Since its establishment in 1978, and then the enhancement of the mission after the 2006 war, the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) has enjoyed a very strong relationship with local communities in south Lebanon. In addition to their operational activities under UN Security Council Resolution 1701, UNIFIL peacekeepers have also been helping the local communities with different kinds of support, including development projects and donations. With the beginning of the exchanges of fire along the Blue Line on October 8th, this support became more urgent as people already facing challenges because of the economic crisis continue to suffer due to the current situation.

UNIFIL supports the local communities

•	We won't abandon Gazans sheltering in Rafah, says UNRWA
•	Seven months into the war in Gaza, deep fears over unexploded ordnance threat
•	Urgent appeal launched for Yemen where 18.2 million people need lifesaving assistance 

Audio Credit: Shanaé Harte, UN News.
Audio Duration: 4'18"
Photo Credit: © WHO

News in Brief - 6 May 2024 - Gaza and Yemen

News of a possible ceasefire in Gaza can’t come a moment too soon for the people of Rafah, where UN humanitarians stressed on Monday that there is nowhere for them to go.
More than one million continue to shelter in and around the city where they are fearful of being forced to evacuate to an unsuitable coastal camp at Al Mawasi, explained Louise Wateridge, spokesperson for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA.
Speaking from Rafah via video with UN News’s Daniel Johnson, she gave an update on her weekend mission north to Jabalia city, where despite some encouraging signs that more food is reaching markets, some areas remain beyond the reach of the UN and other aid partners.

Audio credit: Daniel Johnson, UN News
Photo credit: UNRWA/Louise Wateridge

If Gazans have to evacuate Rafah, where will they go?

UNIFIL Deputy Spokesperson Kandice Ardiel sits down with Salam from the South to provide a comprehensive overview of the latest developments in south Lebanon.

Question Time With UNIFIL Deputy Spokesperson Kandice Ardiel

يستضيف برنامج سلام من الجنوب نائبة الناطق الرسمي بإسم اليونيفيل، كانديس أرديل، لتقدم لنا نظرة شاملة عن آخر التطورات في جنوب لبنان.

مقابلة مع نائبة الناطق الرسمي بإسم اليونيفيل كانديس أرديل

•	Uncertainty in Gaza amplified by closure of key border crossings
•	Russia: UN rights chief troubled by increasing crackdown on journalists
•	DRC: more than 80,000 newly displaced people amid new fighting in Kivu

Audio Credit: Matt Wells, UN News
Audio: 3'58"
Photo Credit: Ziad Abu Khousa

News in Brief - 7 May 2024 - Gaza, Russia and DRC

Despite the risk of new strikes in Rafah, the World Health Organization (WHO) and partners continue to establish field hospitals and get services back online at the shattered Nasser medical complex in Khan Younis.

 Dr. Ahmed Dahir, Team Lead with the WHO office in Gaza, told UN News’s Khaled Mohamed that conditions have reached an “unprecedented emergency level”.

Dr. Dahir is currently in Rafah and has been describing the “crucial steps” being taken to prepare for any large-scale Israeli military operations in the coming hours.

Audio Credit: Khaled Mohamed , UN News
Audio: 7'8"
Photo Credit: UN News

‘Patients are afraid’: Top WHO official in Rafah describes rising alarm amid Israeli strikes

•	Gaza: No aid is coming through the south, confirms @UNRWA 
•	Unprecedented flooding displaces hundreds of thousands across east Africa: IOM
•	No respite in sight for Brazil suffering flood emergency: WMO

Audio Credit: Shanaé Harte, UN News
Audio: 3'23"
Photo Credit: UN News / Ziad Taleb

News in Brief - 8 May 2024 - Gaza, East Africa and Brazil

Amid intensified settlement building and the increased use of war tactics by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), the number of casualties and injuries in the West Bank are now the highest on record, said the head of the UN human rights office in the Occupied Palestinian Territory on Wednesday.

Ajith Sunghay, told Anton Uspensky of UN News that “whatever happens in Gaza has a massive impact on the West Bank” while violations of Palestinians’ rights have intensified at the hands of “emboldened” settlers.

Audio credit: Anton Uspensky, UN News
Audio: 15'12"
Photo credit: UN OPT

UN rights office: Gaza conflict having ‘massive impact’ on West Bank

A vast array of weaponry has been used in the last seven months of conflict in Gaza, so much so that UN mine action experts say that land potentially contaminated with unexploded ordnance will take years to make safe.

Patrick McCabe is a UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS) veteran whose job is to help civilians move around Gaza as safely as possible, now and when the fighting ends.

He spoke to UN News’s Daniel Johnson, about what he’d seen in the shattered enclave so far.

Audio credit: Daniel Johnson, UN News
Audio: 12'29"
Photo credit: © UNRWA

Unexploded weapons: One of many existential threats in Gaza

•	Gaza: 80,000 flee Rafah amid Israeli military escalation fears, say UN humanitarians 
•	Former Guantanamo Bay detainee faces re-victimisation in Algeria, right experts warn 
•	Early data on vaccine ‘patches’ is welcome news in battle against measles: WHO

Audio Credit: Daniel Johnson, UN News
Audio: 4'5"
Photo Credit: © UNOCHA/Ismael Abu Dayyah

News in Brief - 9 May 2024 - Gaza, Algeria and Measles

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UNIFIL supports the local communities

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