Up to 11.6 million refugees are in danger of losing access to humanitarian assistance due to cuts in foreign aid by donor nations, the United Nations refugee agency said on Friday.

This is about one-third of refugees normally supported by the U.N. agency, it said, Reuters reported.

“Our funding situation is dramatic. We fear that up to 11.6 million refugees and people forced to flee are losing access to humanitarian assistance provided by UNHCR,” said Dominique Hyde, UNHCR’s director of external relations.

Just 23% of the UNHCR’s funding requirement of $10.6 billion has been fulfilled so far for this year, it said.

The funding crisis stems from large foreign aid cuts by donor countries such as Sweden, France and Japan, compounded by major U.S. aid cuts.

Forced displacement is increasing globally, while humanitarian aid is sharply decreasing, creating a “deadly cocktail” that places displaced populations at grave risk, according to a new report published on Friday by the UNHCR.

The agency said it has had to stop or suspend about $1.4 billion worth of aid programmes, including a 60% reduction in emergency relief supplies in many countries, including Sudan, Chad and Afghanistan.

Critical areas such as medical aid, education, shelter, nutrition, and protection are among the services being lost.

Women and girls are disproportionately affected by UNHCR funding cuts, with the agency having to cut one quarter of its support to programmes that provide protection and response to gender-based violence.

Women and girls in Afghanistan are the hardest hit by cuts, the UNHCR said.

“Protection activities have been slashed by over 50%, undermining programmes on women’s empowerment, mental health and prevention and response to gender-based violence,” Hyde said.

Globally the agency is downsizing by 30%, cutting 3,500 staff positions.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Thursday said he would not take orders over tariffs from a foreigner, referring to U.S. President Donald Trump, and later called the United States’ threatened duty “unacceptable blackmail.”

The comments, made during two separate events, mark a continuation of a spat between the two leaders that escalated when the U.S. announced a 50% tariff on Brazil last week, Reuters reported.

Trump attributed the tariff, set to start in August, to Brazil’s treatment of former President Jair Bolsonaro and to trade practices against U.S. companies that he said are unfair. The tariff announcement came days after Lula called Trump an “emperor” the world does not want.

Lula and members of his cabinet have rejected the reasoning behind the tariffs and insisted on Brazil’s sovereignty, while calling for trade negotiations with the United States.

“No foreigner is going to give orders to this president,” Lula said in a speech, using the slang word ‘gringo’, which in Brazil is a common term for foreigners without the pejorative sense it carries in other parts of Latin America.

He added that Brazil would go ahead with regulation and taxation of U.S. tech firms, telling a gathering of leftist student activists in the state of Goias that tech firms are conduits of violence and fake news disguised as freedom of expression.

Later on Thursday, during an evening TV and radio address to the nation, Lula said the defense of Brazil’s sovereignty extends to protecting itself against the actions of foreign digital platforms.

During the near five-minute address, Lula said Brazil has been negotiating with the U.S. over tariffs, and repeated that the Latin America country had sent a proposal in May.

“We expected a response, and what we received was unacceptable blackmail, in the form of threats to Brazilian institutions and false information about trade between Brazil and the United States,” Lula said.

Brasilia has been holding discussions with industry groups and companies that will be affected by the U.S. tariff, while also readying potential retaliatory measures if talks fall through.

Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira told CNN Brasil separately on Thursday that Lula was open to talks with Trump, who had not yet met each other.

“If the circumstances are given, they will speak,” he added.

Lula, who is in his third non-consecutive term as president of Latin America’s largest economy, saw his approval ratings start to rebound after the trade spat with Trump last week.

Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa said on Thursday that protecting Druze citizens and their rights is “our priority”, as Israel vowed to destroy Syrian government forces attacking Druze in southern Syria, Reuters reported.

In his first televised statement after powerful Israeli air strikes on Damascus on Wednesday, Sharaa addressed Druze citizens saying “we reject any attempt to drag you into hands of an external party”.

“We are not among those who fear the war. We have spent our lives facing challenges and defending our people, but we have put the interests of the Syrians before chaos and destruction,” he said.

He added that the Syrian people are not afraid of war and are ready to fight if their dignity is threatened.

Israel’s airstrikes blew up part of Syria’s defence ministry and hit near the presidential palace as it vowed to destroy government forces attacking Druze in southern Syria and demanded they withdraw.

The attacks marked a significant Israeli escalation against Sharaa’s Islamist-led administration. They came despite his warming ties with the U.S. and his administration’s evolving security contacts with Israel, read the report.

Describing Syria’s new rulers as barely disguised jihadists, Israel has said it will not let them move forces into southern Syria and vowed to shield the area’s Druze community from attack, encouraged by calls from Israel’s own Druze minority.

The U.S. said the fighting would stop soon.

“We have engaged all the parties involved in the clashes in Syria. We have agreed on specific steps that will bring this troubling and horrifying situation to an end tonight,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on social media.

The United Nations Security Council will meet on Thursday to address the conflict, diplomats said.

“The council must condemn the barbaric crimes committed against innocent civilians on Syrian soil,” said Israel’s ambassador to the U.N., Danny Danon. “Israel will continue to act resolutely against any terrorist threat on its borders, anywhere and at any time.”

The Syrian Network for Human Rights said 169 people had been killed in this week’s violence. Security sources put the toll at 300. Reuters could not independently verify the tolls.

Reuters reporters heard warplanes swoop low over the capital Damascus and unleash a series of massive strikes on Wednesday afternoon. Columns of smoke rose from the area near the defence ministry. A section of the building was destroyed, the ground strewn with rubble, Reuters reported.

An Israeli military official said the entrance to the military headquarters in Damascus was struck, along with a military target near the presidential palace. The official said Syrian forces were not acting to prevent attacks on Druze and were part of the problem.

“We will not allow southern Syria to become a terror stronghold,” said Eyal Zamir, Israel’s military chief of staff.

Sharaa faces challenges to stitch Syria back together in the face of deep misgivings from groups that fear Islamist rule. In March, mass killings of members of the Alawite minority exacerbated the mistrust.

Druze, followers of a religion that is an offshoot of Islam, are spread between Syria, Lebanon and Israel.

Following calls in Israel to help Druze in Syria, scores of Israeli Druze broke through the border fence on Wednesday, linking up with Druze on the Syrian side, a Reuters witness said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the Israeli military was working to save the Druze and urged Israeli Druze citizens not to cross the border. The Israeli military said it was working to safely return civilians who had crossed, Reuters reported.

Israeli Druze Faez Shkeir said he felt helpless watching the violence in Syria.

“My family is in Syria – my wife is in Syria, my uncles are from Syria, and my family is in Syria, in Sweida, I don’t like to see them being killed. They kicked them out of their homes, they robbed and burned their houses, but I can’t do anything,” he said.