000 more have been displaced in Lebanon (see below). On 8 March, Iran’s Assembly of Experts named Mojtaba Khamenei the country’s new Supreme Leader. He hasn’t been seen in public since the attack that killed his father in the first 24 hours of the war but delivered a combative first statement on 12 March, vowing to continue the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a key transit point for everything from fuel and natural gas to fertiliser. Despite the loss of six more US military personnel and the soaring financial cost of the war – Pentagon officials said the first six days of hostilities alone cost in excess of $11.3 billion – President Donald Trump is so far not backing down, telling reporters on 11 March: “We have hit them harder than virtually any country in history has been hit and we’re not finished yet.” The impacts of the war are vast and spreading, from higher global energy prices to regional instability. In just one sign of the wider fallout, Pakistan introduced austerity measures, including temporary school closures, to avoid potential fuel shortages. Iran has also continued its drone and missile attacks on neighbouring Gulf countries, which has led to bank closures in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. Iranian schoolgirls, meanwhile, held a protest outside a UN office in Tehran to demand accountability for the 28 February bombing of a girl’s elementary school in the town of Minab that killed at least 175 people, most of them children. According to the preliminary findings of an ongoing US military investigation reported by The New York Times, the US was responsible, despite Trump’s claims to the contrary. For more on the difficulty civilians in Tehran have in finding any safe haven, read our latest story from the ground.
Israel expands deadly campaign in Lebanon
Israel has expanded its already intense bombing campaign in Lebanon to parts of Beirut previously considered safe, killing at least 687 people since late February and forcing more than 816,000 to flee their homes. Many people were forced to leave after Israel issued mass “displacement orders” for more than 100 villages and towns in south and east Lebanon and the entirety of Beirut’s southern suburbs, sowing what Amnesty International’s Kristine Beckerle described as “panic and terror… and fuelling “yet another humanitarian catastrophe for a population already exhausted and reeling from multiple crises”. In a worrying escalation, Israel bombed a bridge over the southern Litani River on 13 March, saying this destruction of civilian infrastructure – generally prohibited under international law except in specific circumstances – was necessary because Hezbollah was using the bridge (it has provided no evidence of this so far). Displacement has been faster than late 2024, when one million people fled their homes in Lebanon. Shelters are filling up, some government-run shelters have reportedly been turning away Syrian refugees, and people are once again staying in tents or sleeping out in the open near the seaside in Beirut.
Meanwhile, in the occupied Palestinian territories
With global attention still focused on the US-Israeli war on Iran and Lebanon, Israeli settlers have ramped up violent attacks on Palestinians in the illegally occupied West Bank. At least six Palestinians have been killed since the beginning of March – five by settlers and one by the Israeli military. Israel said it opened a criminal investigation into the killings by settlers, but Israeli authorities rarely follow through on pursuing accountability. The Israeli government is pushing an unprecedented expansion of settlements and authority in the West Bank that experts – and Israeli ministers – say could amount to de facto annexation. In Gaza, the Israeli military has continued carrying out strikes, killing six Palestinians – including two women and a girl – on 8 March. The Israeli military claimed, without providing evidence, the attack killed two Hamas members. The Israeli navy also shelled an empty UN fuel truck in Gaza on 7 March. With most crossings into Gaza still closed by Israel since the beginning of the Iran war, food prices have skyrocketed, and medical supplies are running critically low.
What about Africa?
As the impact of the US and Israel’s war on Iran ripples through the global economy, a vulnerable Africa is least prepared for the pain to come. The spike in energy prices – the “Hormuz tax” – is expected to push up inflation generally. That will likely wipe out the revenue gains of African oil producers like Nigeria, Angola, and Libya. A jump in fertiliser costs will also hurt food security, at a time when a number of countries are facing weather-related production shortfalls. There is further trouble on the horizon. Millions of households are dependent on migrant workers’ remittances from the Gulf, which could well take a hit as tourism and trade flows fall. Gulf nations have also been pouring billions of dollars into Africa in recent years, viewed as an important alternative to the West and China by some African capitals. But those investments in ports, energy, tech and agriculture may well dry up if the Gulf states turn inwards and prioritise defence spending instead.
The war in DR Congo is increasingly a drone war
A UN worker has been killed in a drone strike in M23-held Goma, another sign that aerial warfare is playing an increasingly prominent part in the conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is the first time a drone has hit Goma – the largest city in the east – with previous strikes mostly targeting rural and mining areas. The conflict monitoring group ACLED said there is a high likelihood that the Congolese army (FARDC) carried out the strike, which was likely intended to target rebel officials. According to the group, airstrikes have spiked in recent months, with the FARDC responsible for the majority of attacks, using drones, fighter jets, and attack helicopters. One strike last month killed the M23’s military spokesperson, Willy Ngoma. The Rwanda-backed M23 has also been using drones, notably on the northeastern city of Kisangani, which the government reportedly uses as a base to launch its strikes. The rebels deploy a mix of single-use kamikaze drones and modified civilian models, while the FARDC appears to have pricier Turkish and Chinese designs.
The humanitarian system searches for a roadmap
Humanitarians descended on Geneva to tackle the catastrophes of 2026 armed with the reform solutions of 2016. The Humanitarian Networks and Partnerships Week conference wrapped on 12 March, set against the backdrop of the unfolding crises in the Middle East. HNPW is normally more of a fair for policy wonks and operations discussions rather than an aid summit. Amid the deep budget cuts of 2025, however, it adopted an air of more import. Some themes cutting across nearly 300 sessions: navigating the so-called “humanitarian reset” led by UN relief chief Tom Fletcher, “hyper-prioritised” responses, local humanitarian leadership, money and power, safety and trust, AI and emerging risks. As aid leaders re-upped promises to localise aid, others pointed out new ways in which the old pledges were flouted. Initial tranches of US funding in UN-run pooled funds, for example, appear to be going mainly towards big international agencies. “We have been excluded,” said a member of a civil society network in Myanmar. Others described international agencies downsizing but not leaving resources for local organisations to take over.
Weekend read
Ethiopia’s blame game after videos reveal starving displaced people in Tigray
“We are dying daily and burying almost every day.”
Both the federal government and the Tigray authorities refuse to take responsibility for a crisis that has shocked the country.
And finally…
Sailing into troubled waters
An international flotilla set to bring much-needed humanitarian aid to Cuba later this month has been beset by controversy. Already battered by years of economic crisis and repressive rule, Cubans have been struggling even more since the US attacked Venezuela (its main oil provider) and established a full oil blockade last January. In response, Progressive International (a coalition of dozens of leftist organisations) – and other activists, aid groups, and artists – have been planning to sail from different ports to reach Havana with food, medicines, and other essential supplies on 21 March. Applauded by figures such as activist Greta Thunberg and US congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, the America Nuestra Convoy has however been decried by part of the Cuban diaspora for failing to denounce Cuba's authoritarian regime and for including the daughter of former Cuban President Raúl Castro. Mariela Castro, a member of the Cuban National Assembly, is part of Progressive International's council of advisers, which, according to some, raises concerns over the flotilla's independence. Some exiles also criticised the Cuban government’s “double standard” for allowing a foreign flotilla to enter the country while denying them the right to return, and started circulating hashtags such as #DerechoARegresar (#RightToReturn) and #SiEllosEntranNosotrosTambién (#IfTheyEnterWeDoTo) on social media.
