As fighting intensifies there between opposition forces and national troops, there are reports of airstrikes and daily civilian casualties.

UN agencies warn that worsening insecurity is blocking lifesaving aid, while hunger projections deteriorate and cholera treatment centres struggle to cope with an influx of newly displaced people.

The renewed violence comes as South Sudan’s 2018 Revitalised Peace Agreement continue to fall apart amid stalled reforms, rising political tensions ahead of planned elections in 2026, and mounting pressure from more than one million refugees fleeing the brutal war in neighbouring Sudan.

WFP convoy attacked, activities suspended

The UN World Food Programme (WFP) on Wednesday suspended all activities in Baliet County, Upper Nile state, following repeated attacks on a convoy carrying humanitarian assistance down river.

Between last Friday and Sunday, a 12-boat convoy transporting more than 1,500 metric tonnes of food and other relief items was attacked several times by armed youth.

The cargo was later looted in multiple locations, despite receiving prior security assurances for the safe passage of aid.

WFP said the suspension would remain in place until the safety of its staff, partners and contractors is assured and authorities take immediate steps to recover the stolen supplies.

“Attacks on humanitarians are never acceptable,” WFP said, urging all parties to respect humanitarian workers and safeguard the facilities and resources essential for delivering aid.

Aid access under threat

The convoy attack reflects a broader collapse in humanitarian access, particularly in Jonglei state, where renewed fighting since late December has intensified clashes between the South Sudan People’s Defense Forces and the South Sudan People’s Liberation Army-in-Opposition across multiple counties.

According to the UN relief coordination office, OCHA, fighting and airstrikes have displaced around 280,000 people since late December, including more than 235,000 across Jonglei alone. Many have fled to areas with minimal water, sanitation and health services, sharply increasing the risk of disease outbreaks.

Humanitarian partners report that at least seven aid facilities have been looted or damaged in Jonglei, with assets confiscated and aid workers intimidated, forcing the suspension of operations in several locations.

Hospitals hit, services halted

The medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) reported that Government forces bombarded its hospital in Lankien, Jonglei State, overnight on 3 February, destroying the main warehouse and most critical medical supplies. One MSF staff member suffered minor injuries.

In a separate incident the same day, MSF’s health facility in Pieri was looted by unknown assailants, forcing staff to flee. The NGO said the violence had left around 250,000 people without healthcare, as the organization had been the only provider in the area.

Hunger and disease risks rising

UN agencies warn that escalating conflict is expected to significantly worsen food insecurity, particularly in northern Jonglei and Upper Nile states.

Projections indicate that the number of counties facing emergency-level hunger (IPC Phase 4) between February and May will more than double, with some households at risk of slipping into catastrophic conditions (IPC Phase 5).

Insecurity has already forced WFP to pause plans to pre-position 12,000 metric tons of food ahead of the rainy season in Jonglei, raising concerns that access will further deteriorate once roads become impassable.

Since September 2024, South Sudan has recorded nearly 98,000 cholera cases and more than 1,600 deaths, with Jonglei among the worst affected, overwhelming treatment centres.

Israeli forces stormed the UNRWA-operated health centre on Monday and ordered it to close for 30 days.  They also demanded the removal of UN signage. 

Furthermore, water and electricity supply to multiple UNRWA facilities are scheduled to be cut off in the coming weeks, affecting schools, health centres and other critical buildings.

Legislative campaign 

The development marks “a new step in a pattern of deliberate disregard for international law and the United Nations,” UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini tweeted. 

“This is a direct result of legislation passed by the Israeli parliament in December, which stepped up existing anti-UNRWA laws adopted in 2024,” he added. 

The UNRWA Jerusalem Health Centre serves hundreds of Palestine refugee patients every day, agency spokesperson Jonathan Fowler told UN News. 

“For most of them, it’s their only possibility of having access to primary healthcare,” he said.  “So, there’s a right to health involved in this.” 

He stressed that UNRWA facilities are United Nations premises, which are protected under international law, and this applies across the globe.  

‘An anti-humanitarian gesture’ 

Mr. Fowler described the impending water and power shutdown as “kind of an anti-humanitarian gesture in many ways,” saying “it’s particularly shocking.” 

He recalled that in October, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) “restated in crystal clear fashion that the State of Israel is obliged under international law to facilitate UNRWA’s operations, not hinder or prevent them. And yet this continues.” 

He also warned of the potential wider consequences. 

“These are disgraceful moves. And it’s very, very important that there be global awareness about what’s going on, because this is much more than directly in East Jerusalem,” he said. 

“It goes beyond even UNRWA. This is something which potentially has global implications because of this pattern of disregard for international law.”

EPA

EPA

Reuters

The father of a released Israeli hostage who was forced to dig his own grave in a Gazan tunnel by Hamas has told the BBC his son’s health is “improving every day”.

Avishai David was speaking after his 24-year-old son Evyatar David and two other freed hostages – Guy Gilboa Dalal and Eitan Mor – were discharged from hospital to a hero’s welcome at their homes on Sunday.

“I can’t explain how happy it makes me feel to see him growing back to his old self,” the father added.

In August, two months before Evyatar’s release, Hamas had posted a video showing him emaciated in a narrow concrete tunnel – a move that drew condemnation from Israel and many Western leaders.

Avishai David told the BBC he was happy to see his son’s “vitality improving every day, his colour returning [to his face], his cheeks getting fuller”.

“Thank God, he pulled through it and he’s strong.”

The father said he had suffered for months knowing that his son was only “80km away… and I can’t help him”.

“It devastated me,” he said, adding that he “couldn’t sleep, eat, drink properly.”

In August, Evyatar’s brother Ilay told the BBC the Hamas video was a “new form of cruelty”.

“He’s a human skeleton. He was being starved to the point where he can be dead at any moment, and he suffers a great deal,” Ilay said at the time.

In the footage itself, Evyatar said: “I haven’t eaten for days… I barely got drinking water.” He was seen digging what he said would be his own grave.

On Sunday, cheering crowds – including many friends and neighbours – greeted Evyatar David as he returned to his hometown of Kfar Saba in central Israel.

Dr Michal Shteinman, director at Rabin Medical Centre where the three released hostages were treated, told the BBC their bodies still bore the marks of “this horrific captivity”.

“We can see their blood tests… and we’ve also heard their stories… they are not lying. You can see the marks of this metabolic trauma. Their skin tells their story. You can see the scars and the wounds.”

But Dr Shteinman added that the hostages “came back stronger than they were”.

Evyatar was abducted from the Nova music festival during the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023.

He and 19 other living hostages have been released by Hamas under the first phase of a US-brokered ceasefire deal earlier this month.

Hamas has also transferred 15 out of 28 deceased hostages. Thirteen were Israelis, one was Nepalese and the other Thai.

In exchange, Israel has freed 250 Palestinian prisoners and 1,718 detainees from Gaza, and returned 15 bodies of Palestinians for every Israeli hostage’s remains.

The IDF launched a military campaign in Gaza in response to the 7 October 2023 attack, in which Hamas-led gunmen killed about 1,200 people in southern Israel and took 251 others hostage.

More than 68,000 people have been killed by Israeli attacks in Gaza since then, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, whose figures are seen by the UN as reliable.

An NHS trust at the centre of concerns over its poor maternity services has had to repay almost £5m after wrongly claiming it provided safe care to mothers and their babies.

Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust was paid the money after saying its services met safe standards of care and staffing.

But a subsequent investigation by the health service’s litigation arm, NHS Resolution, found the trust had not met the standards and asked for the money to be repaid to the NHS.

The Leeds trust said they had allocated additional funding to improve maternity services.

The trust received the money under a programme called the Maternity Incentive Scheme, which is run by NHS Resolution to encourage the health service to provide good maternity care.

Hospitals are asked to judge their performance against a range of standards, including listening to patients’ concerns, staffing levels and properly investigating deaths.

If a trust meets all 10 safety measures, it can get a rebate on its insurance premiums as well as a share of the money paid by trusts that do not meet all the goals.

For the past two years, the Leeds trust reported it had met all 10 standards and was paid £4,887,084 from the scheme.

But the regulator, the Care Quality Commission (CQC), published a damning report in June about maternity services at the trust.

Care was rated as inadequate, the lowest level, and it warned that women and babies were being exposed to “significant risk”.

The report prompted NHS Resolution to ask Leeds to re-examine its submissions to the Maternity Incentive Scheme. The subsequent review found not all safety standards had been met, forcing the trust to repay all the money it had received.

“The repayment of the award is long overdue and should be going back even further,” said Fiona Winser-Ramm, who lost her daughter Aliona in 2020 after what an inquest found to be a number of “gross failures” in the care they received.

“This provides yet further evidence for the need for a full, independent inquiry into the Leeds trust,” she said, believing this should be led by senior midwife Donna Ockenden.

Mrs Winser-Ramm was among a group of parents who met Health Secretary Wes Streeting last week and demanded an investigation into maternity services at the trust.

Streeting has so far refused to order such an inquiry but the families, who have all experienced poor maternity care, said they remained hopeful.

Over the past few months, dozens of families have told the BBC they received inadequate care at the trust.

The Maternity Incentive Scheme has been beset by problems since it was set up in 2018 by the then health secretary, Jeremy Hunt.

NHS trusts with poor maternity safety records, including Shrewsbury and Telford, Morecambe Bay, East Kent and Nottingham have all claimed to have met the 10 standards and been paid millions of pounds only to later have to repay it.

An analysis published by NHS Resolution in July found 24 trusts have had to repay premiums over the first four years of the scheme, with 18 of them having to do so more than once.

“Nationally, families have long raised concerns about the huge flaws of the self- assessment involved by individual trusts in the maternity incentive scheme,” said Mrs Winser-Ramm.

“Serious questions need to be asked about how, if trusts are unable to accurately self-report compliance, how satisfied can we be that similar misreporting is not commonplace in other areas of self-reporting.”

After the review found Leeds had to repay the money it had received, the trust applied to a separate fund run by NHS Resolution for maternity improvement support and was allocated £2.1m.

In a statement to the BBC, the Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust did not explain how it had erroneously self-reported that it was compliant with all the standards of the scheme.

“We identified that we were not fully compliant with the MIS scheme,” said Magnus Harrison, the trust’s chief medical officer.

“We have now been allocated £2.1m to support our action plan to achieve compliance, which forms part of our Maternity and Neonatal Improvement Programme.”

Without fuel, many basic facilities cannot function, from water treatment plants to medical infrastructure.

Meanwhile, Gazans now on the brink of famine have been reduced to taking desperate measures in their search for food, scouring the roads taken by aid convoys, UN aid worker Olga Cherevko told UN News.

“While we were driving, I saw an elderly man on the side of the road completely alone, kneeling down, and he was picking up handfuls of lentils that had spilled on the ground from one of the previous convoys that had been passing,” she said.

“He was picking them up with his hands and just putting them into his t-shirt as this is obviously the only option he has right now to find food because this is how desperate the situation has become.”

Desperate actions

The latest reports from Gaza indicate that mothers who are unable to breastfeed because they are not eating enough now feed their babies ground chickpeas, bread and rice, which are not suitable for infants.

In a social media post, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) stressed that “this is a condition that we can prevent,” calling for increased humanitarian access. 

Separately, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) emphasised that “the health needs in Gaza are immense. A continuous flow of medical supplies is critical.”

Meanwhile, health workers on Wednesday reported that at least 50 Gazans were killed and 400 others injured while waiting for food near Zikim crossing in the north.

Ms. Cherevko, who works with the UN aid coordination office, OCHA, explained that her mission to Kerem Shalom on Thursday morning had been delayed at a “holding point” for two hours before being allowed to proceed to the crossing point separating Gaza from Israel.

‘Tactical pauses’ are not enough

Although the fuel supplies are welcome, they are far from enough, she insisted.

“We need hundreds of thousands of litres of fuel to be entering every day so that we can power even the most basic of our facilities to power, water, sanitation, healthcare, emergency telecommunications and other critical facilities effectively,” she said.

The announcement of daytime military pauses by Israel last weekend appears to have slightly reduced the amount of time aid convoys now wait for permission to proceed, the OCHA worker noted.

There has also been a “slight reduction” in security incidents involving Gazans taking food from UN trucks, she said.

In its latest update on the emergency, OCHA said that four days since the start of tactical pauses declared by Israel, “we are still seeing casualties among those seeking aid and more deaths due to hunger and malnutrition…Unilateral tactical pauses alone do not allow for the continuous flow of supplies required to meet immense needs levels in Gaza.”  

The UN’s humanitarian chief has said people in Gaza are being subjected to forced starvation by Israel.

In an interview with the BBC, Tom Fletcher said he believed this had led to a change in the international response to Gaza.

Asked if his assessment of forced starvation amounted to a war crime, he said: “Yeah, it is. It is classified as a war crime. Obviously, these are issues for the courts to take the judgement on, and ultimately for history to take a judgement on.”

Mr Fletcher also expressed regret for saying recently that 14,000 babies could die within 48 hours in Gaza if aid was not allowed in – a claim the UN later drew back – and acknowledged a need to be “precise” with language.

Israel began to allow limited aid into Gaza last week, after an almost three-month blockade had halted the delivery of supplies such as food, medicine, fuel and shelter.

It also resumed its military offensive two weeks after imposing the blockade, ending a two-month ceasefire with Hamas.

Israel said the steps were intended to put pressure on the armed group to release the 58 hostages still held in Gaza, at least 20 of whom are believed to be alive.

Since the easing of the blockade, scenes of chaos have broken out at aid distribution centres run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation – a US- and Israeli-backed group.

The UN, which refuses to cooperate with the GHF, said 47 people were injured earlier this week after crowds overwhelmed one of the centres.

Mr Fletcher said: “We’re seeing food set on the borders and not being allowed in when there is a population on the other side of the border that is starving, and we’re hearing Israeli ministers say that is to put pressure on the population of Gaza.”

He said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should “absolutely” disavow a statement made by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich – who had said people in Gaza would be “totally despairing understanding that there’s no hope and nothing to look for”, and would be looking to relocate to begin a “new life in other places”.

“We would expect governments all over the world to stand for international humanitarian law, the international community is very, very clear on that,” Mr Fletcher said.

He called on Netanyahu to ensure that “this language, and ultimately, this policy… of forced displacement, isn’t enacted”.

Israel has faced growing international criticism over its conduct of the war.

On Tuesday, the EU’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, said: “Israeli strikes in Gaza go beyond what is necessary to fight Hamas.”

Her remarks followed an intervention by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who declared he “no longer understands” Israel’s objectives.

Earlier this month, the leaders of the UK, France and Canada called on the Israeli government to “stop its military operations” and “immediately allow humanitarian aid to enter Gaza”. In response, Netanyahu accused them of siding with Hamas.

On 14 May, Mr Fletcher called on the UN Security Council to act to prevent genocide in Gaza.

Asked why he had made that statement, he referred to reporting from colleagues on the ground in Gaza.

“What they’re reporting is forced displacement. They’re reporting starvation, they’re reporting torture, and they’re reporting deaths on a massive scale,” he said.

Mr Fletcher said in the cases of Rwanda, Srebrenica and Sri Lanka, “the world had told us afterwards that we didn’t act in time, that we didn’t sound a warning”.

“And that’s my call to the [UN] Security Council and the world right now, ‘will you act to prevent genocide?'”

Mr Fletcher came under strong criticism from Israel after he claimed 14,000 babies in Gaza would die in 48 hours if aid was not allowed into the Strip.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry accused Mr Fletcher of ignoring Hamas’s atrocities and echoing their propaganda. “It’s not humanitarian work, it’s blood libel,” the ministry said at the time.

Mr Fletcher said: “At the point when I made those comments, we were desperately trying to get that aid in.

“We were being told we couldn’t get it in, and we knew that we’d probably have a couple of days, a window to get as much aid in as possible, and that was being denied, and we were desperate to get that in. And so yes, we’ve got to be utterly precise with our language, and we’ve clarified that.”

Asked about his claim – repudiated by Israel – that thousands of lorries were waiting on the border to enter Gaza, Mr Fletcher repeated that he especially needed to be “careful and really precise”.

He agreed there was a risk of being seen to hype the situation, but he added: “I’m not going to stop speaking up for the need to save these lives in Gaza, to save as many survivors as possible. That’s my job, and I’ve got to do it better, and I will do it.”

He said mediation and negotiation was the way to resolve the crisis in Gaza and repeated his call for Hamas to release the Israeli hostages being held by the militant group.

“We all want to see those hostages freed and back with their with their families,” he said.

“I don’t know now what the aim of this war is anymore. I think it has clearly gone beyond just the hostage releases. There’s a lot of talk about finishing off Hamas.

“And clearly, as many people have said, there can’t be a part for Hamas in the new equation, the new governance of Gaza and the Palestinian territories.”

Mr Fletcher rejected Israeli claims Hamas was stealing large amounts of food aid.

“I don’t want to see any of that aid getting to Hamas. That matters to us because these are our principles, neutral, impartial, independent. Its in our interest to stop that aid getting to Hamas and ensure it gets to civilians.”

“As a humanitarian, my interest is just in getting as much of that aid in as possible, as quickly as possible, and saving as many lives as we’re allowed to do in the time we have.”

Mr Fletcher is also dealing with crises in Ukraine, Sudan and Syria, among others, and said the world was facing a “profoundly dangerous” moment.

“The Security Council is polarized, divided,” he said.

“That means it makes it much harder for us to end conflicts; the conflicts we’re dealing with are more ferocious, there’s more impunity, and they’re lasting longer.

“It’s getting harder and harder to end wars and we humanitarians… deal with the consequences.”

Israel launched a military campaign in Gaza in response to Hamas’s cross-border attack on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.

At least 54,249 people have been killed in Gaza since then, including 3,986 since Israel resumed its offensive, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry.

With additional reporting by Olivia Lace-Evans and Maarten Lernout.

Mr Fletcher’s full interview will be broadcast on the BBC News Channel at 00:30BST and 16:30BST on Saturday.

Last month, M23 rebels captured the city – the largest in the region and capital of North Kivu province. Nearly 3,000 people have reportedly been killed and 2,880 injured.

OCHA Spokesperson Jens Laerke said more than 110,000 displaced people have left sites in Goma and have started to move to villages in the Masisi, Rutshuru and Nyiragongo territories.

UN teams carried out humanitarian assessments in Rutshuru last week and will continue assessments this week in return areas to inform the response.

Ultimatum to leave

He said humanitarian partners remain concerned by the 72-hour ultimatum given by M23 representatives two days ago urging displaced people living in sites and collective centres in Goma to leave and return to their villages.

Mr. Laerke noted, however, that the M23 issued a statement on Monday, which he quoted. It explained that the group “fully supports and encourages voluntary returns, but does not compel anyone to return without firm security guarantees.” 

“We reiterate that all returns had to be voluntary and take place under safe, informed and dignified conditions in accordance with international humanitarian law,” he said.

Displacement sites dismantled

Meanwhile, humanitarian partners are also alarmed by the ongoing but unplanned dismantling of sites for internally displaced people.

“This situation leads to the loss of humanitarian infrastructure at the sites, including border facilities, health centres and cholera treatment centers, resulting in significant losses of humanitarian investments and reduced response capacities,” he said.

More to follow… 

Those incidents prompted rebukes from several of Israel’s allies, including France, Italy and Spain. A Downing Street spokesperson said the UK was “appalled”.

In his comments on Sunday, Netanyahu said European leaders should direct their criticism towards Hezbollah, not Israel.

Israel argues that Unifil has failed to stabilise the region and prevent Hezbollah fighters from operating south of the Litani River – among the reasons for a UN presence there.

It has previously said that it was acting on a 2004 UN resolution calling for the disbanding of Lebanese and non-Lebanese militant groups, and that its request for peacekeepers to withdraw was so it could confront Hezbollah.

Netanyahu said these appeals had been “met with refusals”, and that Unifil was providing a “human shield to Hezbollah terrorists”.

“This endangers both them and the lives of our soldiers,” he added.

“We regret the injuring of Unifil soldiers and we are doing everything in our power to prevent this injuring. But the simple and obvious way to ensure this is simply to get them out of the danger zone.”

Unifil officials have repeatedly refused to withdraw troops from the region.

The body’s spokesman Andrea Tenenti told the AFP news agency on Saturday that there had been a “unanimous decision to stay because it’s important for the UN flag to still fly high in this region”.

Lebanon’s Prime Minister Nijab Mikati condemned Netanyahu’s position.

In a statement, he said the Israeli PM’s comments represented “a new chapter in the enemy’s approach of not complying with international legitimacy”.

Mikati urged other nations “to take a firm position that stops the Israeli aggression”.