Today's top news: Occupied Palestinian Territory, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Mozambique, Ukraine
#Occupied Palestinian Territory
UN humanitarian arm sounds alarm over families trapped in unsafe shelters in Gaza
OCHA reports that hundreds of thousands of people are still living in dangerous makeshift shelters or in damaged buildings, exposed to harsh weather, environmental hazards and explosive ordnance.
In several displacement sites, families are living along unstable coastal cliffs, making them vulnerable to soil erosion and collapse, wave surges, flooding and extreme winds. In one of these locations, in Deir al Balah, a recent landslide reportedly claimed lives. We and our partners continue to carry out assessments.
OCHA underscores that much of what is needed to address such risks is not readily available in Gaza. Opportunities for people to move voluntarily are severely constrained since large areas of land remain off limits for civilians. At the same time, repairs to damaged buildings, as well as the removal of rubble and explosive ordnance, are limited by restrictions on the entry of equipment and heavy machinery.
The UN and its partners are providing tents, tarpaulins and other shelter items. But these are temporary measures that cannot provide adequate protection against winter storms.
Today, there were reports that the remains of the last Israeli hostage have been finally retrieved. From day one, the UN has been calling for immediate and unconditional release of all hostages. Families of deceased hostages deserve to lay their loved ones to rest with dignity. This development is an important and long overdue milestone, and the UN hopes it will lead to further progress.
Over the past 48 hours, humanitarian teams on the ground have seen some 100 families displaced from the area where these searches were carried out, east of Gaza city. As of earlier today, about half of them were sheltered in damaged buildings, while more than 30 other families were staying in an industrial facility or at Tuffah Stadium.
In the West Bank, yesterday, a fire broke out at UNRWA headquarters in East Jerusalem. This is the same UN compound where Israeli authorities carried out demolitions last Tuesday. In a social media post, UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini deplored that there are no limits to the defiance of the UN and international law in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
UNRWA has also warned that the Kalandia Training Centre, which supports 350 young Palestinian students, is facing closure and expropriation following recent Israeli legislation. The centre runs over a dozen vocational training programmes, ranging from information technology and automative mechanics to metalwork and construction.
In a new publication reviewing developments in 2025, OCHA reports that the West Bank saw record levels of displacement and settler violence last year. More than 37,000 Palestinians were displaced over the course of 2025, mostly due to operations carried out in refugee camps across the northern governorates. More than 2,000 people were displaced following the demolition or destruction of their homes, while more than 1,650 were displaced as a result of settler violence. In East Jerusalem, demolitions reached the highest levels in the UN’s records of almost two decades.
OCHA also reports that over 1,800 attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians caused casualties, damage or both in 2025. This is the highest annual figure on UN record and marks the ninth consecutive annual increase. These incidents affected 280 communities, which is yet another high record number.
OCHA stresses that when civilians are not protected and perpetrators are not held accountable, impunity is normalized, violence drives displacement, and together they lead to growing humanitarian needs.
*Donations made to UN Crisis Relief help UN agencies and humanitarian NGOs reach people in Gaza with urgent support.
#Somalia
UN appeals for $852 million for life-saving operations in 2026 amid severe drought
OCHA reports that, today, the UN and its humanitarian partners, together with the Government, launched this year’s Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan to support millions of people across the country this year.
This year’s plan calls for $852 million plan, which is 40 per cent less than last year. It aims to support 2.4 million people, which is less than half of the people in need of humanitarian assistance, leaving significant gaps in essential services.
It is important to note that this reduction in the funding requirement is due to constrained resources – not reduced humanitarian needs.
The launch comes at an unprecedented time for Somalia, with funding shortfalls squeezing humanitarian programmes just as the country faces a severe drought.
Water scarcity has reached critical levels in several areas. In parts of Middle Shabelle region, the Shabelle River has dried up, leaving dozens of villages without reliable water sources.
The UN and its partners are seeing the same pattern across several regions: water is drying up, boreholes are failing and the cost of water is rising. Livestock are being pushed to migrate abnormally, more animals are dying, and families are being forced to move.
Without urgent and scaled-up assistance, the combination of prolonged drought, livelihood collapse, displacement, disease outbreaks and reduced humanitarian aid will worsen food insecurity, water shortages and health risks even worse.
Last year, the Response Plan received only 27 per cent – or $397 million – of the $1.4 billion requested, forcing humanitarian organizations to sharply reduce and, in some cases, suspend life-saving assistance.
*Donations made to UN Crisis Relief help UN agencies and humanitarian NGOs reach people in Somalia with urgent support.
#Sudan
UN warns of uptick in violence against civilians in Kordofan
OCHA warns that escalating conflict in the Kordofan region continues to force civilians from their homes and place people at grave risk.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) estimates that more than 1,000 people were displaced by clashes between 20 and 24 January from the besieged cities of Kadugli and Dilling in the state of South Kordofan.
Since October, more than 65,000 people have been uprooted across the wider Kordofan region. The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has also observedthat 6,500 people have crossed into South Sudan since early December.
Violence against civilians also persists. On Saturday, two civilians were reportedly killed and several others injured in a drone strike in Dilling, according to the Sudan Doctors Network, underscoring the continued threat to civilians in besieged areas.
In the Darfur region and the State of North Darfur, the UN and its humanitarian partners reportscaling up life-saving assistance there over the past two weeks.
In the locality of Tawila and in areas surrounding the state capital, El Fasher, humanitarian partners vaccinated more than 140,000 children against measles and rubella. They also provided more than 9,000 health consultations and reached 65,000 people with safe water and sanitation services. And community kitchens supported by the UN delivered daily meals to 13,000 people.
Despite these efforts, humanitarian needs – particularly in the areas of food aid, shelter, water, sanitation, hygiene, and education – remain unmet for many people.
Meanwhile, IOM reports a 10 per cent increase in people returning to their areas of origin, mostly in the States of Khartoum and Aj Jazirah, over the past month, with more than 3.3 million people recorded as having gone back to their homes. But people are often returning to areas with damaged infrastructure, limited services and continued fighting, and children continue to bear the brunt of the crisis.
OCHA once again urges all parties to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, and to ensure rapid, safe, unhindered and sustained humanitarian access.
#Syria
UN aid reaches Kobani
OCHA reports that, yesterday, a UN-supported convoy of 24 trucks carrying life-saving assistance entered the city of Kobani.
The convoy delivered food, nutrition supplies, health supplies, hygiene materials, winterization support, kitchen kits, and supplies for children. The assistance was provided by the UN Population Fund, UNICEF, UNHCR, the World Food Programme and partners.
The convoy also included two fuel tankers to resupply the the Karakoi water station and restore water supply to Kobani and surrounding villages.
Following the announcement of a 15-day ceasefire, on 25 January, the Government of Syria announced the opening of two humanitarian corridors in Hasakah and Aleppo.
Today, the Government announced another corridor near the town of Sarin in Aleppo to allow people to leave the area.
In addition, five temporary shelter facilities have been established, including in Aleppo city, for people choosing to relocate there.
*Donations made to UN Crisis Relief help UN agencies and humanitarian NGOs reach people in Syria with urgent support.
#Mozambique
Floods ravage southern, central Mozambique, as more than 100,000 people seek temporary shelter
OCHA reports that the floods continue to impact hundreds of thousands of people across the country’s southern and central regions.
According to authorities, more than 650,000 people are now estimated to be affected by the floods, with some 100,000 people being hosted in 99 temporary accommodation centers.
The UN Humanitarian Air Service has activated emergency flights to flood-affected areas in the south to support the humanitarian response.
And the UN and its humanitarian partners continue to support the Government-led response. Yesterday, nearly 90 tons of UNICEF humanitarian supplies to support 50,000 people – mainly children and their families – arrived in the country. The supplies included tents, nutrition, health, and wash, sanitation and hygiene supplies.
*Donations made to UN Crisis Relief help UN agencies and humanitarian NGOs reach people in Mozambique with urgent support.
#Ukraine
UN calls for end to attacks on critical infrastructure as hundreds of thousands of civilians left without power
The Humanitarian Coordinator, Mattias Schmale, called for attacks on critical infrastructure to stop as thousands of people are exposed to harsh winter conditions amid new round of attacks over the weekend.
According to local authorities, between 23 January and this morning, attacks have killed several civilians and injured nearly 80 others, including several children.
On 24 January, a large-scale attack affected the regions of Kharkiv, Kyiv, Chernihiv and Kyiv. In the city of Kharkiv, a maternity hospital, a medical college dormitory that was sheltering displaced people, and residential buildings were damaged. Several displaced people were also injured.
In the capital Kyiv, some 6,000 multi-storey buildings lost heating, many of them for the third time this month. And in the region of Chernihiv, hundreds of thousands of families were left without electricity.
To complement the work of national rescuers and municipal services, NGOs and UN agencies are providing hot meals and distributing tarpaulins, films and plywood. The UN and its partners are also covering shattered windows and providing psychosocial support. Humanitarian partners also continue to support heating centres, where people can warm up, charge their phones and have hot drinks.
Across the country, humanitarians continue to provide winter-related assistance, having already reached 1.5 million people.
This year, the UN and its humanitarian partners will need $2.3 billion to support more than 4 million people.
*Footage on the aftermath of the Kharkiv attack is available here: https://www.unocha.org/media-centre/ukraine-kharkiv-attack-26-january-2025
*Donations made to UN Crisis Relief help UN agencies and humanitarian NGOs reach people in Ukraine with urgent support.