Today's top news: Occupied Palestinian Territory, address by UN Relief Chief, Expo 2025
#Occupied Palestinian Territory
Conditions in Gaza worsen as bombardment, displacement continue
OCHA warns that ongoing bombardment, destruction and displacement across the Gaza Strip – coupled with severe constraints on the ability of humanitarians to operate – are deepening people’s deprivation.
Overnight, Israeli authorities issued a new displacement order for two neighbourhoods in Khan Younis, following reported Palestinian rocket fire. Up to 80,000 people are estimated to be living in these neighourhoods. Two primary healthcare centres and a medical point are located in the areas covered by the order.
Approximately 85 per cent of Gaza’s territory is currently either under displacement orders or located within militarized zones, which is severely hampering people's access to essential humanitarian support and the ability of aid workers to reach those in need.
Partners working on water, sanitation and hygiene also report that Al Satar – a key water reservoir – has become inaccessible as a result of the order. The facility serves as the main water distribution hub for Khan Younis and a critical supply point for water coming through the Israeli pipeline in the area. Any damage to the reservoir could lead to a collapse of the city’s water distribution system, with grave humanitarian consequences.
OCHA warns that these displacement orders continue to impact vital services and push people into increasingly smaller swaths of Gaza’s territory. Since the breakdown of the ceasefire in March and as of yesterday, some 714,000 people have been forcibly displaced again across Gaza, with nearly 29,000 displaced in just 24 hours between Sunday and Monday.
Many existing shelters are severely overcrowded, with poor hygiene conditions – posing severe risks for public health. Partners working on health, water, sanitation and hygiene report that across Gaza, rates of acute watery diarrhea have reached 39 per cent among patients receiving health consultations. The increase is being driven by insufficient clean drinking and domestic water reaching shelters, exacerbating the dire hygiene and sanitation conditions. The governorates of Gaza and Khan Younis have the worst levels of acute watery diarrhea due to severe overcrowding in sites and shelters.
No shelter assistance has entered Gaza in four months, despite the hundreds of thousands of newly displaced people. Shelter partners, who have been conducting phone assessments of 33 sites in Gaza, say that 97 per cent of the sites surveyed reported displaced people sleeping in the open. OCHA reiterates that an unrestricted flow of supplies through multiple crossing points over a sustained period of time is critical to address people’s needs and prevent the already desperate situation from worsening.
Meanwhile, the depletion of fuel stocks continues to wreak havoc on aid operations, constraining the UN and its humanitarian partners’ ability to respond.* Yet again today, an attempt to deliver some of the remaining fuel stocks to the north was denied by Israeli authorities.
The denial follows a successful delivery yesterday of diesel from the World Health Organization’s (WHO) remaining stock to Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza city to prevent further shutdown of critical services. WHO says that the facility is overwhelmed and severely under-resourced. Its beds are full, and patients are once again being treated on the floor.
Partners working on emergency telecommunications stress that unless fuel stocks are replenished immediately, Gaza could face a complete communications blackout, severely hindering humanitarian access and coordination, and preventing affected communities from receiving critical information.
Critical water, sanitation, hygiene and healthcare facilities have already begun shutting down in some areas, including hospital equipment and services, water trucking, and water and sewage pumps. If the fuel crisis is not addressed imminently, humanitarian responders could be left without the systems and tools necessary to operate safely, manage logistics and distribute humanitarian assistance. This would endanger aid workers and escalate an already dire humanitarian crisis.
*Donations made to UN Crisis Relief help UN agencies and humanitarian NGOs reach people in the Occupied Palestinian Territory with urgent support.
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#Address by UN Relief Chief
Under-Secretary-General Fletcher calls on new generation to champion the humanitarian mission
In London today, Tom Fletcher, the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, addressed over 1,000 students from over 160 countries.
Speaking to Chevening, Marshall and Commonwealth scholars, Mr. Fletcher underscored the urgency of the humanitarian mission, the need for a humanitarian decade, and the power of the emerging humanitarian movement. He called for a new generation of tech-savvy, values-driven activists to bring innovation and energy to the effort to save millions of lives.
# Expo 2025
Exhibition shines spotlight on children living through crises
At Expo 2025 in Osaka, Japan, OCHA, the Kumon Institute of Education, and the UN Department of Global Communications today jointly launched an exhibition entitled, “One Day, I Will,” showcasing photos taken by French photographer Vincent Tremeau. The exhibit features portraits of children affected by crises in more than 20 countries, with each child dressed as the person they dream of one day becoming.
With Kumon’s support, Mr. Tremeau traveled earlier this year to Japan’s Noto Peninsula to photograph children impacted by the 2024 earthquake and floods there.
Running from 2 to 10 July, the exhibit also includes multimedia features and interactive displays. It aims to inspire solidarity, raise awareness of humanitarian needs, and spotlight the dignity and creativity of children living through crises.