Today's top news: Occupied Palestinian Territory, Lebanon, Ukraine

#Occupied Palestinian Territory

OCHA say Israeli military operations across Gaza continue to cause death, destruction and displacement on a massive scale.

This includes the ongoing siege in North Gaza governorate. In recent days, Israeli forces carried out incursions in the Beit Hanoun, Beit Lahya and Jabalya refugee camps. Scores of people were reportedly killed after several buildings in Beit Lahya were struck.

Israeli strikes and incursions were also reported in Gaza city, where people from North Gaza governorate have sought safety. Since 6 October, between 100,000 and 110,000 people are estimated to have fled to Gaza city. Several families have continued southward, crossing the Al Rasheed checkpoint.

Once again, OCHA stresses that civilians must be protected whether they move or stay, and they must be able to receive the humanitarian assistance they need. OCHA also underscores the need for safe and unimpeded humanitarian access to enable the delivery of life-saving assistance across Gaza and into the Strip.

OCHA warns that armed looting, fueled by the breakdown in public order and safety in Gaza, has become increasingly organized. It is also endangering aid workers, making it almost impossible for humanitarians to do their jobs.

On Saturday, 16 November, a UN convoy of 109 trucks carrying food supplies for the World Food Programme and the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East from the Kerem Shalom crossing was violently looted. Drivers were forced at gunpoint to unload aid. The vast majority of the trucks – 97 in total – were lost. This means the trucks were either taken, damaged, or had their fuel or oil stolen.

This appalling incident highlights the severe risks to aid operations in Gaza – and to the personnel doing everything possible to get humanitarian assistance to people who are running out of essentials for their survival.

The convoy, initially scheduled for a day later, Sunday, was instructed by the Israeli authorities to depart at short notice via an alternate, unfamiliar route.

This incident underscores the unprecedented challenges we face in bringing aid into southern and central Gaza despite repeatedly proposing and advocating for solutions.

It is critical that all parties do everything possible to ensure that aid operations can be undertaken safely and swiftly, and at the scale necessary to address the massive needs of Gaza’s population. The lack of food and other vital humanitarian supplies entering the Strip could soon escalate into famine unless immediate action is taken. 

Due to critical shortages of flour, all eight UN-supported bakeries in Deir al Balah and Khan Younis have been operating at diminished capacity for weeks. Four bakeries in central Gaza have already shut down today. The remaining four will be forced to close within days without additional supplies.

Meanwhile, the stocks needed to make hot meals – which have already been reduced in size – are only sufficient for a couple more days before they are set to run out.  

About 1 million people have not received food parcels since July or even earlier. While local markets had the potential to partially meet people’s needs through mid-October, supplies at shops are now mostly depleted, given drastic reductions to the flow of commercial supplies into Gaza in recent weeks. Flour prices have skyrocketed, and communities are losing trust as desperation grows.

Despite access challenges, active hostilities, and other challenges, the UN and humanitarian partners continue to do everything possible, whenever possible, to reach people and provide much needed assistance.

During the first half of November, food parcels reached between 150,000 and 200,000 people in Gaza city. Yesterday, a local partner provided water, cleaning and psychological support to tens of thousands of Palestinians in shelters and residential parts of Gaza city. In the south, the UN Development Programme has removed 16,000 cubic metres of solid waste from flood-prone areas.

In the West Bank, settler attacks against Palestinian communities there continue. On 14 November, settlers attacked two Bedouin families near Duma, displacing 16 people, including nine children, after threatening to burn them alive. Two days later, on Saturday, settlers attacked Beit Furik, setting fire to property and causing further damage.

#Lebanon

OCHA reports that civilians, aid workers and health personnel continue to be affected by intensifying attacks across Lebanon.

Israeli airstrikes on Beirut’s densely populated southern suburbs continue and yesterday, central Beirut was targeted, causing more people to flee their homes.

The health sector is also affected by the escalating violence. Since October 2023, the World Health Organization says there have been 136 attacks on health facilities, resulting in 212 deaths among health workers, with 70 people having been killed just last week. These attacks have forced 21 of 178 hospitals – or 13 per cent of all hospitals in Lebanon – to cease operations or reduce services, drastically limiting access to essential health care.

Despite the challenges and the insecurity, health partners continue to support the response. As of 14 November, and since October 2023, more than 100,000 displaced people have primary health care and more than 300 health centers have received medicines to support uprooted people, according to WHO.

Meanwhile, UNICEF and its partners estimate that one million people urgently need of water and sanitation support across the country.

In response, since mid-September, UNICEF has helped to repair water facilities that reach 1.5 million people.

For their part, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) reports they have delivered more than 428,000 relief items for some 230,000 displaced people across Lebanon since September of this year. UNHCR is also providing psychosocial support to displaced children and their caregivers.

#Ukraine

The Humanitarian Coordinator in Ukraine, Matthias Schmale, has condemned the deadly attacks, yesterday and today, on the cities of Sumy and Odesa. According to local authorities, scores of civilians have been killed and injured, including children.  

These strikes come in the wake of significant attacks on the energy infrastructure over the weekend, leaving already vulnerable civilians across the country to cope with power cuts and limited access to essential services, including water supply and heating.  

Schmale stressed that, as Ukraine nears the grim milestone of 1,000 days since the escalation of the war, the unbearable suffering endured by the people of Ukraine continue to deepen.  

Aid workers swiftly mobilized and provided emergency aid, including first aid and psychological support, hot meals and emergency shelter kits, as well as cash assistance, legal aid, child protection services and medical support. Aid workers also ensured internet connectivity to support humanitarian interventions amid the disruption of basic services.