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

#Lebanon

Attacks on ambulances, clinics on the rise

OCHA says that attacks on healthcare continue at an alarming rate.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), seven incidents were recorded over the weekend alone, killing at least nine health workers on duty. In southern Lebanon, strikes also hit ambulances, including vehicles transporting casualties from an earlier attack in Kfar Sir in Nabatieh governorate.

Since the escalation began, 87 attacks on healthcare have killed 52 health workers and injured 126 others. The Humanitarian Coordinator in Lebanon, Imran Riza, and the WHO Representative, Dr. Abdinasir Abubakar, called for the protection of health workers and first responders in a statement issued over the weekend.

Authorities report that at least 96 people were killed over the weekend, bringing the total number of people killed since the escalation began to 1,238, with more than 3,500 injured.

Despite these conditions, the UN and its partners continue to work closely with the Government to reach people in need.

Health partners, including WHO, have provided more than 33,500 consultations to displaced people and provided essential medicine to over 22,500 people.

The United Nations remains deeply concerned by announcements of expanded military operations in southern Lebanon. Once again, the UN stress that civilians, including humanitarian and healthcare workers, and civilian infrastructure must be protected at all times.

#Occupied Palestenian Territory

NGO petition, new restrictions threaten humanitarian operations

OCHA said lethal attacks affecting civilians continue in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Over the weekend it was reported that airstrikes and shelling hit residential areas in Gaza, as well as fatal shootings by Israeli forces and other attacks by settlers in the West Bank.

In one incident, documented by OCHA, before dawn today a Palestinian family was trapped inside their home as Israeli settlers set fire to vehicles outside. This was in the village of Nahalin, near Bethlehem, where neighbours managed to extinguish the fire and save the family.

Such incidents have become frequent and they put systematic pressure on Palestinians to leave their homes and communities. They result in fatalities, injuries, damage and displacement, deepening humanitarian needs.

The UN reminds all parties that civilians must always be protected; in law enforcement contexts, lethal force must be a last resort. Perpetrators of unlawful attacks must be held to account.

Meanwhile, The UN is concerned over restrictions imposed on humanitarian operations.

Today, international Non-Governmental Organizations confirmed their intention to proceed with a petition to the Israeli High Court of Justice challenging the new Israeli registration system, which further restricts their ability to operate not only in Israel but also in the OPT.

International NGOs play a critical role in the humanitarian response. In the OPT, international NGOs are collectively delivering some $1 billion in assistance each year. OCHA says that prohibitive registration requirements are among several measures undermining people’s access to humanitarian services.

Israeli authorities must allow and facilitate rapid, unimpeded passage of humanitarian relief. They must reverse policies that obstruct humanitarian operations and ensure that humanitarian organizations are able to operate without compromising humanitarian principles.

#Sudan

Air strike hits funeral, kills seven as fighting disrupts aid access

OCHA is alarmed by continued attacks on civilians and growing constraints on humanitarian access across many parts of the country.

In West Kordofan, local sources report that seven people were killed and dozens injured when an air strike hit a funeral gathering in Payam Kasha village in the Nuba Mountains last Friday. Also in West Kordofan state, insecurity continues to displace families – the International Organization for Migration (IOM) reports that at least 120 people were forced to flee their homes on the same day.

In South Kordofan, drone strikes and attacks in the town of Dilling reportedly caused three deaths on Saturday. Local sources on the ground in Dilling also report the humanitarian situation there is rapidly deteriorating.

The continued fighting and repeated drone strikes are disrupting critical supply routes across the Kordofan region. Key roads linking the city of El Obeid in North Kordofan to the towns of Dilling and Kadugli in South Kordofan are increasingly unsafe, hampering the movement of humanitarian and commercial supplies. Red tape is further compounding these challenges, with essential medical activities in El Obeid suspended for nearly a month.

In Blue Nile State, escalating hostilities near the border with Ethiopia have severely constrained humanitarian operations. Movement beyond the state capital of Ed Damazine is largely suspended, cutting off access to reach people in need.

Meanwhile, IOM reports that more than 1,600 people have been displaced in the locality of Geisan in recent days as insecurity intensifies.

In Darfur, rising insecurity and restriction on humanitarian movements are choking humanitarian access. Aid workers face armed robberies and attacks along key routes, while some organizations have been forced to suspend operations altogether, leaving vulnerable communities with even fewer services.

Despite the many challenges, the UN and its partners continue to respond to needs across Sudan. OCHA reiterates that civilians must be protected at all times, as required by international humanitarian law. Attacks on civilian and essential infrastructure must stop. All parties must facilitate rapid, safe, unimpeded and sustained humanitarian access, including along key routes.

#Ukraine

Attacks on health care continue as maternity hospital hit again

OCHA reports attacks over the past three days have resulted in further civilian casualties and damage to critical infrastructure.

Authorities report that nearly 20 civilians were killed and about 120 injured, including 15 children. Hospitals, schools and residential buildings, as well as energy, railway and port infrastructure, were affected. 

In the region of Odesa, a strike on 28 March killed two people and injured 16, including a child. A maternity hospital, other facilities and more than 70 homes were also damaged.

The attack on the Odesa Maternity Hospital was the fifth attack this year on maternity facilities supported by the UN Population Fund, according to the agency.

Since the beginning of the year, the WHO has verified 124 attacks on health care in Ukraine, out of 357 globally. These attacks resulted in 15 deaths and 60 injuries in Ukraine. Since the start of the full-scale invasion, over 2,900 attacks on health care have been verified in the country. 

Casualties and damage to homes and civilian infrastructure were also reported in other regions, including Mykolaiv and Donetsk.  

As of today, parts of seven regions remain without electricity. 

Aid organizations are providing medical care, psychological support, food, shelter materials and cash assistance to those affected by the strikes. Evacuations are ongoing, with hundreds of civilians relocated from front-line areas. 

#Somalia

UN calls for de‑escalation after violence displaces tens of thousands

The Humanitarian Coordinator in Somalia, George Conway, called for de-escalation in South West State, where tensions and clashes forced some 45,000 people to flee their homes over the last week.

In a statement issued over the weekend, Mr. Conway urged all parties to uphold their obligations to protect civilians; ensure the unhindered movement of people; and guarantee safe, sustained, and unimpeded humanitarian access to all those in need.

He warned that without urgent action, the humanitarian situation in Baidoa town, which already hosts about 430,000 uprooted people, will deteriorate further.

Most displacement is from central neighbourhoods of Baidoa town toward nearby villages, where basic services and humanitarian assistance are limited.

South West State has been hit hard by drought, and the ongoing insecurity is deepening humanitarian needs and holding back the response.