UNHCR: Middle East crisis is hindering global humanitarian assistance.

The United Nations Refugee Agency warned on the 1st that the Middle East crisis has had far-reaching and profound chain effects beyond the region, with increasingly serious negative impacts on the global humanitarian supply chain and aid delivery. UNHCR spokesperson Carlota Wolff said at a press conference in Geneva that the security situation in the Gulf's main sea routes and surrounding areas, especially the Strait of Hormuz, is deteriorating, leading to disruption of maritime traffic. Globally, fuel, food, and freight costs have risen, driving up prices and delaying the delivery of key supplies, reducing the ability of aid agencies to provide timely assistance, and affecting the livelihoods of millions of refugees and displaced persons. She said that since the outbreak of the conflict in the Middle East, freight prices in major supplier countries have risen by nearly 18%, with transport costs for some goods increasing by more than double.