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

#Occupied Palestinian Territory

Gaza: WFP runs out of food stocks amid ongoing blockade

OCHA warns that critical supplies in Gaza are depleted or running out.

In a statement today, the World Food Programme (WFP) announced that the agency has run out of food stocks. This is due to the Israeli ban on the entry of supplies of any kind, regardless of how critical they are. The cargo closure is now nearing two months.

Today, WFP delivered its last remaining food stocks to kitchens serving hot meals, which are now expected to fully run out of food very soon. The agency notes that for weeks, these kitchens have been the only consistent source of food assistance for people in Gaza. Despite reaching just half the population with only 25 per cent of daily food needs, they have so far provided a critical lifeline.

All 25 bakeries supported by WFP in Gaza already had to close last month when wheat flour and cooking fuel ran out.

WFP says more than 116,000 metric tons of food assistance – enough to feed 1 million people for up to four months – is positioned at aid corridors and is ready to be brought into Gaza by the agency and food security partners as soon as borders reopen.

OCHA warns that the rapid depletion of essentials is also affecting other parts of the humanitarian response in Gaza, including health, shelter, water and sanitation. As a result, hunger is spreading, malnutrition is deepening, injured people and other patients remain untreated, and people are dying.

OCHA reiterates that Israel, as the occupying power, has clear obligations under international law, which include ensuring food, medical supplies and public health services are available, and facilitating humanitarian relief when these are not otherwise supplied.

Meanwhile, looting of remaining supplies continues, with partners on the ground reporting that this practice is now less organized and more opportunistic than prior to the ceasefire – seemingly driven by desperation.

Partners working on health warn that medical facilities continue to come under attack. The World Health Organization reports that on Tuesday, the Al Durrah hospital for children, near Gaza city, was hit. No one was injured, but the intensive care unit, solar panel, and water tanks on the rooftop were all damaged. This is undermining medical services and the safety of patients and staff, as injured people continue arriving for treatment. Al Durrah had just reopened on 1 April, having been non-functional since October 2023, after the hospital was hit.

Displacement remains a major concern. OCHA has completed an initial analysis of the displacement order issued yesterday by Israeli forces for areas of North Gaza. The order covers 7.5 square kilometres, which is roughly 2 per cent of the Gaza Strip. Overall, about 70 per cent of the Gaza Strip is now under displacement orders or in “no-go” zones, where Israeli authorities require aid personnel to coordinate their movements.

Across Gaza, people are exhausted. Those in areas for which displacement orders have been issued tell OCHA staff that they know they will not be safe whether they stay or go. Many are reluctant to be displaced once again, even when ordered to do so – so they are opting to stay, despite the risks and the mounting challenges for survival.

West Bank: Families displaced, prevented from returning home

OCHA warns that the already unprecedented levels of displacement in the West Bank – with tens of thousands of people displaced this year already – continue to rise.

In an update released yesterday, OCHA notes that in just one week – between 15 and 21 April – Israeli forces ordered 14 families to leave their homes in Tulkarm city. Seven additional families were displaced in Ramallah governorate due to settler violence or home demolitions for lacking Israeli-issued building permits, which are nearly impossible for Palestinians to obtain.

At the same time, Israeli forces continued preventing about 40,000 previously displaced people from returning to their homes in refugee camps in Jenin and Tulkarm. Aid groups also lack access to camps, preventing them from properly assessing the damage or the needs of those who remain.

Israeli authorities are imposing heavy access restrictions within the West Bank, through 800 roadblocks, checkpoints, iron gates and other physical obstacles. These restrictions have made it increasingly difficult for Palestinians to access essential services such as water, healthcare and education. They also hinder humanitarian organizations from reaching communities in urgent need of assistance.

OCHA warns that many more Palestinians – likely tens of thousands – are at imminent risk of displacement if Israeli operations continue and expand in 2025, if demolitions proceed at a high pace, if access restrictions aren’t lifted, and if settler violence remains unaddressed. These have been the main causes of displacement in the West Bank over the past year.

The UN and its humanitarian partners are supporting those affected as access and funding levels allow.

#Democratic Republic of the Congo

Civilians flee clashes in eastern DRC

OCHA reports that hostilities persist in North and South Kivu provinces, in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, with grave consequences for civilians.

In North Kivu, humanitarian partners report deteriorating security in Masisi territory, where clashes erupted today along the road between Nyabiondo and Kashebere, displacing civilians. Fighting has been intermittent in the area since 13 April.

On Wednesday, an unexploded remnant of war detonated in Kibirizi, in Rutshuru territory, killing one person and injuring two others. Since January, at least a dozen civilians have been killed and many more wounded in similar incidents, which remain a deadly threat.

Meanwhile in South Kivu, fighting in Kalehe territory on Monday and Tuesday injured dozens of civilians and forced more than 15,000 people to flee, with many seeking shelter with host communities. Local health centres face severe shortages of medicines and staff to treat the injured.

Humanitarian operations also remain restricted. Yesterday, a humanitarian convoy travelling south from the provincial capital Bukavu to the city of Uvira was blocked by armed people near the area of Kamanyola, forcing the convoy to stop overnight to negotiate access.

#Haiti

Attacks drive displacement, needs higher in Haiti

OCHA reports that armed violence continues to displace families and disrupt the humanitarian response across multiple departments in Haiti, including Centre and Ouest.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) reports that nearly 1,000 people had been displaced in the commune of Kenscoff – in Ouest Department – as of Wednesday, following armed attacks there between 18 and 20 April. Half sought shelter with family, while others have settled in three newly established displacement sites, where IOM reports that food is urgently needed.

Meanwhile, two other sites in Kenscoff that had been hosting more than 430 displaced people have been forced to close due to ongoing violence.

Kenscoff is a key vegetable production area in Haiti. Recent violence and forced displacement have severely disrupted agricultural production, at a time when food insecurity is already rising across the country.

In Centre Department, UNICEF and its humanitarian partners have been supporting people who fled attacks by armed groups in Mirebalais and Saut-d’Eau over three weeks ago. More than 5,000 people in the town of Hinche and the commune of Boucan Carré have received critical assistance, including water and hygiene kits.

The UN and its humanitarian partners remain committed to supporting displaced families and affected communities across Haiti as security conditions and funding allow.*

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

#Nigeria

Funding cuts disrupt healthcare, nutrition response in north-east Nigeria

OCHA warns that drastic funding shortfalls are forcing aid workers in north-east Nigeria to cut back on critical support, including health and nutrition services. This comes as multiple outbreaks of diseases – including measles and diphtheria – deepen the humanitarian crisis in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states.

According to OCHA’s latest reporting, tens of thousands of people fleeing escalating attacks by non-state armed groups in Borno state face heightened health risks, as funding cuts have led key humanitarian partners to withdraw from several areas in the state. Some organizations had to lay off staff and scale back services – including for primary healthcare and the treatment of severe acute malnutrition.

In Yobe state, disruptions to humanitarian operations have affected health services for some 45,000 people across more than a dozen areas.

Overall, funding cuts have impacted 70 per cent of health services and 50 per cent of nutrition services in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states.

North-east Nigeria is grappling with a severe malnutrition crisis that is projected to affect 2.6 million children under the age of 5 this year. This includes 1 million children who are likely to suffer from life-threatening severe acute malnutrition – double the number in 2024.

With the lean season approaching, it is critical that the international community steps up funding to address escalating food insecurity, sustain malnutrition treatment services and safeguard other vital assistance.

At the start of the year, the UN and its partners appealed for US$910 million to reach 3.6 million people in Nigeria with critical aid and protection. However, given brutal funding cuts, they have been forced to reprioritize the humanitarian response, focusing on the most life-saving interventions for the most vulnerable people. To do this, $298 million is needed; yet to date, less than a quarter of that amount – just over $70 million – has been received.

#Syria

UN Deputy Relief Chief urges stepped up support for Syria

The Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Joyce Msuya, told the Security Council today that as the people of Syria seek to seize a historic opportunity for a better future, they are still enduring one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises, with nearly three quarters of the population in need.

Msuya welcomed significant reductions in hostilities but stressed the need to keep a clear focus on de-escalating conflict where it persists and ensuring the protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure.

The Assistant Secretary-General noted that humanitarians continue to provide critical assistance to millions of people each month in a way that maximizes limited resources. To date, the response has received just $186 million – less than 10 per cent of the requirements for the first half of 2025.

“We need more funding to sustain this work, let alone scale it further,” she said, adding that without sustained momentum for investment in Syria’s recovery and development, the scale of humanitarian needs will far exceed aid organizations’ ability to respond.