People in the Middle East need peace. Humanitarian partners therefore call urgently for de-escalation and dialogue towards a peaceful settlement. While humanitarians will do all they can to respond to the most urgent and life-threatening needs across the region, their response cannot substitute for a political solution to the situation.
All parties must respect their obligations under international humanitarian law, including to protect civilians. Whether they move to safer areas or stay in their homes following warnings and displacement orders, civilians must be protected and have the essentials they need to survive. Civilians fleeing the dangers of conflict must be allowed to seek protection elsewhere, including across borders, and must be guaranteed the right to voluntary return. Parties must also protect civilian infrastructure, with particular attention to the specific protection afforded to the medical mission. In addition, parties must facilitate the rapid, unimpeded passage of humanitarian relief to civilians in need. All States must use their influence to ensure the rules of war are respected.
Protect the medical mission. Amid reports of harm to medical services — facilities and ambulances hit and access to care constrained by closures and disruption – it is vital that all parties protect the wounded and sick, medical personnel, transports and facilities at all times. These obligations are among the oldest and most universally accepted in international humanitarian law.
Humanitarian partners urgently appeal for additional resources to ramp up their response. Humanitarian funding in 2025 was at its lowest level since 2016, and humanitarians in the Middle East were forced to close offices, reduce staff and shut programmes. To enable partners to scale up their response across the multiple countries—to both new and existing needs, including for women and girls—additional funding is urgently required. This can and should be channeled rapidly through a range of complementary financing mechanisms, including unearmarked core funding to give partners’ flexibility to respond and pooled funding to support partners’ frontline response in areas where needs are most severe, especially through local and national humanitarian actors, including women-led organizations.
- Unimpeded passage of humanitarian cargo and its protection through all regional corridors—including maritime routes, logistics hubs, and border crossings—is essential to prevent further deterioration of the humanitarian situation. All parties and states must safeguard the movement of humanitarian goods and support alternative routes to ensure that assistance reaches every community in need without delay or obstruction.
Escalation in the Middle East and Beyond: The Humanitarian Response