Palestinians react as smoke rises from the Mushtaha Tower following an Israeli airstrike in the west of Gaza City, 5 September 2025. (Keystone/EPA/Haitham Imad)

📈Ten humanitarian trends to keep an eye on in 2026. From territorial expansionism to transactional peacemaking, to an acceleration in anti-migration sentiment, several key factors are likely to worsen the lives of millions and drive humanitarian needs in 2026.

🇻🇪UN chief raises concerns about instability in Venezuela, legality of US operation. Speaking at the UN Security Council, just hours before the captured Venezuelan president, Nicolás Maduro, was due to appear at a Manhattan courthouse, António Guterres said he was “deeply concerned” that international law has not been respected.

🗣Opinion: Trump’s Venezuela invasion sets a perilous precedent. The US military incursion in a sovereign nation to capture its leader, president Nicolás Maduro, creates a risky precedent that autocratic leaders like Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping may be keen to exploit, argues human rights advocate Kenneth Roth.

📝Which aid groups is Israel banning from Gaza now – and what will it mean? Israel said more than three dozen humanitarian groups operating in Gaza will have their licenses revoked after failing to meet stricter registration rules that required them to hand over sensitive information, including the names of Palestinian staff.

🇸🇩UN makes first visit to Sudan’s el-Fasher since its fall, finding dire conditions. A UN humanitarian team made an hours-long visit to the city, which remains under the control of the Rapid Support Forces, at the end of 2025 with the aim of identifying safe routes for humanitarian workers.