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Although civilians are willing to return home, Israel’s continued military activity and presence in the southern region makes this very difficult, UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric told reporters on Friday.
This week alone, further demolitions, fires and attacks by Israeli forces were reported in South Lebanon, both inside Israel’s declared combat zone – where residents have been ordered to evacuate – and outside the zone.
Those who come back
Although nearly 970,000 people have returned to their communities in the south, their situation is often dire: homes are damaged, essential services are disrupted and livelihoods are becoming increasingly difficult.
In Nabatieh Governorate, for example, insecurity and restrictions on access to agricultural land disrupted the olive harvest there.
In some villages, farmers were only able to harvest for two days before being forced by the Israeli army to stop doing so.
As part of the humanitarian response, OchaThe Lebanon Humanitarian Fund has allocated $91 million to support refugees, returnees and other communities affected by this year’s escalation.
Russia: Türkiye ‘deeply concerned’ by forced closure of Novaya Gazeta
UN Human Rights Chair Turkish Volker said on Friday he was deeply concerned and saddened by the announcement that Novaya Gazeta, a “highly respected” independent Russian newspaper, had been forced to close.
He called it “another major blow to the remaining independent media in the Russian Federation”.
Independent journalism in Russia has faced increasing restrictions for years, Türk said, but the pressure has increased significantly since the country’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Restrictions are increasing
This occurs through increasingly stringent laws, tighter state control, and harassment and abuse of journalists.
Novaya Gazeta journalists have made extraordinary contributions to independent reporting and the defense of human rights, often at great personal risk, he said.
They face harassment, lawsuits, threats and outright violence.
“Among them was Anna Politkovskaya, who was murdered in 2006 after she reported human rights violations during Russia’s military operations in Chechnya,” the High Commissioner said.
He called on the Russian authorities to stop measures that hinder reporting on issues of public concern, and to allow full and free debate with a diversity of voices.
A $50 million fund to help 9 million people survive the winter
United Nations Refugee Agency, UNHCRlaunched $50 million interesting on Friday to help nine million people survive winter in Afghanistan, Ukraine, Syria and Lebanon.
The funding will help people like Svetlana in Dnipro, Ukraine, whose apartment was targeted and heavily damaged by a drone attack last winter.
Moments before the attack, Svetlana grabbed her son and ran to the basement. When they appeared, they had no place to live anymore.
“Donations mean something very tangible. Heat, blankets, warm clothes, cash to pay for fuel, or tarpaulin and tape to repair a broken window. For some people, this can avoid more debt or keep their children off the streets and safe in school,” said Dominique Hyde of UNHCR.
Helping those returning home
The agency highlighted equally great needs in Afghanistan, which has an estimated 6.5 million returnees in recent years, most of them involuntarily.
Many newcomers have very few needs and need to build their lives from scratch, Ms. Hyde.
He noted that in Syria, some 3.6 million refugees and internally displaced persons have returned to their remaining homes since December 2024, while 15.6 million people in the country require humanitarian assistance.
Urban regeneration is key to solving the global housing crisis
Government leaders and urban stakeholders gathered in ChinaFuzhou on Friday to discuss the “enormous” global housing crisis, in the words of the UN urban development agency PBB-Habitat – highlighting regeneration as a key solution.
As the world indicates World Cities Dayup to 3.4 billion people face inadequate housing conditions, including more than one billion people living in informal settlements and slums.
At the same time, aging infrastructure, soaring housing costs, and worsening climate change are putting increasing pressure on cities and their residents.
Regenerate without expelling
Urban regeneration aims to revitalize declining or neglected urban areas through economic, social and environmental improvements
“[It] offers a way forward. “By revitalizing existing urban areas, we can create more housing, improve infrastructure and improve public spaces, making cities more resilient, inclusive and connected,” said the UN Secretary General in his message for the day.
