Today's top news: Occupied Palestinian Territory, Myanmar, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Ukraine
#Occupied Palestinian Territory
Heavy rainfall batters makeshift shelters in Gaza Strip
OCHA reports that the harsh weather conditions are taking a heavy toll on civilians, especially those living in makeshift shelters, flood-prone areas and war-damaged buildings.
It is reported that hundreds of tents and makeshift shelters were blown away or heavily damaged since last night, affecting thousands of people. Amid heavy rainfall and strong winds, OCHA has received reports of cases of hypothermia, mainly among children, and people killed as buildings collapse.
The UN and humanitarian partners are rapidly responding to flood alerts and are distributing tents, tarpaulins, blankets and warm clothes, as well as nutrition, hygiene and sanitary items across Gaza. Over the past month, nearly 20,000 households have received emergency support. Humanitarian teams have also mitigated flood risks by providing sandbags and clearing debris.
To prevent hypothermia and support people through the rainy season, over the past three months, the UN and its partners have provided nearly 30,000 sets of warm clothes and thermometers for newborn babies, delivered some 400,000 packages of jackets, blankets and other supplies to keep children warm, and distributed hundreds of thousands of blankets and shelter items to vulnerable families.
OCHA stresses that, despite the scaled-up response, needs continue to far outpace available supplies and services, with each new rainstorm eroding hard-won gains.
Today, Dr. Ramiz Alakbarov, the Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, has begun a three-day visit to the Gaza Strip.
In Khan Younis, Dr. Alakbarov met displaced families who have been supported by the UN to move away from the flood-prone shoreline to a site in Hamad City. UNICEF provided water and sanitation infrastructure, the World Food Programme (WFP) levelled the land, and the UN Development Programme improved road access around the site.
Also in Khan Younis, Dr. Alakbarov visited Asda’a, where the UN has been supporting thousands of families for more than a year. UNICEF provides support for a health and nutrition point and other services. Children are also benefiting from temporary learning spaces, where mental health and psychosocial services are provided, and WFP supports school feeding.
The Humanitarian Coordinator also met farmers who are producing food locally with support from the Occupied Palestinian Territory Humanitarian Fund, managed by OCHA.
Speaking from southern Gaza, Dr. Alakbarov commended the collaboration between UN teams, NGOs and Member States on the ground, while stressing that much more is needed. He called for sustained funding and for the lifting of restrictions on what supplies and equipment can be brought into Gaza to address weather-related risks and other urgent humanitarian needs. He also called for the lifting of restrictions on specific humanitarian organizations, whether NGOs or UN agencies.
In Deir al Balah, Dr. Alakbarov met with local organizations working on disability inclusion, focusing on access to assistive devices and artificial limbs, stronger inclusion in humanitarian assistance and recovery efforts, and improved medical evacuation pathways.
The Humanitarian Coordinator will spend the night in Gaza city and is set to visit several additional locations in the north tomorrow.
*Donations made to UN Crisis Relief help UN agencies and humanitarian NGOs reach people in Gaza with urgent support.
#Myanmar
Fighting drives civilians from their homes in Sagain, Chin
OCHA expresses concern about the situation in Sagaing Region and Chin State where intense clashes and airstrikes have resulted in civilian casualties and driven people from their homes in recent weeks.
Since earlier this month, fighting between the Myanmar Armed Forces and non-state armed groups in Katha Township in Sagaing Region has forced an estimated 10,000 people to flee to neighbouring areas.
During the same period, clashes in Chin State between the Myanmar Armed Forces and non-state armed groups force people to flee from multiple villages in Falam Township. Between 4 and 6 January, civilians were reportedly killed and injured by airstrikes in the townships of Katha, Khin-U and Wetlet in Sagaing Region and Hakha Township in Chin State.
Despite continued clashes, funding shortfalls and access challenges, the UN, humanitarian partners continue to deliver aid in hard-to-reach and priority areas, in line with the 2026 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan, which calls for $890 million.
The Humanitarian Coordinator ad interim in Myanmar, Gwyn Lewis, says that underfunding in 2025 pushed families into impossible choices, with many skipping meals, taking dangerous journeys and exposing themselves to serious risks simply to survive. We cannot allow this to happen again this year.
#South Sudan
UN, humanitarian partners launch appeal for $1.5bn to help 4.3 million people in 2026
Today in Juba, the UN, humanitarian partners, together with the Government, launched the 2026 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan.
The plan seeks $1.5 billion to deliver life-saving assistance and protection to 4.3 million people in one of the world’s most complex humanitarian crises. Of this, the immediate priority is $1 billion to reach 4 million people.
In 2026, an estimated 10 million people – or about two-thirds of the population, including over 600,000 refugees – will need humanitarian aid.
OCHA reports that conflict, climate shocks, disease outbreaks, deepening economic challenges, and the spillover effects of the crisis in neighboring Sudan continue to drive humanitarian needs in South Sudan.
More than 7.5 million people are projected to face crisis (IPC Phase 3) or worse levels of food insecurity during the lean season from April to July.
#Sudan
More civilians killed as fighting intensifies across Sudan
OCHA expresses its deep alarm over continued harm to civilians and displacement as fighting escalates in multiple parts of the country.
Local reports indicate that at least 19 civilians were killed during a ground assault in the Jarjira area of North Darfur State yesterday.
Another 10 civilians were reportedly killed and nine injured in a drone attack in Sinja, the state capital of Sennar State, yesterday, according to the Sudan Doctors Network.
Violence continues to drive people from their homes. The International Organization for Migration estimates that on Friday, more than 8,000 people were displaced from villages in the locality of Kernoi in North Darfur State, with some fleeing within the state and others crossing into Chad.
In addition, between Sunday and yesterday, 125 people were displaced from Kadugli, the state capital of South Kordofan State, while nearly 300 people fled the city of Dilling, due to heightened insecurity, with families reportedly moving towards locations in White Nile State.
At the same time, a deepening nutrition emergency is unfolding in North Darfur State. UNICEF and partners conducted a survey last month in the localities of At Tina, Um Baru and Kernoi which showed acute malnutrition levels far exceeding World Health Organization (WHO) emergency thresholds of 15 per cent. Um Baru having the highest Global Acute Malnutrition rate of 53 per cent.
OCHA once again calls on all parties to immediately protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, respect international humanitarian law, and enable rapid, safe, unhindered and sustained humanitarian access, while urging donors to urgently scale up funding to deliver life-saving assistance.
*Donations made to UN Crisis Relief help UN agencies and humanitarian NGOs reach people in Sudan with urgent support.
#Syria
Public services gradually restored in Aleppo, but 120,000 people still uprooted
OCHA reports that nearly 120,000 people remain displaced following recent hostilities in the city of Aleppo. Humanitarian partners report that around 29,000 people have returned to their homes so far.
Access to the neighbourhoods of Ashrafiyeh and Ash-Sheik Maqsoud is gradually improving but is limited by the continued operations to clear explosive remnants of war.
Public services – including the restoration of the water supply to approximately three million people following the reactivation of the Babiri water station – are gradually resuming. However, schools remain closed for an additional 15 days, and flights to and from Aleppo International Airport continue to be suspended.
The UN, humanitarian partners continue to provide aid, including shelter, health, nutrition, and food support, while closely monitoring population movements. Humanitarian partners remain on standby to adjust and scale up the response as required, amid ongoing access constraints and a fluid security environment.
#Ukraine
To reach 4 million people in 2026, UN, partners call for $2.3 billion
As the war approaches its fifth year, the UN, humanitarian partners launched the 2026 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan, which calls for $2.3 billion to support more than 4 million people across the country with life-saving assistance. Overall, nearly 11 million people across Ukraine are estimated to require humanitarian assistance this year.
Widespread disruptions to electricity and heating during extreme winter conditions are creating a crisis within a crisis, pushing already vulnerable people to the brink.
Humanitarian needs remain most severe in front-line areas and along the northern border, where intensified shelling, destruction of civilian infrastructure and persistent disruptions to essential services continue. People living in territories occupied by the Russian Federation remain largely cut off from services and protection, while humanitarian access remains extremely limited.
Humanitarian assistance works hand in hand with Government-led efforts, with national and local organizations – together with international partners – playing a central role in reaching people in the most difficult and dangerous conditions.
Meanwhile, authorities report that attacks across Ukraine in the past day resulted in more than 30 civilian casualties, as disruptions to basic services continued in freezing temperatures. The capital Kiyv and its region, as well as the regions of Donetsk, Dnipro, Kharkiv, Odesa, Sumy and Zaporizhzhia were among the hardest hit.
In Odesa, overnight attacks injured several civilians and damaged residential buildings and civilian facilities, including office premises of several UN organizations.
Across the country, rolling power outages continued, and some areas – including parts of Kyiv – remained without heating as temperatures dropped to –15°C.
*Donations made to UN Crisis Relief help UN agencies and humanitarian NGOs reach people in Ukraine with urgent support.