Two years after Hamas-led terror attacks on Israel, Gaza’s humanitarian emergency is worsening fast, UN aid agencies warned on Tuesday. Civilians face starvation, mass displacement and collapsing health care as violence continues.

“Civilians everywhere have to be protected,” insisted Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). “Tens of thousands of Palestinians have been killed, and hundreds of thousands endure starvation and displacement. We renew the call for an immediate ceasefire and for humanitarian aid to flow freely at the scale needed.”

UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) described the devastation for Gaza’s children. “Sixty-one thousand children have reportedly been either killed or maimed since the horrors Hamas unleashed in Israel and what followed after the disproportionate response from Israel,” spokesperson Ricardo Pires said. “That’s an average of one child either killed or maimed every 17 minutes; an unacceptable, staggering figure.”

The World Health Organization (WHO) reported that famine and malnutrition are spreading beyond Gaza City, with more than 640,000 people now facing catastrophic food insecurity and 400 deaths linked to hunger, including over 100 children. UNICEF added that premature births are rising as hospitals run out of power and incubators, and reiterated the call for a ceasefire and unhindered access to life-saving aid.

CLIP – ‘One child killed or maimed every 17 minutes’ as Gaza crisis deepens: UN humanitarians

• Guterres marks two years since Hamas-led attacks on Israel, UN agencies warn Gaza’s children still paying the highest price
• Mozambique: Renewed violence displaces 22,000 in a week as conflict intensifies in Cabo Delgado, UNHCR warns
• Sudan: UN sounds alarm as fighting and hunger worsen in besieged El Fasher

Audio credit: Katy Dartford, UN News

UN News Today 07 October 2025 - Gaza, Mozambique, Sudan

At UN Headquarters in New York, Karla Quintana, head of the Independent Institution on Missing Persons in Syria (IIMP), warned that time is running out to find the hundreds of thousands who disappeared during the country’s long conflict.

Established by the UN General Assembly in 2023, the IIMP was created to address one of the conflict’s most painful legacies, the widespread and ongoing disappearances affecting nearly every Syrian family.

“Everyone in Syria knows someone who has gone missing,” Ms. Quintana told UN News, emphasizing that uncovering the fate of the missing must be a collective effort.

In conversation with UN News’s Ezzat El-Ferri, she underscored that the search must be Syrian-led and internationally supported, driven by the families who have long fought to learn the truth about their loved ones.

Audio: Ezzat El-Ferri, UN News
Music: ‘Rise and Shine’ by Audiobinger
Secretary-General’s September 2025 report on the Independent Institution on Missing Persons in Syria: https://docs.un.org/en/A/80/359

‘Time running out to locate Syria’s missing’, warns head of UN-backed body

During CARIFESTA XV , a number of eminent regional politicians and academics engaged in public discourse about a variety of topics.  Hear professor, Sir Hilary Beckles as he gives his views about Barbados and civilization in the Caribbean.

INSIDER'S REPORT | THE BIG CONVERSATIONS | PART 2 | SIR HILARY BECKLES | BARBADOS AND CIVILISATION

Nutrition Officer Leanda Hurdle shares simple, delicious ideas for preparing a heart-healthy Sunday meal. Learn how making small changes in the kitchen can help lower your risk of stroke and heart disease.

HEART HEALTHY SUNDAY FOOD

Catch up on information you might have missed during the week.

This week's programme features:
1.	Barbados Meteorological Services Instagram Series “You Asked, We Answer”
2.	Health drink by National Nutrition Centre

This Week’s In Case You Missed It Opportunities – October 8 - 14:
-	Teaching opportunities (to download)

To download a copy of these opportunities, go to https://gisbarbados.gov.bb/download/in-case-you-missed-it-october-8-14-2025/


IN CASE YOU MISSED IT OCTOBER 8 - 14 (2025)

Olukemi Ibikunle, a corrections officer from Nigeria serving with the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) is the winner of the third United Nations Trailblazer Award for Women Justice and Corrections Officers. She spoke to UN News's Fabrice Robinet, who started by asking her about her role in Peacekeeping. 

Photo: Deputy Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed (right) presents the Trailblazer Award to the 2025 winner Olukemi Ibikunle, a correctional officer from Nigeria deployed to MONUSCO.

CLIP - Nigerian Peacekeeper Wins 2025 UN Trailblazer Award

UN aid worker Olga Cherevko who is in Gaza describes the scenes there overnight into Thursday after news broke of a potential ceasefire agreement. Here she is now talking to UN News.

Gaza jubilant at news of initial peace agreement

UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Gaza ceasefire deal. 

CLIP - UN Secretary-General's remarks to media stakeout on Gaza, 09 October 2025

UNICEF’s spokesperson, Ricardo Pires, tells UN News that the hope is that this moment is the "beginning of the reconstruction of Gaza, of the reconstruction of children's lives". 

Audio Credit: Felipe De Carvalho, UN News 

CLIP - UNICEF’s spokesperson, Ricardo Pires, on Gaza

The Barbados Government Information Service has been established since 1958 as the Barbados Government's public relations and information arm.   This dynamic channel profiles Barbadian people, places and programmes which make up this Caribbean island surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea.  We hope you enjoy and feel free to comment.  We want to hear from you.