Today's top news: Lebanon, Occupied Palestinian Territory, Sudan, Ukraine

A section of Al Jabalayn Teaching Hospital in Sudan's White Nile State, was attacked, resulting in the death of ten health workers, one of them the medical director on 2 April 2026. Photo: World Health Organization.

#Lebanon

UN continues to rush in aid as death toll nears 1,500

OCHA reports that humanitarian partners continue to work closely with the Government to help people amid soaring needs – including by providing clean water.

With pumping stations and main supply lines damaged across multiple governorates, UNICEF has supplied more than 280,000 litres of fuel to some 45 pumping stations and wastewater stations nationwide. The agency is also helping to repair and maintain these sites.

Since the escalation began, humanitarians have distributed more than 3 million meals and over 65,000 food parcels.

Despite these efforts, aid is not reaching everyone who needs it – especially displaced people outside formal shelters. Insecurity is also constraining humanitarian's ability to operate.

More than 1.1 million people – nearly one in five – are now displaced. More than 137,000 people, one third of whom are children, are sheltering in nearly 700 collective sites, many of them schools. Most displaced people are dispersed across host communities or informal settings, often with limited access to basic services.

The human toll continues to rise at an alarming pace. According to the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health nearly 1,500 people have been killed, including 129 children, and over 4,400 injured, among them over 400 children, between 2 March and 5 April.

The United Nations’ call remains urgent and consistent: de-escalate now; respect international humanitarian law by protecting civilians, including humanitarian and health workers; ensure safe, unimpeded access; and fund the response. As of today, only a third of the Flash Appeal – which covers the period from March to May – is funded, with less than $100 million of the $308.3M required having been received.

*Donations made to UN Crisis Relief help UN agencies and humanitarian NGOs reach people in Lebanon with urgent support.

#Occupied Palestinian Territory

UN restores clean water after attack damages critical infrastructure

OCHA reports that UNICEF and its partners have restored access to clean water in the south of the Gaza Strip after an airstrike on March 25th. This attack curbed output at the Southern Gaza Seawater Desalination Plant to less than 20 per cent of its capacity.

OCHA says that half a million people in Deir al Balah and the northern Mawasi area of Khan Younis couldn’t fully access drinking water as a result, despite UN-backed efforts to deliver clean water by truck.

*Donations made to UN Crisis Relief help UN agencies and humanitarian NGOs reach people in Gaza and the West Bank with urgent support.

#Sudan

UN sounds alarm as health workers caught in deadly strikes

OCHA again warns as drone attacks continue to endanger civilians and deepen humanitarian needs in the country.

In White Nile State, an attack on Al Jabalayn Teaching Hospital last Thursday reportedly killed 10 health workers and injured 22 others, severely disrupting health services.

In a social media post over the weekend, Tom Fletcher, the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, called for medical personnel and facilities to be protected, as international humanitarian law requires.

These incidents are part of a broader pattern of attacks on healthcare in Sudan. Since the conflict began nearly three years ago, the World Health Organization has verified more than 200 such attacks, with over 2,000 people killed.

In the first quarter of this year alone, 13 attacks have been verified, killing 184 people and injuring nearly 300 others.

In Blue Nile State, recent attacks have hit a market in Balila village, where seven civilians were reportedly killed last Wednesday, among other populated areas.

The International Organization for Migration reports that escalating insecurity displaced more than 10,000 people from the Kurmuk locality between mid-February and late March, with many crossing the border into Ethiopia.

Newly uprooted families arriving in the state capital, Ed Damazine, face acute shortages of food, healthcare and shelter, alongside increased risks of violence and abuse, particularly for women and children. Humanitarian access remains constrained there.

Despite these challenges, humanitarians continue to respond. The Sudan Humanitarian Fund has allocated nearly $200 million, with support from a contribution from the United States, to deliver life-saving assistance to 4 million people.

Meanwhile, more than 1.6 million people have returned to the capital, Khartoum, in recent months, even as explosive remnants of war and damaged infrastructure continue to pose serious risks. Humanitarians are scaling up their presence to expand humanitarian operations, including the re-opening of more UN offices last week.

As the three-year mark of the war approaches, OCHA reiterates its call for the protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure, including health facilities, an immediate cessation of hostilities, and rapid, safe, unimpeded and sustained humanitarian access.

Additional funding is urgently needed. The 2026 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan, which requires $2.9 billion to reach more than 20 million people across Sudan, is just 16 per cent funded, with $465 million received so far.

#Ukraine

Deadly weekend attacks kill civilians, damage infrastructure

OCHA reports that intensified attacks over the weekend have caused widespread civilian casualties and damaged critical infrastructure.

Authorities said the attacks killed 42 people, including a child, and injured nearly 200 other civilians – among them over a dozen children – and damaged health, education and energy facilities, disrupting power in several regions.

A strike on a market in the city of Nikopol, in the Dnipro region, killed more than 10 people and injured 25 others. The Humanitarian Coordinator for Ukraine, Mattias Schmale, stressed that, under international humanitarian law, residents must be protected as they go about their daily lives.

In the Donetsk region, hostilities also led to the closure of the last operating maternity hospital. Meanwhile, an evacuation point was struck in the city of Kramatorsk on 2 April. No injuries were reported, but the facility was damaged and evacuees and staff were relocated.

More than 25,000 people have been displaced from the Donetsk region so far this year. Humanitarian organisations continue to support Government-led evacuations, assisting the most vulnerable people, including those with limited mobility.

Following the latest attacks, humanitarian partners mobilised emergency assistance across multiple regions, providing medical and psychosocial support, distributing food and other essential supplies; and providing psychological support, including for children. They are also offering legal assistance and support to people who need cash assistance.