Today's top news: Occupied Palestinian Territory, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Chad, Haiti

#Occupied Palestinian Territory

Gaza: UN, partners continue scale-up of aid operations as children die of severe cold

OCHA reports that, yesterday, its humanitarian partners, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health in Gaza, continued to administer polio vaccinations for the third day to 548,000 children under the age of 10. This represents 93 per cent of the target population. The campaign has been extended until tomorrow to ensure full coverage.

Meanwhile, the UN and its humanitarian partners continue to scale up food security and livelihood support.

Today, 804 trucks entered the Gaza Strip, according to information obtained by the UN on the ground through interactions with the Israeli authorities and the guarantors for the ceasefire deal.

Since the start of the ceasefire, the World Food Programme (WFP) has brought more than 30,000 metric tons of food into Gaza. More than 60 kitchens supported by WFP across the Strip, including in North Gaza and Rafah, have handed out nearly 10 million meals.

The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East says that its teams have reached nearly 1.3 million people with flour and reached about two million people with food parcels since the start of the ceasefire.

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reports that last week it delivered animal feed in northern Gaza for the first time since the escalation of hostilities, benefiting 146 families with livestock in Gaza city alongside another 980 in Deir al Balah.

Between the start of the ceasefire and 21 February, FAO distributed more than 570 metric tons of animal feed across the Gaza Strip to some 2,300 families with livestock.

Over the past four days, partners working in education have identified additional schools in Rafah, Khan Younis and Deir al Balah that were used as shelters for displaced people. These schools will be assessed and repaired to prepare for their reopening.

The head of Gaza's Ministry of Health announced today that six children from the Gaza Strip have died in recent days due to the severe cold wave recently, bringing to 15 the total number of children who have passed away from the cold.

West Bank: security situation remains alarming

In the West Bank, OCHA reports that the security situation remains alarming with the ongoing Israeli operations in the north, causing further casualties, mass displacement and generating additional humanitarian needs among the displaced.

In Jenin governorate, the two-day operation in Qabatiya was concluded yesterday.

The operation was launched with bulldozers, involved exchanges of fire between Israeli forces and Palestinians, as well as detentions and significant destruction of infrastructure, including electricity and water lines, and the closure of schools.

OCHA warns once again that lethal, war-like tactics are being applied, raising concerns over the use of force that exceeds law enforcement standards.

Meanwhile, partners on the ground continue to mobilize resources to respond to the needs of displaced people despite increasing physical and administrative challenges. 

WFP said it reached 190,000 people in January with cash assistance and has provided one-off cash assistance to more than 5,000 displaced people from the Jenin refugee camp.

#Democratic Republic of the Congo

Hostilities, insecurity continue to impact civilians in eastern DRC

OCHA says that active fighting has resumed in the Masisi territory of North Kivu province, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

Local humanitarian partners report the fighting has recently claimed the lives of at least four civilians and injured 15 others, as well as disrupting humanitarian assessments in the area.

In South Kivu, local officials confirm that schools in Kalehe Territory, about 65 kilometers north of the provincial capital, Bukavu, are gradually reopening. Schools had closed several weeks ago as fighting exposed schoolchildren and teachers to massive human rights violations.

Meanwhile, humanitarian partners report that unexploded ordnance remains a problem in many areas affected by recent fighting, including two schools in the city of Minova, about 150 kilometers north of Bukavu.

OCHA stresses that all parties to the conflict in eastern DRC must uphold international humanitarian law at all times, protecting civilians and civilian infrastructure, and taking all possible precautions to avoid harm to them.

#Chad

Food insecurity threatens millions of people

OCHA warns about the impact of the upcoming lean season on food security in Chad.

According to the Cadre Harmonisé, a regional assessment platform, some 2.4 million people are food insecure in the country today. This number is expected to increase to 3.7 million people – or 20 per cent of the population – during the upcoming lean season which runs from June to August.

Additionally, more than 2 million children under the age of five are currently malnourished, including more than 500,000 children who are suffering from severe acute malnutrition and at risk of dying in the coming months without the appropriate treatments.

Nearly 300,000 pregnant and breast-feeding lactating women are also suffering from acute malnutrition.

According to humanitarian partners, this crisis is due to shocks, including natural catastrophes such as floods, which have destroyed croplands, in addition to the increasing price of basic commodities.

More than 750,000 people have fled to Chad, with 215,000 Chadians also returning to their country from Sudan. This is also driving up food insecurity.

The US$1.45 billion Humanitarian Response Plan for Chad this year is currently 4 per cent funded at just under $60 million. It includes a $287 million requirement to provide food aid and strengthen the livelihoods of 3 million people, as well as $150 million to provide nutritional assistance to 2.4 million children and women.

The UN and its partners warn that if significant funding is not received before the end of March, there will be no time to prevent a full-scale food security and nutrition crisis.

#Haiti

UN, partners launch $908 million appeal to reach nearly 4 million people in need

With nearly half of the population in need of humanitarian assistance, the UN and its humanitarian partners will need $908 million this year to provide lifesaving aid and protection to 3.9 million vulnerable people.

Armed violence has caused immeasurable suffering in Haiti, particularly among women and children, displacing more than a million people and plunging almost half the Haitian population into acute food insecurity.

Basic services, such as healthcare, are on the brink of collapse.

Women and children are at particular risk, including of sexual violence and of the forcible recruitment of children by armed groups. According to UNICEF, up to half of the members of armed groups are children.