Today's top news: Occupied Palestinian Territory, South Sudan, Sudan
#Occupied Palestinian Territory
UN Relief Chief: ‘No one should have to risk their life to feed their children’ in Gaza
The Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Tom Fletcher, said in a statement today that day after day, the world is watching horrifying scenes of Palestinians being shot, wounded, or killed in Gaza while simply trying to eat.
“This is the outcome of a series of deliberate choices that have systematically deprived 2 million people of the essentials they need to survive,” he said.
Mr. Fletcher echoed the Secretary-General's call for immediate, independent investigations – noting that these are not isolated incidents, and the perpetrators must be held accountable. He stressed that no one should have to risk their life to feed their children.
“As I have repeatedly stressed, we must be allowed to do our jobs: We have the teams, the plan, the supplies and the experience,” he said.
The Under-Secretary-General called for all crossings to be opened; for life-saving aid to be let in at scale from all directions; for a lifting of the restrictions on what and how much aid humanitarians can bring in; and for ensuring that aid convoys aren’t held up by delays and denials.
Mr. Fletcher appealed for the hostages to be released and the ceasefire to be implemented.
“We value the support of more and more Member States who are joining our call: Let us work,” he said.
Gaza: Relentless hostilities cause more deaths, displacement
Hostilities continued across Gaza over the past 24 hours, resulting in more deaths and damage to essential infrastructure.
Displacement also continues, with the latest figures indicating that in the past three weeks, more than 100,000 people were forced to flee in the governorates of North Gaza and Gaza alone.
Partners working in health warn that facilities are being heavily impacted by the ongoing hostilities. More and more medical facilities are suspending their operations. On Monday, the remaining staff and patients in the Indonesian Hospital, in North Gaza, were evacuated. As a result, not a single hospital remains functional in North Gaza.
Today in Gaza city, Deputy Humanitarian Coordinator Suzanna Tkalec visited Al Ahli hospital, which has sustained multiple attacks since the beginning of the war. Ms. Tkalec heard from staff about the challenges they are facing. They stressed that preventable deaths are occurring due to shortages of critical supplies, including antibiotics.
The Deputy Humanitarian Coordinator called for the protection of health facilities, the unrestricted flow of assistance into Gaza, and support for the UN and its partners to deliver at scale to alleviate people’s suffering. Ms. Tkalec said the UN and its partners are continuously appealing to the Israeli authorities to enable humanitarians to meaningfully address the crisis in Gaza.
While in Gaza city, she also visited Firas market, where she was briefed by the UN Development Programme on efforts to urgently address the issue of solid waste management.
Meanwhile, the UN and its partners continue to send supplies to Kerem Shalom crossing, where the Israeli authorities scan them before they can enter Gaza. For today, more than 130 pre-cleared truckloads were submitted for a second and final Israeli clearance, but only 50 of them – which were carrying flour – were approved.
Humanitarian teams are also working hard to collect supplies from Kerem Shalom and bring them closer to where people need them, inside Gaza. But these attempts are facing major hurdles. Just yesterday, one attempt was denied access altogether, and another managed to retrieve just over a dozen truckloads carrying flour.
Overall, since Kerem Shalom reopened, the UN and its partners have been able to collect fewer than 400 truckloads. This is despite their daily efforts to coordinate access and secure safe routes through the Israeli-militarized zone in the south.
That denied attempt to access Kerem Shalom was one of six access denials humanitarian teams faced yesterday across the Gaza Strip, out of a total 13 attempts. Such denials prevented these teams from carrying out interventions as critical as trucking water.
Another of yesterday’s six denied access attempts was to retrieve fuel, which is also urgently needed. Partners have rationed the supplies – but OCHA warns that without immediate access to fuel that is already inside Gaza but located in hard-to-reach areas that are either militarized or subject to displacement orders, more critical services will have to suspend operations soon.
#South Sudan
Funding shortfalls disrupt services for refugees, returnees
OCHA is concerned about the impact of funding cuts on the plight of refugees and returnees in South Sudan.
According to monitoring by the UN and the Government, more than 1 million people, returnees and refugees have fled Sudan into South Sudan since the war started in 2023.
On arrival, many were helped by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) with free bus rides and river barge tickets to help get them back to their home areas or refugee camps.
However, due to funding shortages*, these services had to stop on 1 June, raising concerns about people being stranded and overcrowding in transit shelter as people continue to flee fighting in Sudan. In May alone, 15,000 people arrived in the border town of Renk.
Yesterday, several hundred refugees and returnees in Renk protested against the stoppage of transportation services.
*Donations made to UN Crisis Relief help UN agencies and humanitarian NGOs reach people in South Sudan with urgent support.
# Sudan
Cholera spreads, civilians flee as conflict continues
OCHA reports that conflict-related displacement and the spread of cholera continue to increase humanitarian needs across Sudan.
In Khartoum state, IOM reports that nearly 9,700 people were recently displaced from Al Salha in Um Durman locality due to conflict. Many of them remained within Um Durman, while others moved to Karrari, where the security situation is fluid.
In South Kordofan state, IOM says more than 9,000 people fled Dibebat town in Al Quoz locality last week due to intense clashes. The situation remains highly volatile.
At the same time, IOM reports that about 600 people were displaced from Abu Shouk camp and El Fasher town in North Darfur state last week. Most of them sought refuge within El Fasher, while others moved to the localities of Kutum and As Serief, as well as Tawila, where the UN and its partners have been scaling up assistance for new arrivals, despite significant gaps due to shortfalls in resources and challenges in getting partners onto the ground in sufficient numbers.
Meanwhile, although daily cholera cases are falling in Khartoum state, they are steadily increasing to the north in neighbouring River Nile state. In the past two weeks, health authorities there have reported more than 180 cumulative cases and four deaths. Most cases were concentrated in the localities of Atbara, Barbar and Ad Damar.
Of the total cases, 55 were reported to have arrived from other states – including 45 from Khartoum and Um Durman – underscoring the cross-regional spread of cholera. Partners warn that continued displacement, damaged infrastructure, and limited access to safe water are accelerating transmission.
Meanwhile, OCHA warns that thousands of displaced people now returning to Blue Nile state need urgent assistance. A recent assessment by the UN and its partners found that returnees lack food, clean water, healthcare, shelter and education.
Humanitarian organizations are working around the clock to meet growing needs in Sudan, but insecurity, access constraints and critical funding shortfalls continue to undermine the response.
OCHA once again calls for an immediate cessation of hostilities, unimpeded humanitarian access across borders and conflict lines, the protection of civilians, and increased funding to scale up the response.