Today's top news: Democratic Republic of the Congo, Occupied Palestinian Territory, Syria, Sudan, Haiti, Afghanistan, Ukraine
#Democratic Republic of the Congo
UN Relief Chief arrives in Kinshasa
The Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Tom Fletcher, arrived in the Democratic Republic of the Congo today for a four-day visit to meet the country’s leaders, as well as aid workers and communities affected by the conflict in the east.
Today in Kinshasa, Fletcher held talks with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ms. Therese Kayikwamba Wagner, and other senior officials. They discussed urgent humanitarian challenges facing the country, including displacement, access to vital aid, and the protection of civilians in conflict-affected areas.
Fletcher commended the resilience of the Congolese people and reiterated the UN’s commitment to work hand-in-hand with authorities and local partners to support the humanitarian response and promote stability.
#Occupied Palestinian Territory
Suffering mounts in Gaza amid ongoing hostilities, constraints on aid operations
OCHA warns that conditions in the Gaza Strip are deteriorating rapidly. Scores of people of all ages are being killed and injured every day, while humanitarian operations of sufficient scale are not facilitated, leaving unaddressed the critical needs of those who have so far survived.
Yesterday, OCHA’s Head of Office in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Jonathan Whittall – who is currently in Gaza – briefed journalists about what he was seeing there. He warned of a pattern where people are being killed trying to reach food, noting he had met some of those injured in such circumstances in a visit to Nasser hospital.
“What we are seeing is carnage,” Whittall said. “It is weaponized hunger. It is forced displacement. It’s a death sentence for people just trying to survive. All combined, it appears to be the erasure of Palestinian life from Gaza.”
At the same time, he reiterated that the UN and its partners have a humanitarian plan by which they could reach every family in Gaza, as they have in the past, but they are prevented from doing so.
Over the weekend, telecommunications were restored across Gaza, after damaged fibre cables were repaired. For the first time in days, humanitarian teams have had more than 24 hours of relatively stable connectivity – something that is essential to coordinate emergency relief and save lives.
However, humanitarians in Gaza warn that without urgent fuel deliveries, telecommunications will go down again very soon.
Fuel is also needed to keep emergency rooms running, power ambulances, and operate water desalination and pumping stations.
Right now, teams on the ground are rationing what little fuel remains and working to retrieve stocks stored inside Gaza, in areas that are hard to reach. Earlier today, one of these teams managed to access fuel stored in Rafah.
If that mission is completed successfully, it would buy critical services a bit more time, although not much. OCHA stresses that the Israeli authorities need to facilitate movements of fuel in sufficient quantities into and throughout Gaza, including to and within the north, where fuel movements have often been denied.
Most of Gaza is in areas where humanitarian teams are required to coordinate every movement with the Israeli authorities. On Saturday and Sunday, the UN and its partners attempted to coordinate 16 humanitarian movements, but half of them were denied outright, hindering the trucking of water and fuel, the provision of nutrition services, and the retrieval of bodies. Some efforts to remove solid waste and the movement of staff within Gaza, without delivering supplies, were facilitated.
Meanwhile, most of Gaza also remains under displacement orders. Just today, Israeli authorities issued another such directive, this time for two neighbourhoods in Khan Younis city, citing Palestinian rocket fire from these areas. These neighbourhoods were already subject to earlier displacement orders and include two hospitals – Al Amal and Nasser. While Israeli authorities have clarified that the hospitals are not required to evacuate, OCHA says the designation is nonetheless hindering access to those critical facilities for both patients and medical staff.
Access to Nasser Medical Complex has been challenging because there is not enough fuel for transportation, and health workers and patients fear for their safety. Last week, in Khan Younis, in-patient admissions at field hospitals increased threefold, largely due to access challenges at Nasser, which also saw an influx of trauma patients and has been overwhelmed since.
#Syria
UN condemns attack on church in Damascus
The UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Syria, Adam Abdelmoula, strongly condemned yesterday’s deadly suicide bombing on the St. Elias Church in Damascus.
In a statement, Abdelmoula expressed his condolences to the victims’ families and urged the relevant authorities to take all necessary steps to ensure the protection of civilians and to bring those responsible to justice.
“As Syria embarks on a path towards recovery, reconciliation and rebuilding, there is no room for violence and extremism,” he said. "This is a time for unity, tolerance and solidarity to create a better future for all Syrians.”
#Sudan
Further displacement, funding cuts heighten humanitarian needs
OCHA warns that insecurity and worsening economic conditions continue to drive displacement in and around Al Fasher, in Sudan’s North Darfur state.
This past week, more than 1,200 people fled Al Fasher town and the nearby Abu Shouk displacement camp between 18 and 21 June, according to the International Organization for Migration. This follows the displacement of about 7,600 people from the same areas this month and more than 400,000 people since the escalation of hostilities in April.
Those who have been newly displaced have reportedly moved to other parts of the locality of Al Fasher, where active conflict and severe access constraints continue to hamper the UN and its partners from reaching those in need. Others have fled to As Serief and elsewhere in North Darfur, including Tawila, where humanitarians have been providing support for new arrivals in recent months.
OCHA remains deeply concerned over the impact that severe funding cuts are having on the humanitarian response in Sudan. The UN Population Fund (UNFPA) reports that significant shortfalls have forced the agency to withdraw from more than half of the 93 health facilities it had been supporting across the country. While UNFPA and its partners continue to provide life-saving reproductive health and protection services, it has received just a quarter of the funding it needs for the year. This major gap in resources is putting critical services and safe spaces for women and girls at risk.
OCHA reiterates the urgent need for sustained funding – as well as unhindered access – to address the worsening humanitarian crisis in Sudan, at a time when nearly 25 million people in the country are estimated to be acutely food insecure. Supply chain disruptions and loss of livelihoods continue to push millions into deeper hunger. The World Food Programme reports that the average cost of its local food basket has shot up by 14 per cent since April and is now 113 per cent higher than in May 2024.
#Haiti
Gender-based violence increases as more people displaced
OCHA is concerned by the sharp rise in gender-based violence in Haiti, amid worsening insecurity and large-scale displacement.
Humanitarian partners have reported more than 3,800 incidents of gender-based violence between January and May of this year, the vast majority of them perpetrated by various armed actors. A sharp 41 per cent increase has been observed between April and May of this year, with cases rising from nearly 2,700 to more than 3,800 incidents in just one month – the vast majority affecting women and girls. Internally displaced people account for more than 60 per cent of survivors.
Rape remains the most commonly reported violation, representing nearly half of all cases, with over half involving collective rape.
Most attacks occurred in homes or on the street, underscoring the extreme risks faced by women and girls in their daily lives.
The Centre department recorded the sharpest increase – over 50 per cent since April – closely linked to recent waves of displacement.
Humanitarian partners are working to provide referrals, as well as medical and psychosocial support services. However, protection services remain critically underfunded, and access to care is severely limited. The $908 million 2025 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan is just 8 per cent funded, with $75 million received. Without additional resources, the most vulnerable – especially women and children – will continue to pay the highest price.
#Afghanistan
UN Deputy Relief Chief warns Security Council that funding cuts are hindering humanitarian response
The Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator, Joyce Msuya, told the Security Council today that the people of Afghanistan face persistent and acute humanitarian needs compounded by decades of conflict, entrenched poverty, an ever-harsher climate, severe restrictions on the rights of women and girls, and a highly constrained funding environment.
More than 400 health facilities have been forced shut due to lack of funding, depriving more than 3 million Afghans of life-saving health services, and almost 300 nutrition sites have closed.
“The high levels of needs in Afghanistan outpace the funding available to support people,” Msuya said. “We are halfway through the year, and the humanitarian response plan is under 21 per cent funded, with a gap of $1.9 billion.”
Cuts have had a particular impact on support to women. The Assistant Secretary-General told the Council that the needs of the Afghan people must not be forgotten and called for additional funding for humanitarians’ work.*
*Donations made to UN Crisis Relief help UN agencies and humanitarian NGOs reach people in Afghanistan with urgent support.
#Ukraine
Kyiv, multiple regions face renewed strikes
OCHA reports a sharp escalation in attacks in Ukraine over the weekend, with strikes hitting the capital, Kyiv, and multiple other regions, according to authorities.
Since Friday, authorities report that at least 21 civilians were killed and more than 120 injured, including at least eight children.
Today in Kyiv, early morning strikes reportedly killed six civilians and injured at least 31, according to authorities. Part of an apartment block was destroyed, and other residential buildings and university premises were damaged. A child was injured, while two other children and a pregnant woman were rescued from under the debris.
Civilian casualties and damage to homes were also reported in the regions of Kyiv, Chernihiv, Donetsk, Dnipro, Kharkiv, Odesa, Sumy and Zaporizhzhia. An ambulance station was damaged in the Odesa region, and about 70,000 people were left without power in Odesa and Zaporizhzhia.
Humanitarian organizations responded rapidly and delivered emergency shelter kits, hot meals and psychosocial support. The also registered people affected for cash assistance.