Today's top news: Occupied Palestinian Territory, Haiti, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ukraine, Myanmar
Occupied Palestinian Territory
The Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Martin Griffiths, said civilians in Gaza are being starved and killed, and the humanitarian community is prevented from helping them.
In a social media post today, Griffiths said nothing and no one has been allowed in or out of Gaza for three consecutive days. He warned that the closure of the crossings means no fuel, trucks, generators, water or electricity – and no movement of people or goods.
“It means no aid,” the Under-Secretary-General said. “Our supplies are stuck. Our teams are stuck.”
The World Food Programme reports that its main warehouse in Gaza is now inaccessible. It says only one bakery is still working and that supplies of food and fuel are running out. Without them, WFP says its operations will come to a standstill.
In a statement issued a short time ago, the Executive Director of UNICEF, Catherine Russell, warned that without fuel and humanitarian supplies coming in, life support services for premature babies will lose power; children and families will become dehydrated or consume dangerous water; sewage will overflow and spread disease further.
We continue to engage with all involved on the resumption of the entry of goods, including fuel, and so that we can again begin managing incoming supplies.
We count on cooperation and facilitation to get these crossings operational again, since stocks of critical supplies, including fuel, are being depleted by the hour.
Yesterday, OCHA – alongside UNRWA, the UN Mine Action Service, and the UN Department of Safety and Security – were at the Kerem Shalom and Rafah crossings to assess the security situation.
The area is highly militarized, making it impossible for organizations to distribute at the scale they previously did. The situation remains extremely fluid, and we continue to confront a range of challenges, amid active hostilities.
Meanwhile, debris on the roads has made these routes impassable for the time being. We are exploring alternative solutions, including use of the fence road or other routes.
We reiterate that the parties’ obligation to facilitate aid does not end at the border or in a drop-off zone. Aid must safely reach those who need it.
OCHA reports that as of last night, some 80,000 people had been displaced from Rafah since Tuesday, when the Israeli military’s ground operation there began. Most of those displaced are seeking safety in Khan Younis and Deir al Balah. These areas lack the basic services required to support civilians who need food, shelter and healthcare.
Haiti
The UN and its partners are responding to recent attacks in the commune of Delmas in Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince. Meals, shelter and other supplies have been provided to displaced and host community, and we hope to ramp up this assistance as security allows.
This week, the World Food Programme distributed food to 264,000 schoolchildren and more than 5,600 displaced people in Port-au-Prince. WFP also distributed food to people in Cite Soleil, one of the most insecure neighborhoods in Port-au-Prince, reaching some 26,000 people so far.
Since the beginning of March, WFP has reached more than 680,000 people. It has distributed more than 800,000 hot meals to more than 94,000 displaced people in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan zone. WFP has also distributed school meals to more than 330,000 school children across the country.
Also since the start of March, we and our partners have distributed 8.4 million liters of drinking water to nearly 70,000 displaced people in Port-au-Prince.
Democratic Republic of the Congo
The situation in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, Goma, is relatively calm, nearly one week after explosions on 3 May that claimed 18 civilian lives and injured dozens in displacement sites.
Our partners were able to resume their activities in displacement sites the day the following day. Our partners are providing food and water, essential supplies and medical care. The World Health Organization dispatched 24 tons of medicine for injured people in Goma.
Meanwhile, OCHA says that the intensifying clashes in North Kivu have triggered new waves of displacement. Since the beginning of May, some 80,000 people sought refuge in the Kalehe territory in the neighboring province of South Kivu. This influx has put a significant strain on the province that already hosts nearly 2 million displaced people.
The access to Kalehe territory is limited, due to security and lack of infrastructure, and this is hampering the large-scale delivery of humanitarian assistance to the displaced populations.
The 2024 Humanitarian Response Plan for the DRC, seeking US$2.6 billion, is only 17 per cent funded at $443 million.
Ukraine
A massive wave of attacks across Ukraine yesterday affected civilians, including children.
In Kharkiv, several children were injured when a playground was struck. In Dnipro and Kropyvnytskyi, two more children were hurt, according to local authorities. Additionally, several education facilities and a hospital were damaged in Zaporizhzhia City, according to the partners on the ground.
Meanwhile, authorities and power plant operators reported damage to critical energy facilities in the west and the centre of the country, also on May 8th. In total, nine regions have experienced disruptions to their power supplies and the system continues to face power shortages today, according to the grid operator.
Humanitarian organizations are mobilized to provide psychological support and deliver repair materials to families whose homes were damaged by overnight strikes in the cities of Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia, as well as in the Kyiv and Kropyvnytskyi Regions.
Myanmar
The UN is deeply concerned over the escalating conflict in Myanmar's Rakhine State. Civilians face devastating violence, rising intercommunal tensions and forced recruitment by parties to the conflict.
Fighting is rapidly escalating between the Arakan Army and Myanmar Armed Forces in Buthidaung in northern Rakhine. This comes amid reports that other armed groups are now joining the conflict, sparking fears of intercommunal violence, as well as fear among civilians and aid workers. As the Arakan Army moves closer to the downtown area, military airstrikes have also intensified.
All parties to the conflict are reminded of their obligations under International Humanitarian Law not to target aid workers or the premises of humanitarian organizations.
Amid the worsening security situation across the country, the UN reiterates its call for the protection of civilians in Myanmar, a cessation of hostilities, and humanitarian access. We also urge all parties to the conflict to stop misinformation and hate speech and promote social cohesion and respect for human rights.