Today's top news: Occupied Palestinian Territory, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sudan, Haiti
#Occupied Palestinian Territory
Gaza: More civilians flee hostilities, displacement orders
OCHA reports that intensified hostilities in Gaza continue, resulting in further death, displacement, and destruction of civilian infrastructure.
In addition to ongoing bombardment, another three displacement orders were issued by the Israeli military yesterday and today, covering 7 per cent of the total area of the Strip.
Yesterday’s order for six neighbourhoods in North Gaza governorate overlaps with parts of the zones covered under Tuesday’s displacement orders. According to preliminary estimates, this newly impacted area is home to approximately 100,000 people.
The displacement order has impacted 30 sites for internally displaced people, six temporary learning spaces serving approximately 700 students, and several water and sanitation facilities and assets.
Our humanitarian partners report that several hundred families fled parts of the designated areas yesterday, but dozens of them returned today due to lack of space and shelter.
Another displacement order yesterday was issued for parts of Rimal area of Gaza city.
Today’s displacement order affected thousands of residents in 10 neighbourhoods in Deir al Balah and Khan Younis. An initial assessment indicates that the affected area includes eight wells, five reservoirs, seven humanitarian warehouses, three health clinics and other critical facilities.
As of yesterday, about 71 per cent of the Gaza Strip was under displacement orders or in Israeli-militarized zones, where the Israeli authorities require humanitarian teams to coordinate their movements. These displacement orders come as populations across Gaza are at risk of famine and one in every five people faces starvation.
Yesterday, Israeli forces hit another UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) school, this time in Nuseirat area of Deir al Balah. It served as a shelter for internally displaced people. Thankfully, no one was reported injured.
The UN and its humanitarian partners on the ground are committed to stay and deliver despite the mounting challenges.
Yesterday, the World Health Organization evacuated 284 patients and their companions from the European Gaza Hospital in Khan Younis to Europe and the United Arab Emirates, despite the very challenging conditions. Israeli forces hit the hospital premises twice one day prior to the scheduled evacuation.
Israel’s full blanket ban on the entry of cargo, including aid and other life-saving supplies, continues to drive hunger and deprivation across the Strip.
OCHA reiterates that the UN and its partners have 9,000 truckloads of vital supplies ready to move into Gaza. More than half of these contain food assistance – months’ worth of food for millions of people. Thousands more trucks worth of assistance are in the pipeline to follow.
OCHA reiterates that as long as the full blockade is not immediately lifted, the already limited assistance our partners are able to provide to the most vulnerable groups in Gaza will shrink even further.
The UN has a solid and principled operational plan to deliver humanitarian aid and life-saving services at scale and immediately across the Gaza Strip. Time is of essence to prevent further death.
West Bank: Families displaced by violence, demolition of homes
OCHA reports that continued violence in the West Bank is resulting in further killing, displacement and destruction of property.
In Tulkarm and Nur Shams refugee camps, in the northern West Bank, demolition of houses and displacement have continued since the issuance of two Israeli military orders in early May to demolish more than 100 structures in these two locations.
In Jenin in recent days, some 200 families are estimated to have gradually returned to the outskirts of Jenin refugee camp, which remains depopulated.
This is after they were informed by the Israeli forces through the Palestinian authorities in Jenin that residents of areas adjacent to the Jenin refugee camp would be allowed to return to their homes, which they had been forced to leave nearly a week earlier.
However, 40,000 people are still displaced in the north, unable to return to their communities, and they are receiving support from the local authorities – supported by the UN and its partners.
#Democratic Republic of the Congo
Villages attacked, civilians killed in Ituri province
OCHA warns that attacks against civilians in Djugu Territory in Ituri province, in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, are again on the rise after a month of relative calm.
Yesterday, local humanitarian sources report that at least seven civilians were killed in simultaneous attacks across multiple villages, with many homes set on fire. Several injured survivors are currently receiving treatment at health facilities in the town of Jiba, about 40 kilometres away.
Local authorities warn that these attacks could exacerbate tensions within the community and lead to new waves of displacement. As of 30 April, about 1.5 million displaced people were residing in Ituri province, with nearly half located in Djugu territory.
Meanwhile, in South Kivu province, heavy fighting between armed groups continued on 13 May across Kalehe territory, forcing many people to flee the area. Local civil society partners report at least six civilian casualties. Displacement estimates are not yet available.
#Sudan
UN welcomes ongoing use of Adre crossing for humanitarian operations
The Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Tom Fletcher, and the Humanitarian Coordinator for Sudan, Clementine Nkweta-Salami, have welcomed news that the crucial Adre crossing between eastern Chad and Darfur in Sudan will remain available for movement of humanitarian personnel and supplies.
As Fletcher said in a social media post, since it was reopened eight months ago, this crossing has been an essential lifeline for millions of people in need in the area.
Since August last year, nearly 1,600 trucks carrying 52,500 metric tons of humanitarian cargo have entered Sudan via Adre, transporting life-saving aid for some 2.3 million people. Nearly three quarters of those supplies were emergency food and livelihoods assistance, while the rest supported health, nutrition, shelter, water, sanitation and education services. OCHA stresses that this extension is vital to sustain and expand that lifeline.
However, bureaucratic impediments continue to hamper aid operations, while the ongoing conflict poses grave risks to humanitarians. This includes North Darfur state, where yesterday, heavy shelling in El Fasher reportedly damaged an NGO compound. UNICEF said artillery fire in the city earlier this week destroyed a water truck that the agency was supporting in the Saudi Hospital compound. That truck had been delivering safe water to around 1,000 seriously ill patients, whose care has now been disrupted.
OCHA reiterates that attacks on civilians, humanitarian assets and medical facilities must stop. All parties must respect their obligations under international humanitarian law.
The UN remains alarmed at the ongoing deterioration of the security situation in El Fasher and North Darfur more broadly. Renewed clashes have displaced at least 1,700 people this week, with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) reporting that most are fleeing to already overwhelmed areas like Tawila town, where the UN and its partners on the ground have been scaling up support for new arrivals. This new displacement is in addition to the 2,000 people who fled Abu Shouk camp and El Fasher last week.
Despite insecurity and access constraints, the UN and its partners are doing everything possible to reach people in these areas with life-saving support. Yesterday, a World Food Programme convoy carrying food and nutrition supplies for nearly 100,000 people in El Fasher departed Dabbah in Northern state. The convoy is travelling more than 1,000 kilometres to deliver critical relief to people who have been facing famine for nearly a year. More convoys are being planned, but safe humanitarian access is essential.
OCHA once again urges unfettered access for humanitarian aid – via all necessary routes, both across borders and conflict lines – as well as the protection of civilians, and an immediate cessation of hostilities.
The conflict has also escalated in the east of the country, with repeated drone attacks in Port Sudan damaging critical infrastructure and displacing a growing number of people. IOM reports that more than 2,600 have fled since last week, bringing the total number of new displacements reported in the city this month to more than 3,000.
#Haiti
Ongoing violence disrupts education
OCHA reports that armed violence and escalating insecurity continue to severely impact Haiti’s education system in several departments, particularly in the Centre, Ouest, Artibonite and Nord.
As of late April, more than 1,600 schools have been forced to close, disrupting access to learning for more than 243,000 children, according to partners working to support education in Haiti. This is a 60 per cent increase in school closures in just four months, up from 960 schools closed at the start of the year. Most closures are concentrated in the Ouest and Centre departments, where insecurity, displacement, and the occupation of schools by armed groups and displaced people have intensified.
More than 80 schools are serving as collective shelters for internally displaced people, while 166 schools have been relocated, often under precarious conditions: Learning spaces often lack basic infrastructure, water, sanitation and essential supplies.
Meanwhile, children in Haiti face serious protection risks, including exploitation, sexual abuse and recruitment by armed groups – and when students have to drop out of school, they are even more vulnerable to these threats. Teachers have been displaced, and many communities face insecurity and damaged roads, making access to functioning schools unsafe.
This year’s Humanitarian Response Plan for Haiti calls for more than US$61 million to support education in the country. Yet despite surging needs – including a sharp increase in school closures and the use of schools as shelters – the education response is only 9 per cent funded, with less than $6 million received to date. Additional support is urgently needed* to sustain learning for Haiti’s most vulnerable children and prevent a generational education crisis in the country.
Immediate priorities include temporary learning spaces, school kits for at least 100,000 children, mental health and psychosocial support for students and teachers, improved access to water and sanitation, and measures to secure school environments.
OCHA continues to coordinate closely with partners working on education in Haiti – as well as national authorities – to ensure that children’s right to learning is preserved, even in crisis.
*Donations made to UN Crisis Relief help UN agencies and humanitarian NGOs reach people in Haiti with urgent support.