Russia Quits UN System on Syria Hospitals, Aid

FILE PHOTO: People inspect damage in Omar Bin Abdulaziz hospital, in Aleppo, Syria November 19, 2016. REUTERS/Abdalrhman Ismail/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: People inspect damage in Omar Bin Abdulaziz hospital, in Aleppo, Syria November 19, 2016. REUTERS/Abdalrhman Ismail/File Photo
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Russia Quits UN System on Syria Hospitals, Aid

FILE PHOTO: People inspect damage in Omar Bin Abdulaziz hospital, in Aleppo, Syria November 19, 2016. REUTERS/Abdalrhman Ismail/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: People inspect damage in Omar Bin Abdulaziz hospital, in Aleppo, Syria November 19, 2016. REUTERS/Abdalrhman Ismail/File Photo

Russia has quit a United Nations arrangement that aimed to protect hospitals and humanitarian aid deliveries in Syria from being hit by the warring parties, according to a UN note to aid groups seen by Reuters on Thursday.

The Russian move comes after an internal UN inquiry in April found it was "highly probable" the government of Syria or its allies carried out attacks on three healthcare facilities, a school and a refuge for children in northwest Syria last year.

Russia and Syria have said their forces are not targeting civilians or civilian infrastructure and have long-questioned the sources used by the United Nations to verify attacks.

Under the UN deconfliction arrangement, the locations of UN supported facilities and other humanitarian sites like hospitals and health centers had been shared with the warring parties in a bid to protect them. However, the United Nations has questioned whether it made them a target.

"On Tuesday, 23 June, the Russian Federation informed the United Nations that it would no longer participate in the humanitarian notification system," the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in the note.

An OCHA spokeswoman confirmed the note.

"The United Nations is concerned about the withdrawal of the Russian Federation from the notification mechanism and is examining the implications of this decision for humanitarian personnel and operations in Syria," the UN note said.

The United Nations said it would discuss the situation further with Russia.

In the note it said all parties to the conflict – whether they participated in the voluntary deconfliction arrangement or not - were still bound by international humanitarian law.



Weaponization of Food in Gaza Constitutes War Crime, UN Rights Office Says

A tent camp for displaced Palestinians stretches among the ruins of buildings destroyed by Israeli bombardments in west of Gaza City, Saturday, June 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
A tent camp for displaced Palestinians stretches among the ruins of buildings destroyed by Israeli bombardments in west of Gaza City, Saturday, June 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
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Weaponization of Food in Gaza Constitutes War Crime, UN Rights Office Says

A tent camp for displaced Palestinians stretches among the ruins of buildings destroyed by Israeli bombardments in west of Gaza City, Saturday, June 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
A tent camp for displaced Palestinians stretches among the ruins of buildings destroyed by Israeli bombardments in west of Gaza City, Saturday, June 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

The UN human rights office said on Tuesday that the "weaponization" of food for civilians in Gaza constitutes a war crime, in its strongest remarks yet on a new model of aid distribution run by an Israeli-backed organization.

Over 410 people have been killed by gunshots or shells fired by the Israeli military while trying to reach distribution sites of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation since it began work in late May, UN human rights spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan told reporters at a Geneva press briefing.

The death toll has been independently verified by his office, he added.

"Desperate, hungry people in Gaza continue to face the inhumane choice of either starving to death or risk being killed while trying to get food," he said, describing the system as "Israel's militarized humanitarian assistance mechanism".

"The weaponization of food for civilians, in addition to restricting or preventing their access to life-sustaining services, constitutes a war crime and, under certain circumstances, may constitute elements of other crimes under international law."

Asked whether Israel was guilty of that war crime, he said: "The legal qualification needs to be made by a court of law."

Israel rejects war crimes charges in Gaza and blames Hamas fighters for harm to civilians for operating among them, which the fighters deny.