UN News Today 28 August 2025 |

Gaza death and destruction is without parallel, says UN chief

UN chief António Guterres on Thursday renewed his call for a ceasefire in Gaza, greater aid access and the release of all hostages, as the enclave faces yet another deadly escalation.

“Gaza is piled with rubble, piled with bodies and piled with examples of what may be serious violations of international law,” he told journalists in New York, adding that death and destruction in Gaza were “without parallel in recent times”.

Expanded Israeli military operations in Gaza City would have devastating consequences, he continued, with hundreds of thousands of exhausted civilians forced to flee yet again. “This must stop,” he insisted.

Mr. Guterres also condemned “yet more unconscionable Israeli strikes” on the war-shattered enclave.

Just this week, deadly incidents have included two airstrikes on Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis which killed civilians, including medical personnel and five journalists.

Ukraine: Toddler of two-and-a-half killed in Russia’s overnight attacks

Russia’s latest deadly attacks on Ukrainian cities overnight including the capital, Kyiv, left four children dead and dozens injured, aid agencies reported on Thursday.

The youngest victim of the bombing raid was two-and-a-half years old, according to the UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF.

Leading condemnation of the Russian strikes, UN chief António Guterres said that targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure violated international humanitarian law. Such violence is “unacceptable and must end immediately”, the Secretary-General said, before calling for a ceasefire that leads to a “just, comprehensive, and sustainable peace in Ukraine” that respected its existing borders.

UNICEF Representative in Ukraine Munir Mammadzade told UN News that nowhere in Ukraine is safe today – which is having a severe impact on kids:

“Quite often, what they basically, fear the most is about their lives, and unfortunately, quite often, they mention to us that they don’t have dreams or any hopes, so what they only need is peace, and this peace to happen as soon as possible, so that they can go back to normalcy.”

In Yemen, IOM appeals for support amid deadly flooding

To flood-hit Yemen, where the UN migration agency, IOM, appealed on Thursday for international support, after violent storms devastated communities, destroying homes and sweeping away livelihoods.

Latest assessments by the International Organization for Migration across 73 displacement sites indicate that well over 46,000 people have been affected.

“The floods in Yemen are another devastating blow for families who have already lost so much,” said Abdusattor Esoev, IOM’s Chief of Mission in Yemen.

The governorates of Ibb, Sana’a, Ma’rib, Al Hodeidah, and Ta’iz are among the worst hit, with floods damaging homes, farmland, and public infrastructure.

The latest crisis in Yemen mirrors last year’s devastating floods, which caused widespread damage and loss of life.

This year’s storms have been even more intense and demonstrate how climate change is deepening vulnerabilities across Yemen and pushing communities further into crisis, IOM said.

Daniel Johnson, UN News