Today's top news: Lebanon, Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel, Syria, Haiti, Ukraine, Eastern Africa

Haidar Residents survey the damage in a suburb of southern Beirut left in ruins after being targeted by airstrikes.
Haidar Residents survey the damage in a suburb of southern Beirut, Lebanon left in ruins after being targeted by airstrikes. Photo: UNICEF/Dar al Mussawir/Ramzi

#Lebanon

OCHA says ongoing hostilities continue to take a devastating toll on civilians and civilian infrastructure in Lebanon.

Lebanese authorities report that as of yesterday, some 1,700 people, including 38 health workers, have been killed since October 2023, and more than 9,000 people have been injured.

More than 346,000 people are confirmed to have been displaced, with Government estimates putting the number of affected and displaced people as high as 1 million. More than 155,000 people are being hosted in more than 800 shelters. Partners on the ground report that many of these shelters have already reached full capacity.

According to national authorities, the number of people having fled to Syria has exceeded 300,000, including Syrian and Lebanese nationals. This cross-border displacement highlights the escalating regional impact of the conflict.

The impact of the current crisis on health and civilian infrastructure are alarming. As of yesterday, six hospitals and 40 primary health centres have been forced to close, with ongoing airstrikes and road damage severely restricting the movement of people and humanitarian access to several affected areas.

Following the launch of the US$426 million Flash Appeal yesterday, pledges from several Member States are greatly appreciated, but much more is urgently needed.

The UN and humanitarian partners continue scaling up efforts to support the Government-led response. The World Food Programme has provided 155,000 hot meals and emergency cash assistance to nearly 10,000 households, while UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East shelters now house more than 2,300 displaced people. The World Health Organization (WHO) is supplying trauma kits and medicine for 190,000 patients, amid facility closures, staff shortages, and funding gaps.

All parties to the conflict must take all feasible precautions to avoid and minimize harm to civilians and civilian objects – both in the attacks, and from the effects of attacks. Aid must be allowed to reach people safely, wherever they are.

#Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel

West Bank

In Jaffa city of central Israel, seven people, including a girl, were killed yesterday by Palestinians from the West Bank, according to Israeli authorities. One of the perpetrators was also killed. Israeli forces carried out operations in Hebron city, where the perpetrators of the attack in Jaffa came from, closing the city's entry and exit points.

OCHA underscores that willfully killing civilians is prohibited and unacceptable.

In the West Bank, OCHA reports that three Palestinians were killed yesterday – two people in Nablus, where Israeli forces were operating, including in exchange of fire with Palestinians; and one person in Jericho, who was directly hit by missile shrapnel during Iran's attack against Israel.

According to OCHA’s latest update, since 7 October 2023, 697 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank, at least 12 of them by Israeli settlers and the rest mostly by Israeli forces.

During the same period, 23 Israelis – including 17 members of the Israeli forces and five settlers – were killed by Palestinians in the West Bank. In Israel, 17 people were killed in attacks by Palestinians from the West Bank, alongside eight of the Palestinian perpetrators.

OCHA stresses that civilians must be protected, and that any use of force by Israeli forces in the West Bank must follow internationally recognized law enforcement standards.

Gaza

OCHA says preparations are underway for the second round of the polio vaccination campaign in Gaza, which is expected to take place in mid-October and will include the distribution of Vitamin A supplements.

According to OCHA’s latest update on humanitarian response efforts in Gaza, partners working to provide health care in the Strip reached some 300,000 people each week from mid-September through the end of the month. Fifty-six partners were active during this period, with 48 health service points in operation.

As of Sunday, there were 15 emergency medical teams on the ground in Gaza supporting the local health-care workforce, including three in northern Gaza.

Under a new project launched by WHO in the north, 240 EMT doctors have been deployed to the Emergency Department of the Al-Shifa Hospital to provide both trauma and non-trauma services.

Meanwhile, OCHA warns that health facilities in Gaza are experiencing severe supply shortages due to obstacles hindering the entry of humanitarian aid, as well as a growing backlog of health supplies and equipment awaiting entry into Gaza. In particular, partners continue to face major security and access constraints in reaching medical facilities in the north, which are also impeding fuel deliveries and forcing all health-care facilities there to ration fuel supplies and interrupt some services.

#Syria

OCHA warns about the continued impact of spreading hostilities in the region on Syria

Yesterday, an airstrike in Damascus resulted in two civilian deaths and seven injuries. The strike was about half a kilometer away from several UN offices. Earlier today, two additional rockets landed within 120 metres of UN offices in Damascus.

In recent days, attacks have also affected areas around several border crossings in Homs and Rural Damascus governorates, one of them within one kilometre of UN and partners’ teams responding to the influx of Syrian and Lebanese families crossing into Syria.

Airstrikes were also reported today in Dara'a and Sweida governorates in southern Syria.

These attacks have led to temporary disruptions in some humanitarian activities.

Meanwhile, continued hostilities are also impacting north-west Syria. Shelling last Tuesday in Idleb killed five civilians and injured 13 others, including 10 children under the age of 12.

The incidents caused material damage to two schools as well as a camp, resulting in the displacement of more than 400 families for three days. During this period, the UN and humanitarian partners have distributed food, relief items, and hygiene kits, and provided protection and psychological support at the reception centre.

Yesterday, as many as 300 families were displaced from Sarmin to nearby communities, following shelling in the area.

All parties should respect their obligations under international law – including international humanitarian law, as applicable – and all concerned should avoid attacks that could harm civilians and damage civilian infrastructure.

#Haiti

OCHA is deeply concerned by rising displacement in recent months, as escalating gang violence deepens Haiti’s humanitarian crisis.

More than 700,000 people are now internally displaced in Haiti, with over half of them being children—an increase of 22 percent since June, according to new figures from the International Organization for Migration.

About three quarters of those displaced are seeking shelter in other provinces, with the Grand Sud region alone hosting nearly half of the total displaced population. In Port-au-Prince, where the security situation remains highly unstable, a quarter of those displaced are living in overcrowded sites, with limited access to basic services.

More than 350,000 children are among those who have been displaced by violence in Haiti. Humanitarian partners have been working closely with authorities to support the national back-to-school campaign, with the school year having started yesterday. However, 1.4 million students and teachers have experienced severe disruptions to education over the past year due to ongoing insecurity.

UNICEF, through its "Back to Learning" campaign, is working to help children affected by the crisis resume their education. In partnership with local organizations, UNICEF is offering various forms of support, including by providing cash transfers so that families can cover school-related costs, helping displaced children integrate into host schools, distributing school kits, and ensuring schools are rehabilitated and have adequate supplies.

Overall, the Humanitarian Response Plan remains only 39 per cent funded, having received $264 million of the $674 million required to provide life-saving assistance to the people of Haiti this year. The UN continues its call to Member States to step up its support to Haiti.

#Ukraine

OCHA reports that an attack in a busy marketplace in Kherson City, southern Ukraine, yesterday morning resulted in dozens of civilian casualties, with many killed and injured, according to local authorities.

Zaporizhzhia also came under heavy bombardment yesterday, with authorities reporting scores of civilian casualties, including an injured child. Some 70 houses were also reportedly damaged.

Humanitarian partners supported the response in both locations, providing hot meals and delivering emergency shelter kits. They also provided psychosocial and legal support and registered affected families for cash assistance and repair works.  

In northern Ukraine, an overnight attack on energy facilities in the Sumy Region left some 90,000 consumers in three communities without electricity, according to the Ukrainian state energy company. Local authorities in the region announced a mandatory evacuation of children from 90 towns and villages due to intense hostilities.

#Eastern Africa

Nearly 67 million people in eastern Africa are now in need of humanitarian assistance – representing more than 20 per cent of the total number of people in need globally – according to OCHA’s latest estimates.

The region is facing some of the world’s largest humanitarian crises, which are being driven by climate change, conflict, political instability, economic shocks, and disease outbreaks. These include cholera, measles and mpox. At least 776 mpox cases have been reported in the region as of September 26th. The Marburg virus disease is also spreading: In Rwanda, at least 29 cases have been confirmed, including nine deaths, as of yesterday.

Humanitarian partners continue to provide life-saving assistance to millions of people. However, by the end of last month, only 38 per cent of the $9.3 billion required for humanitarian response efforts in eastern Africa this year was available, constraining aid organizations’ ability to scale up as needs increase.