Today's top news: Democratic Republic of the Congo, Occupied Palestinian Territory, Syria
#Democratic Republic of the Congo
OCHA says that the humanitarian situation in and around Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo, remains worrying. This morning, there were reports of heavy and small arms fire and mortar fire across the city, with dead bodies visible in the streets.
According to humanitarian partners, there have been reports of gender-based violence; the looting of property, including several humanitarian warehouses; and humanitarian and health facilities being struck in the fighting.
Hospitals in Goma continue to be overwhelmed, struggling to manage the influx of wounded people. Two ambulances from a local non-governmental organization were targeted in the city of Goma today while attempting to evacuate wounded people.
Electricity and water supplies are still disrupted. The phone network is operational, but the Internet is not.
OCHA reiterates that all parties must do all they can to spare civilians in military operations. Schools, hospitals and other civilian infrastructure must be protected.
If the situation allows, aid workers will resume their efforts to respond to the enormous humanitarian needs.
#Occupied Palestinian Territory
OCHA reports that the UN and its humanitarian partners in Gaza are seizing every opportunity created by the ceasefire to provide critical life-saving services to people in all five governorates.
Today, 836 trucks entered Gaza, according to information obtained by the UN on the ground through interactions with the Israeli authorities and the guarantors for the ceasefire deal.
Aid groups continue to provide food, healthcare and other humanitarian services to people returning to northern Gaza. Partners estimate that as of earlier today, more than 375,000 people have crossed from south to north since the opening of the coastal road and Salah al Din road yesterday.
Aid workers deployed along those roads are providing those on the move with water, hot meals, high-energy biscuits, hygiene kits and emergency medical care as needed. They are also warning people of the dangers posed by explosive ordnance.
OCHA notes that since the start of the ceasefire, the UN Mine Action Service and its partners have assessed nearly a dozen sites across Gaza to reduce the risk that explosive ordnance poses to civilians, including humanitarian personnel.
Meanwhile, the World Food Programme (WFP) reports that during the first week of the ceasefire, the agency has reached more than 330,000 people across Gaza with food assistance, including food parcels, hot meals and cash assistance.
WFP says it has brought more than 10,000 metric tons of food into Gaza since the ceasefire – and that for the first time in months, families in Gaza are receiving significantly more rations – two food parcels and a 25-kilo bag of wheat flour. The agency has also distributed nutrition products to 46,000 people, including children under 5 and pregnant and breastfeeding women.
Thanks to the influx of fresh supplies entering the Strip, WFP has also been able to get bakeries up and running in the south – eight old and five new ones – and prepare hot meals and deliver ready-to-eat meals to families in shelters.
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) says it is working to restore local food production in Gaza by scaling up deliveries of critical agricultural inputs. FAO is also focused on rebuilding agrifood infrastructure, such as greenhouses, wells and solar systems.
The agency’s latest geospatial assessment, carried out with the UN Satellite Centre between October and December 2024, indicates that three quarters of fields once used to grow crops in Gaza – as well as olive tree orchards – have been damaged or destroyed. Livestock losses are at 96 per cent, and the fishing sector is on the brink of collapse.
Meanwhile in the West Bank, OCHA remains deeply concerned over the impact of ongoing operations by Israeli forces in Jenin, and more recently in Tulkarm.
Yesterday, air strikes were reported in Tulkarm, resulting in further fatalities. Since the beginning of the operation in Jenin on 21 January, 18 people have been killed in both governorates. OCHA warns that the use of war-like tactics by Israeli forces appears to exceed law enforcement standards.
In both Jenin and Tulkarm, displacement and significant damage to infrastructure have been reported due to repeated operations in recent months. As a result, the refugee camps there are now largely disconnected from the water and electricity grids. Jenin’s governmental hospital is relying on water tanks provided through support by the OCHA-managed Occupied Palestinian Territory Humanitarian Fund in preparation for such events.
In Jenin camp, WFP says the agency is ready to provide food voucher assistance to more than 3,700 people. WFP is also helping get cash assistance to thousands of displaced households affected by military operations in the West Bank.
#Syria
OCHA says that hostilities continue to affect the north-east of Syria, including eastern Aleppo and in Ar-Raqqa governorates.
This continues to hamper efforts to repair the Tishreen Dam, which has been non-functional for seven weeks now and depriving more than 410,000 people of water and electricity access in the city of Menbij and the Ain al-Arab district in eastern Aleppo governorate.
OCHA reports that intensified hostilities in Menbij last week forced 25,000 people to flee their homes.
In the north-east, there are still some 24,000 displaced people living in more than 200 emergency collective centers in the region. Humanitarian partners report that more than 50,000 children, including those living with disabilities, have no access to education due to their schools being used as collective centers.
In addition to the fighting, civilians are endangered by explosive remnants of war. In the first three weeks of January alone, at least 51 people were killed and 75 others injured in explosive ordnance incidents across the country, according to partners.
OCHA says humanitarian needs in Syria remain massive. The UN and its humanitarian partners require US$1.2 billion to reach 6.7 million of the most vulnerable people through March of this year. This includes providing 5.4 million people with food aid, 3 million people with healthcare, and 2.5 million people with clean water and sanitation.
Syria also continues to host one of the world’s largest displaced populations, and some 40 per cent of those targeted with aid are internally displaced.
The humanitarian community needs the resources to scale up support for the people of Syria at this pivotal time.