UN News Today 08 October 2025 |

Gaza City ‘almost deserted’ two years into the war

As the third day of indirect peace talks got underway in Egypt on Wednesday, UN humanitarians report that Gaza City is now almost deserted. They stressed that large parts of the city have been destroyed, and thousands of civilians are still fleeing south to escape Israeli military operations.

According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), airstrikes and shelling have continued across multiple areas, causing further civilian casualties, widespread displacement and the destruction of critical infrastructure.

OCHA says access routes for humanitarian aid remain severely restricted, including along the Al-Rasheed coastal road, where movement of goods has largely come to a standstill.

At Al-Shifa Hospital, one of the last still operating in the north, doctors say the health system is collapsing under bombardment and shortages of staff and medical supplies.

Among the few families still in the city is the Khayyal family, who fled their destroyed home. Nidaa Khayyal, who gave birth by caesarean section a week earlier, described how her home was hit:

“Two nights ago, we were sitting at home when an explosive robot was dropped and detonated at the entrance of our building, causing the entire structure to collapse on us. I had given birth by C-section a week earlier and couldn’t move. My baby was only a week old… I pulled her out from under the rubble; she had stopped breathing for about four minutes… but thank God, she coughed and came back to life.”

WHO warns Gaza’s health system ‘on the brink of collapse’

Meanwhile, the UN World Health Organization has warned that Gaza’s health system is “on the edge of total collapse” and will need at least $7 billion to rebuild once fighting ends.

Speaking ahead of next week’s 72nd session of the WHO Regional Committee for the Eastern Mediterranean, the WHO’s Dr Hanan Balkhy said that only 14 of Gaza’s 36 hospitals are still partially functional, facing critical shortages of fuel, medicines, clean water and staff. She also highlighted that over 1,700 health workers have been killed since 2023 and that more than half a million people are trapped in famine-like conditions.

UN and city leaders warn housing has become ‘an emergency’ across Europe

City leaders warned on Wednesday that housing has become “an emergency” for poor families across Europe and North America, in a UN-backed push to agree new commitments on affordability and sustainability.

At the UN Forum of Mayors in Geneva, the UN Economic Commission for Europe, or UNECE, said that rising housing costs are outpacing incomes.

The trend is pushing one-third of low-income households into poverty and forcing millions to spend nearly half of their earnings on rent or mortgages.

A UNECE study published earlier this year confirmed that these pressures fall hardest on first-time buyers— including many vulnerable people — and that the affordability gap is widening across the region.

The agency’s Executive Secretary Tatiana Molcean said that governments must act urgently to make housing both affordable and sustainable:

“Housing costs are rising faster than incomes, and many families are paying a quarter or even half of their disposable income just to keep a roof over their heads. Single parents, families with children and young people are especially affected. A report last year found that the cost of housing is pushing more than one-third of low-income households into poverty.”

Delegates adopted 13 new commitments to expand public and cooperative housing, retrofit existing buildings and make land and rental markets fairer — while stressing the need to empower local governments through stronger legal, policy and financial support to put these pledges into action.

Katy Dartford, UN News