Summary:
Israel killed Izz al-Din al-Haddad, the chief of Hamas's military wing (the Qassam Brigades), in a strike on Gaza City on Friday 15 May. Haddad was one of the last senior commanders in Hamas's military structure still active in Gaza, having assumed the role after his predecessor Mohammed Sinwar was killed. Reuters; Al Jazeera
Ongoing Israeli military operations continue to cause civilian casualties across Gaza. According to data from the Ministry of Health (MoH) in Gaza, between 7 and 12 May, 10 Palestinians were killed and 45 injured. This brings the overall reported casualty toll since the ceasefire announcement on 10 October 2025 to 856 fatalities and 2,463 injuries. A further 103 fatalities were retroactively added after their identification details were approved by the MoH. OCHA
Since 7 October 2023 and up to 6 May 2026, the MoH reports that 72,619 Palestinians were killed and 172,484 injured in the Gaza Strip. UNRWA Situation Report #221
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that over 43,000 people in Gaza have life-changing injuries, one in four of them a child, with over 50,000 people in need of long-term rehabilitation. No rehabilitation facility is fully operational. OCHA
Humanitarian access remains severely constrained. Only one in every two aid trucks from Egypt could offload at Israeli-controlled crossings in the first 11 days of May. Kerem Shalom and Zikim remain the only operational entry points for goods into Gaza. OCHA
The humanitarian situation in the occupied West Bank continues to deteriorate. Between 7 October 2023 and 3 May 2026, 1,091 Palestinians — at least 239 of them children — were killed in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. In 2026 alone, 47 Palestinians were killed up to 11 May, including 13 by Israeli settlers and 32 by Israeli forces. UNRWA
Settler violence has spiked sharply in the Jordan Valley, with the monthly average of incidents causing casualties or property damage increasing 14-fold since 2020. The EU agreed on a new set of sanctions targeting violent Israeli settlers in the West Bank. Al Jazeera; OCHA
Israel and Lebanon agreed to a 45-day extension of their ceasefire following talks in Washington brokered by the United States. However, Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon continued despite the extension, with Lebanon's health ministry reporting six people killed — including three paramedics — in an Israeli airstrike on a town in southern Lebanon. BBC; Al Jazeera
US–Iran negotiations over Tehran's nuclear programme remain deadlocked. Iran warned of its "readiness for war" and economic costs as talks faltered, with the Iranian Foreign Minister speaking at a BRICS meeting in India about "distrust" of the United States. Trump said he would accept a 20-year suspension of Iran's uranium enrichment programme, appearing to back away from a long-standing demand for complete dismantlement. Both sides postponed discussions on uranium enrichment to a later stage of negotiations. Al Jazeera; BBC
A US-brokered 72-hour ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, which ran from 9 to 11 May, expired with both sides accusing each other of violations. Russia used the ceasefire period to accumulate forces in the Pokrovsk area. Following its expiry, Russia launched one of the largest drone and missile attacks of the war, pummelling Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities with hundreds of drones and missiles over several days. Zelenskyy vowed retribution, pointing to Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil infrastructure as "entirely justified." The Guardian; The New York Times
At least 24 people were killed in a Russian strike on Kyiv, and at least 3 people were killed and over 60 injured in Russian attacks across Ukraine in the 24 hours to 16 May. A UN humanitarian convoy delivering aid to Kherson was struck twice by drones despite prior coordination with both sides. Al Jazeera; The Independent
Russia and Ukraine exchanged 205 prisoners of war each on 15 May, linked to the ceasefire agreement. Peace talks are widely described as deadlocked; Putin reiterated willingness to meet Zelenskyy in a third country only once conditions for a peace agreement are settled. Reuters; Al Jazeera
According to the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (OHCHR/HRMMU), at least 238 civilians were killed and 1,404 injured in April 2026 alone — the highest monthly toll since July 2025, representing an 18% increase on April 2025. Cumulative verified civilian casualties since 24 February 2022 stand at over 14,000 killed and 35,000 injured in government-controlled territory. OHCHR notes that approximately 99% of verified casualties occurred in government-controlled areas, as the mission has been denied access to Russian-occupied territories (Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, and Crimea). OHCHR Ukraine
Armed drones have become the leading cause of civilian deaths in Sudan's civil war. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk reported that drones caused more than 80% of civilian deaths in the first four months of 2026, killing at least 880 civilians between January and April. The most recent incident on 8 May killed 26 civilians in strikes on Al Quz in South Kordofan and near El Obeid in North Kordofan. Türk warned the conflict is "on the cusp of entering yet another new, even deadlier phase." UN News; OHCHR
The war, which began in April 2023, has killed at least 59,000 people and displaced approximately 13 million. IOM documented nearly 8.9 million internally displaced persons inside Sudan as of late March 2026. Fighting has spread beyond Darfur and Kordofan to Blue Nile, White Nile, and Khartoum, with drone strikes hitting Khartoum International Airport on 4 May, disrupting all flights. AP; ReliefWeb
Human Rights Watch reported that M23 rebels and Rwandan military forces carried out an abusive month-long occupation of the eastern DRC city of Uvira, committing atrocities including killings, sexual violence, and looting. Around 3.59 million people are internally displaced in eastern DRC, with South Kivu and North Kivu provinces hardest hit. Human Rights Watch; UN News
The UN warned that Somalia is at "real risk of famine," with at least six million people going days without adequate food. The International Rescue Committee warned that Somalia is again approaching catastrophic levels of hunger, driven by a devastating drought, collapsed humanitarian funding, and the spillover effects of the Middle East conflict on supply chains. UN News; ReliefWeb
Reports from Myanmar indicate that senior junta military officials, including a tactical commander, were attacked in Hakha on 16 May. The country's civil war continues, with resistance forces maintaining pressure across multiple fronts. The military junta has been attempting to consolidate control while facing sustained armed opposition from ethnic resistance organisations and the People's Defence Force.
Yemen's warring parties — the internationally recognised government and the Houthis (Ansar Allah) — agreed under UN mediation to release more than 1,600 conflict-related detainees, the largest such deal since Yemen's civil war began in 2014. The agreement was announced by UN Special Envoy Hans Grundberg following 14 weeks of negotiations in Amman, Jordan. The ICRC will oversee implementation. UN Secretary-General António Guterres called on the parties to "move swiftly" to implement the deal. UN News; Reuters
New data from the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) shows that internal displacements caused by conflict increased by 60% in 2025, from 20 million to 32 million. Total internally displaced persons globally reached 82.2 million in 2025. The highest conflict displacements were recorded in Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Palestinian territories, Myanmar, and Ethiopia. The Guardian; Save the Children
Table 1 — Casualties (Killed / Wounded)
| Conflict / Crisis | Key Statistic | Source | Killed | Wounded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gaza | Since 7 Oct 2023 (cumulative to 6 May 2026) | UNRWA / Gaza MoH | 72,619 | 172,484 |
| Since Oct 2025 ceasefire (to 12 May 2026) | OCHA / Gaza MoH | 856 | 2,463 | |
| West Bank | Since 7 Oct 2023 (to 3 May 2026) | UNRWA / Palestinian MoH | 1,091 | — |
| Sudan | Estimated deaths since April 2023 | AP | 59,000+ | — |
| Ukraine — civilians (Govt-controlled territory) | Verified cumulative civilian casualties since 24 Feb 2022 | OHCHR Ukraine | 14,000+ | 35,000+ |
| Ukraine — civilians (Russian-occupied territory) | Cumulative since 24 Feb 2022 (OHCHR access denied) | OHCHR Ukraine | unverified | unverified |
| Russia — civilians | Civilian casualties from Ukrainian strikes on Russian territory | Russia Matters | — | — |
* OHCHR has been denied access to Russian-occupied territories (Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Crimea); independent verification of civilian casualties in those areas is not possible. Approximately 99% of OHCHR-verified casualties occurred in government-controlled areas.
** No reliable independently verified figure for civilian casualties from Ukrainian strikes on Russian territory was available for this reporting period.
Table 2 — Numbers (Non-casualty figures)
| Conflict / Crisis | Key Statistic | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gaza | People with life-changing injuries (WHO estimate) | 43,000+ | OCHA / WHO |
| UNRWA colleagues killed since start of war (to 12 May 2026) | 391 | UNRWA | |
| Sudan | Internally displaced persons (IOM, as of 29 Mar 2026) | 8,936,175 | IOM / ReliefWeb |
| Drone-caused civilian deaths (Jan–Apr 2026) | 880+ | UN News / OHCHR | |
| DR Congo | Internally displaced in eastern DRC | 3,590,000 | UN News |
| Somalia | People facing acute food insecurity | 6,000,000+ | UN News |
| Ukraine | Total internally displaced and refugees abroad (2026) | ~13,200,000 | UNHCR / IOM |
| Yemen | Conflict-related detainees to be released under UN deal | 1,600+ | UN News |
| Global | Total internally displaced persons worldwide (end 2025) | 82,200,000 | IDMC / The Guardian |
This report covers developments up to 17 May 2026 (AEDT). All figures are sourced from publicly available reports by international organisations and credible news outlets. Statistics are subject to revision as new information becomes available. Source bias tags are applied where relevant: (Rus) = Russian state media; (Ukr) = Ukrainian state or advocacy outlet; (Chin) = Chinese state media.