Today's top news: Occupied Palestinian Territory, Lebanon, Haiti, Philippines, Ukraine
Occupied Palestinians Territory
OCHA reports that every attempt by the UN to access besieged areas of North Gaza governorate with food and health missions this month was either denied or impeded. As of yesterday, OCHA says that, out of 19 such requests in November, 16 were denied by Israeli authorities or otherwise prevented from reaching people in dire need of humanitarian assistance.
Of the three missions that were able to enter the besieged area, all faced serious impediments – including delays, the looting of supplies at holding points, the forced offloading of supplies at an Israeli checkpoint, and the detention of a caregiver of three young children during a medical evacuation.
Despite these severe access restrictions – as well as active hostilities and other challenges – the UN and humanitarian partners continue to do everything possible, whenever possible, to reach people in North Gaza with the life-saving assistance they so desperately need.
After several attempts, a World Food Programme (WFP) convoy yesterday managed to reach shelters in Beit Hanoun, in North Gaza Governorate, with two trucks carrying life-saving ready-to-eat rations and wheat flour, and one truck with water supplies. This is the first time in over a month that people in Beit Hanoun have had access to food assistance.
The mission initially planned to take 14 trucks to deliver supplies to shelters in Beit Hanoun and the Indonesian hospital in Jabalya. However, due to delays in receiving authorization for movement and crowds along the route, the convoy was reduced. In the end, the food was delivered to Mahdi Al Shoua shelter in Beit Hanoun and a neighbouring public shelter.
Following the delivery of aid, there have been reports of intense shelling and Israeli forces surrounding the area where WFP distributed aid, ordering families to flee.
WFP was planning another mission today to reach the remaining planned shelters and hospital in Beit Hanoun, Beit Lahya and Jabalya. However, these missions have been denied.
WFP is deeply alarmed by the deteriorating situation in north Gaza. Access remains extremely challenging, and forced displacement and conflict continue to pose major obstacles to humanitarian efforts. WFP and partners must be allowed to reach people in need, safely and at scale. People and places that offer humanitarian services must be protected. WFP will continue efforts to reach people in need, but for any improvements to be achieved, the conflict needs to stop.
Meanwhile, WFP reports that it has delivered the first aid convoy through a new crossing into central Gaza. Today, 12 November, WFP delivered 15 trucks carrying food parcels and wheat flour through Kissufim crossing for the first time.
After months of negotiations for increased access, this crossing will serve as an entry point to bring aid into central and southern Gaza. Aid flows to these areas have been severely restrained due to the insecurity surrounding Kerem Shalom crossing.
October saw the lowest amount of aid entering Gaza this year. For the second time in a row, WFP was only able to reach half the people who rely on its assistance with reduced rations. Improvements will only be seen if this crossing remains consistently open and access inside Gaza is facilitated to allow WFP to use it to the full extent possible.
As we have said repeatedly, the level of humanitarian allowed into Gaza is nowhere near what is needed to support more than 2 million Palestinians in Gaza, many of whom are hungry and sick. We continue to call for the immediate opening of more land routes into Gaza and for the lifting of administrative and physical restrictions within Gaza to efficiently reach the most vulnerable people and areas.
Meanwhile, OCHA reports that humanitarian partners are warning that the drastic reduction of commercial trucks entering Gaza has not only driven up commodity prices and threatened market stability – but it has also worsened the nutritional status of vulnerable children and women, who for months have faced severely limited access to adequate food, water and hygiene products.
Humanitarian partners report that children are increasingly searching through piles of solid waste for food scraps, putting them at higher risk of not only contracting diseases but also encountering unexploded ordnance. Children in Gaza are having to endure persistent hunger, violence, displacement – which is having a profound impact on their mental health.
Lebanon
The Humanitarian Coordinator in Lebanon, Iman Rizza, said in a statement yesterday that the current picture of life in the country remains grim, calling for the violence to stop and for the protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure.
OCHA say that Israeli airstrikes continue to kill, injure and displaced civilians.
Last week alone, around 240 people were killed and over 600 people injured, according to Lebanese authorities.
UNICEF reports that 300,000 people in the country are in urgent need of nutrition support.
With winter approaching, the UN Population Fund says that pregnant women and new mothers in shelters face increasing anxiety due to the lack of hot water, winter clothing, and basic items for newborns, while protection concerns for women and girls in crowded shelters grow.
Despite the volatile situation, the UN and humanitarian partners continue to scale up efforts.
A new convoy today to the city of Tebnine in the south of the country, delivered essential aid supplies, including ready to eat meals, water, hygiene kits, mattresses, and blankets.
Meanwhile, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) says that since September 2024, it has distributed relief items, including blankets, mattresses, kitchen sets and solar lamps, to over 150,000 displaced across the country.
UNHCR is also supporting the ongoing preparations for winter and cold weather and has installed water heaters, room partitions, and insulation in a shelter in Minieh, in North Lebanon Governorate.
For its part, UNICEF has distributed around 20 million liters of trucked water for domestic use to around 54,000 people in collective shelters. UNICEF has also supported the desludging of around 1 million liters of waste from shelters and provided critical hygiene supplies to over 60,000 people.
Haiti
OCHA warns that escalating violence is worsening an already dire humanitarian situation in Haiti.
Armed groups took to the streets of the capital Port-au-Prince yesterday, with at least 20 armed clashes reported and several road blocks erected, limiting movement across the city, according to UN partners.
Following the shooting of a Spirit Airlines flight as it was on its final approach to the airport in Port-au-Prince, the airport has been closed until 18 November. The port remains open from the sea, but road access is currently closed.
As a result, all UN flights have been suspended, limiting the flow of humanitarian staff and resources. The movement of 20 trucks of critical food and medical supplies to the south was also postponed.
Humanitarian partners report that all schools in Port-au-Prince have been closed. Additionally, operations providing cash assistance to 1,000 people in Carrefour had to be cancelled amid the ongoing violence.
The UN is doing all it can to ensure the continuation of operations amidst this challenging environment, including shifting flights to a second airport in the country, in Cap Haitien.
The UN calls for an end to the escalating violence, allowing for safe, sustained and unimpeded humanitarian access, as well as the protection of the people.
Philippines
The UN and partners launched today a US$33 million Humanitarian Needs and Priorities Plan to support more than 200,000 people in Philippine's northern and southern Luzon regions, which have been most affected by a series of typhoons.
Over the past month, the Philippines has endured a series of tropical cyclones, with five major storms having already hit the country and two more expected in the coming weeks. More than 9 million people across 17 of the country’s 18 regions have been affected, including 700,000 people who have sought refuge in evacuation centers. The succession of these severe weather events has strained local communities and increased the need for humanitarian support across the country.
The new plan aligns with the Government’s response priorities and will support humanitarian partners to deliver critical, lifesaving assistance, including emergency shelter, health, nutrition, water, hygiene and sanitation support, over the next three months. Last week, we announced an allocation of $3.5 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund to meet immediate needs in the most affected areas.
Ukraine
OCHA reports that the city of Kryvyi Rih, in Dnipro region, the centre of Ukraine, sustained attacks last night which, according to authorities, killed and injured civilians, including children. Humanitarian workers are on the ground and providing support.
Authorities have also reported attacks in the Donetsk region, which damaged a dam in the city of Kurakhove, which is very close to the front line.
Yesterday, while evacuating civilians in the Donetsk region, a humanitarian organization's vehicle was significantly damaged in a drone. No evacuees or aid workers were injured.
As hostilities intensify in front-line areas, authorities have announced additional mandatory civilian evacuations in the Kharkiv region. Over the past four days, around 1,200 people have been displaced from Donetsk and Kharkiv Oblasts alone. Approximately 3.6 million people are internally displaced across the country.