Today's top news: Occupied Palestinian Territory, Lebanon

The aftermath of an airstrike in northern Gaza. Continuous shelling, airstrikes and armed clashes have severely intensified over the past week, with more than 400,000 people still sheltering as military operations escalate. Photo: UNRWA

Occupied Palestinian Territory

After Israeli forces struck tents sheltering displaced people near Al Aqsa Hospital last night, the Acting Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Joyce Msuya, said there seems to be no end to the horrors that Palestinians in Gaza are forced to endure.

Several people were reportedly burned to death in that attack, with scores of others, including women and children, suffering severe burns. This follows another strike just hours earlier on a school turned shelter in Nuseirat, which reportedly killed more than 20 people and injured scores of others.

In a statement, Msuya said there really is no safe place in Gaza for people to go. She called for the atrocities to end – and for civilians and civilian infrastructure to be protected.

A team from OCHA – alongside the World Health Organization (WHO), the UN Mine Action Service and the UN Human Rights Office – today visited Al Aqsa Hospital to assess people’s needs following last night’s attack. Out of the hundreds of displaced families sheltering in the courtyard, some 40 families were affected, half of whom lost their shelter and other belongings in the fire.

Aid organizations are mobilizing the humanitarian response. Among the assistance most urgently needed are tents and tarps, bedding, hygiene kits, clothing, children's supplies, kitchen kits, and food. The assessment noted that patients at Al Aqsa were referred to nearby medical facilities due to an influx of trauma injuries following the strike on the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East's (UNRWA) school in Nuseirat.

The agency noted that the school was supposed to be used during the second round of the polio vaccination campaign that started today in central Gaza.

Across Gaza, WHO, UNICEF and UNRWA are trying to reach about 590,000 children under the age of 10 in less than two weeks. However, to vaccinate as many children as possible, all parties must respect local humanitarian pauses. 

Yesterday, the Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Muhannad Hadi, warned that Israeli authorities have increasingly cut off northern Gaza from essential supplies and services necessary for people’s survival. 

In a statement, Hadi said pressure is mounting on more than 400,000 people remaining in the north to move southward, with three renewed orders by Israeli authorities – including as recently as Saturday – directing people’s displacement.

The Humanitarian Coordinator stressed that multiple entry routes must open to allow humanitarian supplies and response efforts, saying civilians must not be forced to choose between displacement and starvation; they must be protected.

On Saturday, a team from OCHA, WHO, UNMAS, the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS), and Cadus was finally able to reach the Kamal Adwan and Al Sahaba hospitals in northern Gaza, after nine previous attempts.

In a social media post, WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said more than a dozen critical patients from Kamal Adwan were transferred to Al Shifa Hospital. Six critical patients and their companions – who had earlier been transferred to Kamal Adwan from Al Awda Hospital – were also brought to Al Shifa. The team delivered 20,000 litres of fuel to keep Kamal Adwan and Al Awda functioning, and 23,000 litres of fuel and 800 blood units to Al Sahaba Hospital.

Dr. Tedros said the missions were completed amid ongoing hostilities, adding that drivers from WHO and PRCS were subjected to humiliating security screening and temporary detention at a checkpoint. He said this was unacceptable and that one-off missions to resupply hospitals are not enough.

Lebanon

OCHA reports that Lebanon is in the midst of its most devastating humanitarian crisis in a generation.

Civilians continue to bear the brunt of the ongoing violence, with more than 2,200 deaths and over 10,000 of injured people reported so far by Lebanese authorities.

More than a million people have already been displaced – both within Lebanon and to other countries – with that number expected to rise as hostilities continue.

Health facilities are also heavily impacted. The World Health Organization reports that out of 207 primary health care centers in conflict areas, 100 have now shut down, severely limiting access to essential healthcare. Five hospitals have also closed due to structural damage from the ongoing attacks, further straining an already overwhelmed health system.

The violence has resulted in the deaths of 94 health workers while on duty and the destruction of vital facilities.

OCHA reiterates that parties to the conflict must take all feasible precautions to avoid and minimize harm to civilians and civilian objects – both in attacks and against the effects of attacks.

The UN and partners continue to support the response despite increasing challenges, including insecurity and displacement orders, which have forced some of our partners to reduce operations in the south of Lebanon.

Humanitarian organizations continue to deliver food, water and medicine, along with mattresses, blankets, sleeping mats and other essential supplies to those in need. Health partners are also active in the shelters and delivering primary health care consultations.

Meanwhile, WHO and its partners warn that the rapid displacement and shortage of clean water in the country over recent weeks is increasing the risk of the spread of infectious diseases in overcrowded shelters, especially ahead of the winter. Many displaced people also lack medication and other supplies.