Today's top news: 87 million lives, Middle East, Lebanon, Occupied Palestinian Territory, Cuba, Ukraine
#87 million lives
Tomorrow, 11 March, at 2pm CET/9am EST, Tom Fletcher, the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, will speak to reporters from Geneva.
He will provide an update on the progress made in his goal to reach 87 million people with life-saving aid. For that, the humanitarian community will need $23 billion.
The press conference can be viewed here.
#Middle East
Dozens of schools damaged amid escalating hostilities
OCHA continues to monitor the humanitarian impact of ongoing hostilities in the region, including reports of civilian casualties and damage to civilian infrastructure.
In Iran, civilian infrastructure – including dozens of schools – have sustained damage.
Emergency response teams, including the International Red Cresent Society and firefighting units, are continuing rescue and relief operations in affected areas.
The UN reiterates that civilians and civilian infrastructure must be protected at all times, in accordance with international humanitarian law.
De-escalation and an end to hostilities are essential to prevent further civilian suffering and the deterioration of humanitarian conditions.
#Lebanon
Escalating hostilities displace hundreds of thousand
OCHA reports that nearly the entire population living in areas south of the Litani River, parts of Baalbek governorate and the Bekaa Valley, and large sections of Beirut’s southern suburbs – at least half a million people – are now caught up in the hostilities as airstrikes and displacement orders continue in Lebanon.
According to the Ministry of Public Health, more than 400 people have been killed and over 1,200 injured between 2 March and 9 March. One in five of the casualties are children under the age of 18.
People continue to be displaced. In the past week, more than 660,000 people registered themselves as displaced.
Health facilities are under growing pressure from trauma cases, while displaced people with chronic illnesses can’t access the treatment they need.
Attacks continue to affect healthcare. Yesterday, an Israeli strike hit a Red Cross ambulance in the town of Majdal Zoun in the Tyre district, injuring paramedics and damaging the vehicle. Since 2 March, the World Health Organization has recorded 23 attacks on healthcare, resulting in 14 deaths and 26 injuries.
The UN, together with NGOs and authorities, are scaling up urgent humanitarian assistance. As of yesterday, partners have distributed hundreds of thousands of hot meals, as well as several thousand mattresses and blankets to support displaced families. More than 200,000 litres of bottled water, and more than 750 cubic metres of trucked water, as well as fuel has also been delivered.
The UN once again stresses the urgent need for immediate de-escalation. All parties must respect international humanitarian law, including the protection of civilians, humanitarian personnel and healthcare facilities. Humanitarian access must be safe and sustained so assistance can reach people in need.
Additional international support is urgently required. The humanitarian community is scaling up the response, but resources are limited and additional funding is critical to sustain life-saving assistance as needs continue to grow.
#Occupied Palestinian Territory
Fuel shortage hamper aid efforts
OCHA reports that aid workers continue to provide aid across the Gaza Strip despite the recent tightening of crossing closures by the Israeli authorities, among other persistent challenges.
All crossings except Kerem Shalom remain closed, impeding the ability of the UN and humanitarian partners to bring in sufficient supplies and deliver them efficiently to people in immense need.
On Sunday, the UN was able to bring over 427,000 litres of fuel into Gaza to power critical humanitarian services, including health, and water, sanitation and hygiene facilities. The total amount of fuel that has entered since last Tuesday is 1.4 million litres. This is less than the 2 million litres of fuel needed every week to avoid interruption of or reduction in these services.
The Mekorot pipeline that supplies water from Israel to Gaza city has been reportedly repaired by an Israeli contractor and tested over the weekend. Yesterday, humanitarian partners leading the efforts to improve water, sanitation and hygiene across Gaza said that the supply has resumed at the same level as prior to the breakage on 19 January. Water trucking remains a backup lifeline to ensure communities can access sufficient sources of safe water, although it is expensive to sustain. Repairing vital infrastructure heavily damaged during the war is essential.
The UN and partners have resumed working on moving solid waste from the Firas market dumping site to a more suitable area away from the city. Since the works began on 10 February, they have moved approximately 3,000 cubic metres of solid waste from over 350,000 cubic metres of accumulated waste. This pace is significantly below the anticipated schedule due to challenges with fuel availability and insecurity.
Shelter needs continue to outpace the ability of the UN and its partners to respond, particularly with restrictions placed on items considered by the Israeli authorities as “dual-use”, including tool kits, heavy equipment, timber and cement. Meanwhile, over the past week, the UN and its humanitarian partners reached over 3,200 households with short-term solutions such as tents, sealing-off kits and tarpaulins, alongside mattresses and blankets.
Protection services also continued throughout the Strip. Last week, humanitarians were able to provide psychosocial support, case management assistance, legal consultation and disability inclusion services to some 3,700 people. These services are invaluable given the extent of psychological and physical trauma experienced by thousands of people in Gaza following more than two years of war.
OCHA reiterates that more is needed to relieve the suffering of the people in Gaza. This includes reopening additional crossings and allowing uninterrupted movement of people, including for medical evacuation and family reunification, as well as sustained and predictable flow of diverse critical supplies to enter Gaza.
#Cuba
Fuel shortages push country into deepening crisis
The UN remains deeply concerned about the deteriorating situation in Cuba, driven by the inability to import fuel. This has triggered an energy crisis.
Cuba’s already strained health system is approaching a critical point. Hospitals face frequent power outages, shortages of essential medicines, inability to operate critical equipment, and major disruptions to oncology care, dialysis, emergency services, infant and maternal care, cold‑chain systems, as well as chronic and non-urgent care.
As an example, some 16,000 cancer patients needing radiotherapy and more than 12,000 depending on chemotherapy cannot get the treatment they need due to power outages and resource shortages. Ambulances are struggling to obtain fuel, delaying urgent care.
Regarding access to water, nearly one million people depend on water delivered by tanker trucks, which require fuel to operate. More than 80 per cent of water‑pumping infrastructure relies on electricity, resulting in widespread and prolonged service disruptions.
Food supply chains – from production to storage to distribution – are increasingly impacted, with cold‑chain systems failing, transport routes increasingly interrupted, and reductions in the availability of basic food items across the country.
Humanitarian partners on the ground are working to provide assistance, but the lack of fuel is forcing food and water trucks to operate at a limited capacity, with dozens of aid containers waiting at the port.
The UN Plan of Action issued following Hurricane Melissa late last year calls for $74 million but is only 33 percent funded.
The UN is also engaging with Member States, including the United States, so aid can be delivered unimpeded. This includes accessing fuel for humanitarian purposes.
#Ukraine
More deadly strikes kill civilians
OCHA reports that large-scale missile and drone attacks and front-line hostilities between the early hours of last Thursday and yesterday affected multiple regions across the Ukraine.
Authorities reported nearly 30 civilians killed and about 170 injured, including children.
Kharkiv City was among the hardest hit, where strikes damaged apartment blocks, a school and other civilian site, killing 10 people, including two children, and injuring 26. Elsewhere in the Kharkiv Region, three more civilians were killed and 14 injured. In the Donetsk Region, authorities reported three civilians killed and 20 injured in Ukraine-controlled areas, most in Kramatorsk, including three children.
Attacks damaged ambulances, fire trucks, homes and energy and railway infrastructure in several regions.
The Humanitarian Coordinator for Ukraine, Matthias Schmale, reiterated in a social media post that civilians and civilian infrastructure must be protected under international humanitarian law.
Aid organizations deployed emergency teams to support affected people, including providing hot meals, construction materials and psychosocial support in Kharkiv and other impacted areas.
Separately, last Friday, a drone struck a humanitarian vehicle in Mykolaivka in the Donetsk Region, thankfully staff and volunteers were unharmed.
On the same day, a humanitarian convoy delivered solar lamps, dignity and medical kits to about 1,000 residents in front-line Dobropilska Hromada of the Donetsk Region.
Since the start of 2026, nine humanitarian convoys have reached front-line communities, assisting nearly 8,000 people.
*Donations made to UN Crisis Relief help UN agencies and humanitarian NGOs reach people in Ukraine with urgent support.
#Myanmar
Humanitarian crises deepen amid airstrikes, ongoing conflict
Airstrikes and clashes continue to fuel suffering and drive urgent humanitarian needs in Myanmar.
Almost a year since the devastating 28 March earthquake and more than five years since the military take-over, humanitarian partners continue to deliver life‑saving assistance to millions of people, despite insecurity, access restrictions and shrinking funding.
In 2025, the UN and partners reached more than 6 million people, including 1.7 million after the earthquake.
This year, humanitarians hope to reach at least 2.6 million people with the most life‑threatening and severe humanitarian needs.
The UN is grateful for the support received to date from donors and through OCHA-managed pooled funds – but much more is needed to reach all those who need aid.
*Donations made to UN Crisis Relief help UN agencies and humanitarian NGOs reach people in Myanmar with urgent support.