UN agencies juggle aid as Russian strikes surge in Ukraine and West Bank harvest faces settler attacks

Overnight long‑range Russian attacks across Ukraine intensified on 22 October, killing at least 14 civilians and wounding 78, including seven children. The strikes damaged health and energy facilities and knocked out power in the Poltavska, Rivnenska and Volynska oblasts, as well as in six frontline areas and Kyiv. UN agencies continued to operate in these hard‑to‑reach zones, delivering relief supplies to a community near the Zaporizhzhia contact line despite “severely constrained” access. UNICEF reported cash assistance for nearly 70,000 families living on the frontlines, a measure aimed at winterisation and basic needs amid the ongoing hostilities.

A UN delegation led by Acting Humanitarian Coordinator Ramiz Alakbarov visited Jenin and the village of Arraba to assess the impact of recurrent Israeli settler attacks on the Palestinian olive harvest, a livelihood for up to 100,000 households. Farmers reported that settler violence and Israeli‑imposed access restrictions are undermining food security by preventing safe gathering of crops. Humanitarian partners are accompanying pickers to groves and providing legal aid to challenge the restrictions. UNRWA briefed the team on support for displaced families from the Jenin refugee camp, delivering food, shelter and essential services while urging additional funding and safe return.

Independent human‑rights expert Morris Tidball‑Binz warned that suspicious deaths of older people are consistently under‑reported, under‑investigated and under‑researched across the globe. He linked age‑based stereotypes to a systemic failure to recognise abuse, neglect or preventable causes such as sepsis that may be mis‑attributed to natural ageing. The Special Rapporteur called for stronger investigative processes, better data collection, institutional oversight and training for professionals to identify and document age‑related vulnerabilities. Enhancing these mechanisms, he argued, is essential to protect the right to life of older persons and to prevent unlawful deaths.