Press releases

In reaction to Israel's parliament banning UNRWA from operating in areas under Israel’s control, Sally Abi Khalil, Oxfam Regional Director in the Middle East and North Africa said:  “Israel has bombed Palestinians to death, maimed them, starved them, and is now ridding them of their biggest lifeline of aid."

The carbon footprint of a super-rich European, accumulated from nearly a week of using super yachts and private jets, matches the lifetime carbon footprint of someone in the world’s poorest 1 percent, a new Oxfam report reveals today. The first-of-its-kind study, “Carbon Inequality Kills”, tracks the emissions from private jets, yachts and polluting investments and comes ahead of COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, amidst growing fears that climate breakdown is accelerating, driven largely by the emissions of the richest people.

Fifty of the world’s richest billionaires on average produce more carbon through their investments, private jets and yachts in just over an hour and a half than the average person does in their entire lifetime, a new Oxfam report reveals today. The first-of-its-kind study, “Carbon Inequality Kills,” tracks the emissions from private jets, yachts and polluting investments and details how the super-rich are fueling inequality, hunger and death across the world. The report comes ahead of COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, amidst growing fears that climate breakdown is accelerating, driven largely by the emissions of the richest people.

We call on world leaders to act urgently to protect UNRWA from the unprecedented and dangerous attacks it faces from the Israeli Government. The Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee passed two bills on 6 October 2024 aimed at ceasing UNRWA's operations. These bills await final readings in the Knesset Plenum as soon as 28 October 2024. This could see UNRWA evicted from premises it has held for over 70 years and have its immunities revoked, severely blocking its ability to provide essential services such as healthcare and education to millions of Palestine refugees. This reckless move threatens to dismantle the backbone of the international humanitarian operation in Gaza, aggravating an already catastrophic crisis.

In response to the communiqué published following the Fourth G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting, Oxfam International’s Tax Policy Lead, Susana Ruiz, said: “The G20 Finance Ministers are advancing toward fairly taxing the ultra-rich worldwide. Far from a blip, today’s G20 Ministerial reflects an emergent shift in consensus from the world’s largest economies to reduce extreme inequality by ensuring the ultra-rich pay their fair share. While we need G20 leaders to ratify this commitment at the Rio Summit in November and lay out steps for its implementation, let’s make no mistake: finance leaders have hit a new historic milestone."

94 percent of countries (94 out of 100 countries) with current World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) loans have cut vital investments in public education, health and social protection over the past two years, according to a new report published today by Oxfam and Development Finance International (DFI).

Oxfam condemns in the strongest terms the killing of four workers from our strategic partner the Coastal Municipalities Water Utility (CMWU) in Gaza today. 

Up to $41 billion in World Bank climate finance —nearly 40 percent of all climate funds disbursed by the Bank over the past seven years— is unaccounted for due to poor record-keeping practices, reveals a new Oxfam report published today ahead of the World Bank and IMF Annual Meetings in Washington D.C. 

Between 7,000 to as many as 21,000 people are likely dying each day from hunger in countries impacted by conflict, according to a new Oxfam report published on World Food Day.

The Israeli forces’ assault on Gaza has escalated to a horrifying level of atrocity. Northern Gaza is being wiped off the map. Under the guise of “evacuation,” Israeli forces have ordered the forced displacement of an estimated 400,000 Palestinians trapped in northern Gaza, including Gaza City. This is not an evacuation—this is forced displacement under gunfire.