UN preparing for likely surge of Afghan returnees as humanitarian needs deepen

Lebanon is facing a “perfect storm of unpredictable challenges” as escalating conflict, mass displacement and shrinking humanitarian resources collide, the United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in the country, Imran Riza, told UN News. Mr. Riza described a rapidly deteriorating situation in which civilians, particularly children, are paying the highest price.In just over a week, around 700,000 people have registered as displaced through Lebanon’s Ministry of Social Affairs, while schools across the country have been turned into shelters, disrupting education for thousands of children.Speaking to UN News’ Reem Abaza, he warned that the humanitarian response is struggling to keep pace as funding declines and regional support weakens. 

The UN World Food Programme – WFP – has spoken of its relief that the closure of a key crossing point for aid and commercial supplies to Gaza has reopened after being shut, when Israeli and US bombs began hitting Iran.Speaking from Jerusalem, WFP’s Country Director in Palestine, Shaun Hughes, described how chronic constraints on aid delivery have kept humanitarian assistance at a “hand-to-mouth” level across the war-shattered enclave.To illustrate that point, Mr. Hughes explained that WFP has just two weeks’ worth of half rations available for 1.5 million Gazans, after being forced to cut the full ration in January. “We'd like to get [rations] back up to 75 per cent, but with the level of food that we're getting in at the moment, that seems unlikely,” he told UN News’s Daniel Johnson.

The crucial Strait of Hormuz global shipping corridor marking the entrance to the Persian Gulf, is essentially closed due to the threat of strikes from Iran and elsewhere After a tugboat assisting another vessel in the strait this morning was struck killing at least four seafarers, the Secretary-General of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), Arsenio Dominguez, told UN News on Friday that the situation was “deteriorating” and urged ships to avoid navigating in the region. The international shipping and seafarer security chief told Edouard de Bray that Member States need to “find solutions through dialogue in order to de-escalate” to restore free and safe passage. 

UN agencies are preparing to support Afghans who may return from Iran in the coming months amid rising regional tensions, a senior UN official has told UN News.Georgette Gagnon, Officer-in-Charge of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), said agencies including the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, and the International Organization for Migration, IOM, are preparing assistance at border crossings and in communities across Afghanistan expected to host returnees.The border crisis will be on the agenda next Monday when Ms. Gagnon is due to brief the Security Council in New York. She sat down with UN News’s Liudmila Blagonravova who began by asking how UNAMA’s preparing to support potential returnees.

Deadly violence has erupted once again across Lebanon and Israel, following the bombing of Iran by Israeli and US forces.Mass displacement in Lebanon has resulted, as thousands of people in Beirut and elsewhere flee airstrikes targeting Hezbollah militants, according to the UN peacekeeping mission in the country (UNIFIL). Speaking from southern Lebanon, UNIFIL’s Tilak Pokharel said families, including women and children, have been leaving the area in large numbers since hostilities intensified last weekend. Videos posted on social media showed heavily congested roads as residents attempted to escape airstrikes and ongoing military activity.UN peacekeepers have been assisting civilians who were unable to leave conflict-affected areas, transporting them to locations they consider safer, and facilitating humanitarian access, including supporting requests from the Lebanese Red Cross to reach injured people and displaced populations. While warning that the situation remains “very fragile”, Mr. Pokharel told UN News’s Nancy Sarkis that the escalation risks “spiralling out of control”, unless the parties halt the fighting.

As Ukraine entered its fifth year of full-scale invasion, millions of people are struggling every day to keep the lights on, cook and heat their homes amid extreme winter conditions.This fourth winter has been particularly harsh with 65 per cent of Ukraine's energy generation capacity methodically destroyed.Women and children are bearing the brunt of energy blackouts, which undermine their safety, protection, and economic security, according to gender agency, UN Women.Halyna Skipalska who runs the Ukrainian Foundation for Public Health spoke to UN News’s Nathalie Minard about the growing impact of war on women and children’s mental health.

As global hunger surges to historic highs, with around 300 million people facing acute food insecurity, the World Food Programme is turning to technology, partnerships, and internal reforms to deliver aid faster and more effectively.This involves expanding school meal programmes, strengthening collaboration with countries, and using Artificial Intelligence to predict crises and target assistance, At the 2026 India AI Impact Summit, WFP’s Deputy Executive Director Carl Skau told UN News’s Anshu Sharma that innovation and cooperation will be critical to meeting rising humanitarian needs despite shrinking funding and growing global instability.

Nearly three billion people around the world do not have adequate housing, and the crisis is no longer limited to developing countries. Cities across Europe and North America are also facing growing affordability challenges, says UN-Habitat Executive Director Anacláudia Rossbach.Speaking to UN News’s Anshu Sharma in New Delhi, she told us poverty and inequality remain the main causes of the crisis. However, climate change and extreme weather are making housing insecurity worse, especially for people living in informal settlements.

At just 16 years of age, Raul John Aju already has a formidable stack of achievements under his belt.The teenager from the Indian state of Kerala runs his own company creating artificial intelligence tools, advises governments on how to use the tech, and teaches students how to engage with it in their professional and personal lives.His prodigious activities have earned him the moniker “AI Kid of India” at home, and an invitation to speak at the recent 2026 India AI Summit, where he met politicians and top officials – including UN chief António Guterres.UN News’s Anshu Sharma sat down with Raul at the summit and asked what had got him interested in technology at such a young age.

Set up in May 1948, the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization, UNTSO was the first ever peacekeeping operation established by the UN. In an interview with UN News, Major General Patrick Gauchat, Head of Mission and Chief of Staff, explained the mission has evolved since it was first established to monitor ceasefires and support peace agreements in the aftermath of world war. Working closely with UN forces in Lebanon and the Golan, UNTSO complements their security, medical, and engineering operations. And with the mandate extension in Lebanon ending in December 2026, the truce supervision mission could take on a bigger role along ceasefire lines.Mr. Gauchat told UN News’s Khaled Mohamed the longest-running mission’s presence gives reassurance to civilians living in conflict areas.