BRATISLAVA, Jan 14 2026 (IPS)* –Israel must lift all restrictions on medicine, food and aid coming into Gaza, rights groups have demanded, as two reports released today (Jan 14) document how maternal and reproductive healthcare have been all but destroyed in the country.
Cardiologist Dr. Marwan Sultan, then Director of the Indonesian Hospital in north Gaza, in February 2025 showing damage to hospital equipment following an Israeli attack on the facility a few months prior. In July 2025, Dr. Sultan was killed in an Israeli strike on the apartment where he was sheltering with his family. Credit: PHR/GHRC
(UN News)* —The temporary closure of a UN-run health centre in East Jerusalem is the latest phase in “a pattern of deliberate disregard” for international law, the head of the UN agency that assists Palestine refugees, UNRWA, said on Wednesday [].
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UNRWA | UNRWA Headquarters in East Jerusalem
Israeli forces stormed the UNRWA-operated health centre on Monday and ordered it to close for 30 days. They also demanded the removal of UN signage.
Furthermore, water and electricity supply to multiple UNRWA facilities are scheduled to be cut off in the coming weeks, affecting schools, health centres and other critical buildings.
(Beirut) –Saudiauthorities executed at least 356 people in 2025, setting a new record in the country for the highest number of executions in one year since monitoring began, Human Rights Watch on 13 January 2026 said.
(UN News)* — As anti-government demonstrations continue across Iran, the UN human rights chief said on Tuesday [] that he was horrified at the mounting violence directed by security forces against protestors, with reports of hundreds killed and thousands arrested.
Volker Türk urged the authorities to immediately halt all forms of violence and repression against peaceful protestors and to restore full access to the internet and telecommunications.
“The killing of peaceful demonstrators must stop, and the labelling of protesters as ‘terrorists’ to justify violence against them is unacceptable,” he said.
Since 28 December, citizens have taken to the streets in all provinces of Iran, initially to voice their frustration over record inflation, soaring food prices and the sudden collapse of the national currency.