World Health Organization (Who) and its partners supported the medical evacuation of nine adult patients, most of whom were traumatized, to treatment unavailable in Gaza.
OCHA It said 18,000 patients in Gaza still needed urgent treatment, while UN teams were preparing assistance for people returning from Egypt.
‘Major obstacle’ to delivery of humanitarian supplies
“We need to be able to have rapid, safe, and continuous and uninterrupted access to support to be able to deliver assistance at scale and to be able to move much faster than what we are doing,” said OCHA spokesperson Olga Cherevko.
Aid officials also warned that Kerem Shalom remains the only operational crossing for incoming humanitarian and commercial supplies, posing a major bottleneck.
On Wednesday, three planned UN convoys were canceled after Israeli officials said only fuel would be allowed in, forcing agencies to leave behind food, fodder and other goods.
Meanwhile, attacks on residential areas in Gaza and the West Bank reportedly resulted in casualties, according to UN humanitarian workers.
Gender inequality deepens global water crisis
A new UN report released on Thursday warns that the global water crisis is getting worse due to deep-rooted gender inequality.
According to the report published by the United Nations Educational and Cultural Agency, women are responsible for collecting water in more than 70 percent of rural households without reliable supply around the world. UNESCO Ahead of world water day On 22 March.
“Water inequality has a strong gender dimension,” UNESCO representative Bhanu Neupane told reporters at the United Nations in New York.
Climate change is increasing inequalities
Worldwide, women and girls spend an estimated 250 million hours every day fetching water. This is the time when they are prevented from going to school, paid work and other opportunities.
The report also highlights the impact of poor sanitation. In many places, women and girls still do not have access to safe toilets and menstrual hygiene facilities, leaving them vulnerable to embarrassment, health risks and missed days of school or work.
The United Nations says climate change, water scarcity and disasters are making these inequalities worse. It is calling for urgent action to remove barriers to women’s equitable access to water, land and services, and to ensure their full inclusion in water governance and solutions.
Human rights defenders continue to face deadly violence in Colombia
Meanwhile, in Colombia, human rights defenders have faced persistent violence over the past decade, with an average of about 100 people killed each year, according to a new report from the UN Human Rights Office. OHCHR.
High Commissioner Volker Turk said it was “heartbreaking” that it remains one of the deadliest countries in the world for human rights defenders.
He acknowledged the current government’s efforts, including dialogue with civil society and work on national security policy, but warned that much more was needed.
Indigenous defenders disproportionately affected
The report said that between 2016 and 2025, the UN documented 972 killings of rights defenders. From 2022 to 2025 alone, 410 people were killed, while more than 2,000 threats and attacks were recorded.
It links the violence to the continued presence of non-state armed groups, criminal networks involved in drug trafficking, illegal mining and logging, and weak state institutions. More than 70 percent of the perpetrators are believed to be non-state armed actors.
Despite constituting less than five percent of Colombia’s population, indigenous defenders were disproportionately affected, accounting for 23 percent of victims.
The UN is urging urgent reforms to strengthen prevention, protection and criminal investigations, while warning that funding cuts have reduced its ability to monitor abuses in high-risk areas.
