Key humanitarian air, sea and land routes are being constricted by disruption from the war in the Middle East, delaying life-saving shipments to some of the world's worst crises, 10 aid officials have told Reuters.
The U.S.–Israeli war on Iran entered its seventh day on Friday (6 March), convulsing global markets and disrupting supply chains with airspace closures and the halt of shipping through thecritical Strait of Hormuz.
Aid to Gaza and Sudan is grinding to a halt and costs are soaring for help to the hundreds of millions suffering hunger crises around the world.
"People in dire need of assistance will have to wait longer for food," said Jean-Martin Bauer, Director of Food Security at the World Food Programme.
Already, tents, tarpaulins and lamps destined for Gaza and the West Bank have become stuck in the supply chain, the International Organization for Migration(IOM) said.
Aid groups say higher operational costs are straining budgets already facing massive donor cuts. The IOM said shipping firms were demanding emergency surcharges of approximately $3,000 per container.
Humanitarian groups stocking goods for rapid regional deployment at warehouses in Dubai's Humanitarian Hub face challenges moving supplies onto transit routes.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies cannot move trauma kits to help the Iranian Red Crescent with search and rescue from its Dubai hub, where they sit in a 10 million Swiss franc ($13 million) emergency stockpile, said Cecile Terraz, a Director at the IFRC.
The group cannot move stock through Jebel Ali port, where cargo normally moves onto planes or into the Strait of Hormuz after the region's largest container terminal was set on fire by the debris of an intercepted missile.
The World Health Organization's (WHO) Dubai hub operations are also frozen, Regional Director Hanan Balkhy said, obstructing 50 emergency requests from 25 countries and hampering operations such as polio vaccination.
Famine-struck Sudan is particularly exposed due to additional restrictions since 28 February on the Suez Canal and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait at the southern entrance to the Red Sea, the UNHCR said.
"We are particularly concerned about Africa," said a spokeswoman, adding that some cargoes were being sent around the Cape of Good Hope. The route takes up to three weeks longer.
Costs for fuel, transportation and insurance are also rising, and Terraz said the IFRC may have to cut deliveries to the Iranian Red Crescent.
Emma Maspero, senior manager in Copenhagen of the supply division of the United Nations children's body UNICEF, said she hoped flights carrying perishable humanitarian goods such as vaccines could be prioritised amid the airspace restrictions.
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The U.S. has announced new visa restrictions targeting individuals it says are undermining peace efforts in Ethiopia, focusing on hardline members of the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) and their immediate family members amid rising tensions in the country's north.
A Ukrainian drone strike has hit an oil refinery in south-east Moscow for the second time in three days, triggering a major fire, disrupting flights across the Russian capital and highlighting growing vulnerabilities in the country's energy infrastructure.
The United Arab Emirates has introduced a minimum age of 15 for social media use, becoming the first country in the Arab world to impose such a restriction amid growing global concerns about the impact of digital platforms on children.
Donald Trump has said the U.S. will resume bombing Iran if Tehran doesn't "behave," at the sidelines of the G7 summit in France. Earlier, the U.S. President criticised Israel for its tactics against Hezbollah, saying it was unnecessary to bomb entire apartment buildings to tackle militants.
U.S. President Donald Trump sought a deal with Iran "out of deperation," Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei has said, in a statment on social media. Khamenei added that he himself "held a different view," to Trump, but allowed the agreement after receiving assurances from Iran's President.
A cyber extortion group has claimed it stole more than a terabyte of data from Danish pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk after the company allegedly refused to pay a $25 million ransom.
American technology company Snap has launched its first augmented-reality (AR) glasses for consumers, marking a major push into wearable computing as tech firms race to redefine personal devices in the AI era.
Britain has announced an additional £8 million ($11 million) to help Pakistan combat illegal migration, human trafficking and organised crime, while praising Islamabad's role in diplomacy that helped secure the recent U.S.-Iran agreement.
The European Parliament has adopted one of its strongest resolutions on Georgia to date, calling for the release of political prisoners, backing sanctions against senior officials and warning that continued democratic decline could jeopardise the country's EU ambitions and visa-free travel regime.
The Caspian Sea has retreated by up to 35 kilometres along Kazakhstan's coastline since 2006, raising fresh concerns about the future of the world's largest inland body of water and the communities, industries and ecosystems that depend on it.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has remotely signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the U.S., brokered by Pakistan, under which Tehran and Washington agreed to extend their ceasefire and begin negotiations towards a peace agreement.
Kazakhstan and Iran have agreed to accelerate cooperation on transport corridors, giving Kazakhstan access to key Iranian ports in a move aimed at strengthening trade routes and reducing reliance on transit routes through neighbouring countries.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres has warned that Israeli settler groups could be added to a global blacklist for violations against children if attacks on Palestinian minors continue at current levels.
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