Today's top news: Occupied Palestinian Territory, Nigeria, Ukraine
#Occupied Palestinian Territory
West Bank
OCHA reports that the UN and humanitarian partners continue to support Palestinians affected by the 10-day operation by Israeli forces in Jenin and Tulkarm, as well as their adjacent refugee camps. This includes the delivery of food and water, with OCHA coordinating efforts to provide additional assistance.
Over the weekend, OCHA – along with UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East and humanitarian partners – began assessing the needs of Palestinians impacted by the operation. OCHA reports that more than 620 people – over a third of them children – remain displaced. As of Sunday, some 2,400 housing units had been damaged, with more than 100 rendered uninhabitable.
In the Tulkarm and Nur Shams refugee camps, more than 2.6km of water and sewage networks were bulldozed during the operation, severely impacting access to essential services. OCHA reports that more than 33,000 residents have been coping with water cuts and sewage flooding over the past two weeks.
In the Kafr Dan, Jenin Refugee Camp and in eastern Jenin, about 70 per cent of the city’s roads and underlying water and sewage networks were bulldozed during the operation – cutting drinking water for 35,000 residents and subjecting them to sewage flooding.
According to OCHA’s latest figures, since the 7 October, more than 670 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. The vast majority were killed by Israeli forces, with more than 150 of those deaths due to airstrikes.
During the same period, OCHA says that 22 Israelis, including 15 members of the Israeli forces and five settlers, were killed by Palestinians in the West Bank.
Gaza
Meanwhile, the polio vaccination campaign continues in northern Gaza. The World Health Organization says that as of yesterday, more than 81,600 children in the north had been vaccinated. This is according to preliminary data. This brings the total number of children reached across Gaza to nearly 528,000 – again, that’s as of yesterday. We’ll share updated figures as we have them.
More than 230 teams are on the ground trying to reach all children under the age of 10 with the polio vaccine.
OCHA warn that Gaza’s health-care system remains in dire condition, with our partners reporting that half of all essential medicines are not available in the Strip. Primary health centres are facing critically low levels of insulin. Routine vaccines to protect infants from tuberculosis, as well as diphteria, tetanus and pertussis, are also nearly exhausted.
#Nigeria
OCHA reports that hundreds of thousands of people have been affected by flash floods in Nigeria after a dam collapsed in Maiduguri, Borno State.
According to the International Organization for Migration, nearly 240,000 people have been affected after the Alau Dam burst on 9 September following heavy rains and structural damage.
Flooding is reportedly covering 40 per cent of Maiduguri town, which has an estimated population of over 870,000 people. The town also hosts two camps with 230,000 displaced people. Evacuations by Government authorities continue.
Local authorities have reported damage to bridges, telecommunications and electricity networks in some areas. The floods are also disrupting access to health care facilities, schools and markets.
OCHA says immediate humanitarian needs include food, shelter, clean water. Protection remains a major concern, especially among unaccompanied and separated children, older people and people living with disabilities.
The UN and humanitarian partners are mobilized and supporting the Government response. Yesterday, we helped conduct an aerial assessment of affected areas with the support of the UN Humanitarian Air Service.
The World Food Programme and its partners have started the distributing food aid.
OCHA says that these flash floods are occurring against a backdrop of floods across Nigeria, which have so far claimed more than 200 lives and affected more than 800,000 people across 29 states, according to national authorities. Some of the flood-affected areas in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states are facing a food and nutrition crisis affecting 4.8 million people and putting the lives of 230,000 children at risk of severe acute malnutrition.
The US$927 million Humanitarian Response Plan for Nigeria is currently 46 percent funded with $422 million received.
#Ukraine
Turning to Ukraine, the Office for the Coordination for Humanitarian Affairs says that aid organizations working in the south of the country are concerned with increased attacks and heightened insecurity.
These concerns were highlighted during a field mission of the Humanitarian Coordinator for Ukraine, Matthias Schmale, to Kherson, Mykolaiv and Odesa on Monday and Tuesday of this week.
On those days, attacks in Kherson injured 20 civilians and damaged infrastructure, according to the authorities and aid workers. On Monday, a World Food Programme partner’s food distribution point in Vesele Town was hit, damaging a house, garage, and car. One volunteer was injured.
So far in 2024, at least six aid workers have been killed and 29 others injured, with 51 humanitarian facilities damaged across Ukraine.
Despite the insecurity, aid workers are mobilized and continue to assist people affected by the war in the south of Ukraine. Just last week, more than 700 residents in front-line areas of the Kherson Region were provided health services with support from the Ukraine Humanitarian Fund.