Today's top news: Middle East, Occupied Palestinian Territory, Cuba
#Middle East
Civilians continue to bear the brunt of regional chaos
OCHA says the United Nations and its partners continue to scale up humanitarian assistance, providing food, shelter, water and medical support to families forced to flee their homes.
In Lebanon, to date, UN agencies – including World Food Programme, UN Refugee Agency, and UNICEF – and its partners have distributed more than 1.1 million hot meals and 38,000 ready-to-eat kits, as well as more than tens of thousands of mattresses, sleeping mats, blankets and hygiene and menstrual hygiene kits to collective shelters. Hundreds of thousands of liters of clean water have also been delivered.
People continue to be displaced in large numbers, driven by displacement orders. More than 1 million people have now registered as displaced, nearly 300,000 of them children. Only a fraction of those uprooted are living in public shelters.
OCHA is very concerned over attacks on healthcare. Just yesterday, at least 2 paramedics were killed and one was injured in Israeli attacks in the village of Kfarsyr in the district of Nabatieh, and one paramedic was killed and one was injured in Israeli attacks in the village of Yater in Tyre district. These attacks are further straining Lebanon’s health system and increasing risks for medical personnel providing life-saving care.
In Iran, hostilities continue to impact civilians and civilian infrastructure. Health personnel and facilities continue to be affected, with authorities reporting 17 health workers having been killed and more than 100 others injured, while more than 240 health facilities have been damaged. Tens of thousands of homes and hundreds of water infrastructure sites have sustained damage.
According to authorities, some 3,000 schools have been designated as emergency shelters. The Iranian Red Crescent Society continues to provide psychosocial support services, deploying more than 1,000 counsellors and responding to some 90,000 calls.
In the Gulf, Governments report that at least 15 civilians have been killed and many others injured in incidents linked to the current hostilities.
Humanitarian access must be protected. All parties must uphold international humanitarian law and protect civilians, including health workers and humanitarian personnel.
#Occupied Palestinian Territory
Civilians at risk, trickle of humanitarian aid through only operational crossing
OCHA warns that continued reports of Israeli strikes and shelling in residential areas of Gaza are increasing risks for civilians.
OCHA reiterates that, under international humanitarian law, civilians and civilian infrastructure must be protected.
Kerem Shalom remains the only operational crossing through which humanitarian and commercial cargo enter the Strip.
Inside Gaza, yesterday, the UN and partners were able to collect food, hygiene kits, early childhood development kits, medicine and animal fodder from Kerem Shalom – but more crossings must be opened to scale up the response.
In the West Bank, according to the Palestinian Civil Defense, between Friday and Saturday, five incidents involving the fall of missile fragments were recorded. Additional incidents were reported yesterday, when debris and missile fragments fell across multiple areas in East Jerusalem, damaging homes and vehicles.
#Cuba
Fuel scarcity slows aid delivery, curbs access to healthcare
OCHA continues to be concerned that fuel shortages are curbing people’s access to essential services across Cuba.
Yesterday, authorities reported a nationwide power outage after a critical power station malfunctioned. Electricity is coming back online gradually, but this highlights the serious impact of the energy crisis on the Cuban people’s ability to access basic services.
OCHA reported that uncollected garbage is piling up on street corners in Havana, with the air quality having deteriorated due to widespread burning of waste and wood for cooking.
Authorities report that due to the lack of energy, more than 50,000 surgeries were not performed in February alone.
The UN and its partners continue to assist people in need. The Pan American Health Organization is providing medical supplies, but fuel shortages are limiting its operations.
Dozens of containers carrying humanitarian supplies are currently at the port in Havana, with additional shipments expected in the coming days. However, the scarcity of fuel is slowing down and driving up the cost of delivering aid to people who need it.
The humanitarian community calls on Member States to increase their humanitarian contributions and ensure that the delivery of aid is facilitated and unimpeded.