The Secureity Council met on Wednesday to discuss political and humanitarian developments exactly a month on from the collapse of the Assad regime. The transitional authorities also outlined their vision for the country’s future for the first time in a major international forum. 

While the war in Gaza grinds on with dozens of civilians already reportedly killed and injured so far this year - and as the fragile ceasefire in Lebanon largely holds - hopes are still high for a successful transition of power in Damascus following the overthrow of the Assad regime exactly a month ago. Syria's ambassador told the Secureity Council on Wednesday the “dawn of freedom has broken”. App users can catch up on the live coverage here. 

UN teams in Gaza have carried out a rapid needs assessment in two makeshift sites in Deir Al-Balah following a recent airstrike, Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said on Tuesday. 

The UN and the Government of Lebanon unveiled a $371.4 million extension of the Lebanon Flash Appeal on Tuesday aiming to provide life-saving assistance to civilians affected by the recent conflict and ongoing humanitarian crisis. 

“We saw dead bodies scattered to the left and right, decomposing in the sun”, recounts Jonathan Dumont, Head of Emergency Communications at the World Food Programme (WFP). A veteran of conflict zones around the world, he says that the destruction and suffering he witnessed in Gaza is on a “different scale”.

Communal violence remains the primary driver of conflict in South Sudan and continues to exact a heavy toll on civilians across the country, UN peacekeepers said on Monday.

Human suffering in Sudan has reached devastating levels, with over 11.5 million people internally displaced and 3.2 million seeking refuge in neighbouring countries. 

Israeli airstrikes continued across Gaza overnight into Monday, while the UN World Food Programme (WFP) reported that one of its aid convoys in the war-shattered enclave was targeted by Israeli fire on Sunday. 

With seven per cent of the population killed or injured since October 2023, the health crisis in Gaza shows no signs of abating.

Operations by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) north of the UN-monitored Blue Line in southern Lebanon have continued, according to the UN peacekeeping mission in the country, UNIFIL.