Today's top news: Democratic Republic of the Congo, Occupied Palestinian Territory, Haiti

Displaced Palestinians return to northern Gaza.
Displaced families return to northern Gaza. Photo: OCHA

#Democratic Republic of the Congo

OCHA reports that humanitarian organizations in Goma, eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, continue to assess the impact of the crisis, including the widespread looting of warehouses and the offices of aid organizations.

The World Health Organization (WHO) and partners conducted an assessment with the Government between 26 January and yesterday and reported that 700 people have been killed and 2,800 injured people are receiving treatment in health facilities. These numbers are expected to rise as more information becomes available.

Today, OCHA and its humanitarian partners visited sites for internally displaced people in the areas of Bulengo, Lushagala, on the outskirts of Goma. They found that water and healthcare services are still operational, but conditions remain dire. Cholera cases have been reported and there are risks of an Mpox outbreak among displaced people.

In Goma, access to safe drinking water remains cut off, forcing people to rely on untreated water from Lake Kivu. Without urgent action, OCHA cautions that the risk of waterborne disease outbreaks will continue to increase.

#Occupied Palestinian Territory

OCHA reports that nearly half a million people have returned to northern areas of the Gaza Strip as the ceasefire continues to hold.

Humanitarian partners say displaced Palestinians are also moving from north to south, though in smaller numbers. As of today, about 8,500 people have crossed from the northern areas of Gaza to the southern side.

The UN and its humanitarian partners continue to ramp up response at monitoring points along the way. This includes first aid and psychological support for the most vulnerable, including children, women and older people. They are also expanding aid operations in northern Gaza. Yesterday, an OCHA team visited two sites in the South Remal and Tel el Hawa neighbourhoods in Gaza city. People there say they urgently need water, kitchen supplies, bedding and cleaning items.

WHO is working around the clock to expand health services in northern Gaza. Yesterday, WHO delivered dignity kits in the north to support the hygiene needs of more than 26,000 women and girls.

There are plans to expand the capacity of Al Shifa hospital in Gaza city by 200 beds. WHO is also working with the Ministry of Health to carry out an assessment at Indonesian Hospital to support the restoration of that facility. 

Two surgical teams are being deployed to the Ahli Arab and Public Aid hospitals in Gaza city to support trauma and surgical capacity there. WHO says discussions are in their final stages on setting up a prefabricated health facility in Gaza city.

As the UN and its partners work to reach people throughout Gaza with life-saving aid, the UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS) is helping humanitarians move across the Strip safely. UNMAS officers have accompanied some 300 convoys since the ceasefire took effect. Partners have also distributed 22,000 leaflets and posters on explosive ordnance to the population in Gaza city and North Gaza.

In the West Bank, OCHA remains deeply alarmed by the worsening humanitarian situation in northern areas, as Israeli forces’ operation in Jenin continued for an eleventh day.

Repeated operations there have resulted in widespread destruction of homes and infrastructure. Nearly all of Jenin refugee camp’s 20,000 residents have been displaced over the past two months in the context of both Palestinian and Israeli operations.

Meanwhile, as the Israeli operation in Tulkarm entered its fifth day today, partners report that more than 110 families have been displaced from the Tulkarm refugee camp.

Israeli operations in northern areas come amid tight movement restrictions across the West Bank, which continue to hamper access to basic services, leaving Palestinians queuing for hours at Israeli checkpoints, or forced to take significantly longer detours. Movement restrictions in Jenin have caused food shortages and rising prices, while workers and small business owners have lost their main sources of income. These restrictions have also kept aid workers from reaching families that remain in Jenin refugee camp, as well as those displaced to other parts of Jenin governorate. 

The UN and its humanitarian partners are scaling up assistance to displaced families, particularly to children, women, and older people.

#Haiti

OCHA reports that violent clashes this week between security forces and armed groups on the outskirts of Haiti's capital Port-au Prince have forced people to flee.

According to the International Organization for Migration, more than 1,600 have been displaced. Two-thirds of them have taken refuge with host families, while 550 others are now living in three newly established displacement sites.

Humanitarian partners say that the situation for children in Haiti continues to be dire. The number of internally displaced children has increased by nearly 50 per cent since September, surging to more than half a million – or approximately one in eight children in the country, according to UNICEF.

Some three million children need humanitarian assistance, including more than 1.2 million children in Port-au-Prince. There has been a 70 per cent increase in the recruitment of children by armed groups over the past year, with children now estimated to make up as much as 50 per cent of armed group members, according to UNICEF.

Meanwhile, the forced returns of Haitians continue to drive up humanitarian needs. Nearly 15,000 Haitians were returned in just the first two weeks of January from the Dominican Republic, adding to the 200,000 who were returned from across the region in 2024.

In addition, natural disasters are also wreaking havoc across Haiti. OCHA says that since November 2024, nearly 330,000 people have been affected by floods across six of the country’s 10 departments. The floods claimed dozens of lives and damaged or destroyed nearly 50,000 homes.

The UN and its partners are appealing for US$908 million to help 3.9 million people in Haiti this year. They urge the international community to scale up its support so that the UN and its humanitarian partners can support the people of Haiti.