Today's top news: Occupied Palestinian Territory, South Sudan, Sudan, Ukraine

#Occupied Palestinian Territory

UN, partners affirm need for principled aid delivery in Gaza

OCHA warns that air strikes and other attacks continue across the Gaza Strip, with reports that scores of people were killed and hundreds injured over the weekend, including children and other civilians.

Yesterday, the Humanitarian Country Team of the Occupied Palestinian Territory, which brings together about 15 UN entities and some 200 NGOs – both international and local – issued a statement, speaking with one voice and reaffirming the position taken by UN Secretary-General António Guterres and the Emergency Relief Coordinator, Tom Fletcher, on principled aid operations.

They recalled that for nine weeks now, Israeli authorities have blocked all supplies from entering Gaza – regardless of how essential they are. This blockade has forced bakeries and community kitchens to shut down, emptied warehouses and left children hungry.

The organizations note that Israeli officials have sought to shut down the existing aid system run by the UN and its partners, asking them to instead deliver supplies through Israeli hubs – under conditions set by the Israeli military – once the Government agrees to re-open the crossings.

The statement calls on world leaders to use their influence to help lift the blockade now. Aid organizations remain in Gaza and have significant stocks ready to move into the Strip as soon as restrictions are lifted. Once that happens, they are ready to ramp up operations again.

Meanwhile, OCHA reports that robbery and looting have become a daily reality, especially in and around Gaza city. This is in parallel to the depletion of supplies. Businesses are being targeted. There have also been attempts involving UN warehouses, and in most of those cases, guards have managed to stop them, or the looters find the warehouses already empty – after more than two months of total blockade.

Last week, water pumping and sanitation systems in Beit Lahiya, in North Gaza governorate, went down because fuel had run out. Those services are still not back, as fuel remains unavailable. On Friday, a major water line from Israel was damaged, cutting water supply to northern Gaza – including Gaza city – by half. Only yesterday were teams able to fix it, as this repair work required coordination with the Israeli authorities.

Also yesterday, a UN team managed to retrieve some fuel from a station in Gaza city, after the Israeli authorities facilitated their efforts to reach it. However, much of the fuel reserves remain out of reach because the supply is located in areas where Israeli authorities systematically deny humanitarians access. In Rafah, not a single attempt to retrieve fuel has been facilitated since 18 April.

OCHA stresses that fuel is essential not only to power water wells and treat sewage, but also to keep intensive care units and ambulances running.

Humanitarian teams need Israeli coordination to move through vast areas of Gaza. Since Saturday, most of those attempts – 19 out of 27 planned movements – were denied outright. Other attempts initially received the green light but were then impeded on the ground.

#South Sudan

Hospital hit in Jonglei State

The acting Humanitarian Coordinator in South Sudan, Marie-Helene Verney, deplored in a statement yesterday the deadly air strike on a hospital in Jonglei State.

On Saturday, a hospital in the town of Old Fangak was hit by an air strike, resulting in the deaths of at least seven civilians and injuring dozens.

This attack led to the suspension of critical medical care for more than 100,000 people and the destruction of medical supplies at a hospital managed by Médecins Sans Frontières. The town's population fled, and aid teams have withdrawn staff. Hospital patients have been relocated, and the UN is airlifting essential medical supplies to replenish stocks.

Similar attacks have occurred in Ulang and Nasir, Upper Nile State, affecting the only healthcare facilities in those areas.

Today, local sources report another aerial bombardment with casualties in the city of New Fangak, with the full extent of the humanitarian impact still being assessed.

Verney called for an end to the fighting, which has now displaced more than 130,000 people from Nasir, Ulang and now Fangak counties in the past two months, leaving many more deprived of livelihoods and essential services because of the hostilities.

The UN also calls for safe access for humanitarian teams and supplies to reach people in need. Eight additional incidents affecting health facilities – including bombings and lootings – have been tracked between January and April of this year.

The 2025 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan for South Sudan, which was published late last year, calls for US$1.7 billion to provide humanitarian assistance and protection to 5.4 million people, more than half of them children. The appeal is just 16 per cent funded, with only $270 million received.

#Sudan

Humanitarians on alert in Port Sudan

OCHA continues to monitor the evolving situation following recent drone strikes in Port Sudan, which has become the UN's humanitarian hub for coordinating aid operations across Sudan.

These attacks have not had a direct impact on humanitarian operations or activities in Port Sudan. None of the UN’s offices, premises or warehouses has been impacted, and regular operations continue.

OCHA will continue to assess the situation, including any impact on the ability to bring supplies and staff in and out of Sudan. UN Humanitarian Air Service flights to and from Port Sudan have been temporarily put on hold.

These latest strikes follow a series of recent drone attacks on airports and other civilian infrastructure, including power stations. The attacks on power stations have caused major disruptions to electricity supplies, as well as access to safe drinking water for civilians, including displaced people and returnees.

OCHA calls on all parties to the conflict to ensure that civilians and civilian infrastructure are not targeted. Once again, OCHA underscores that wars have rules and international humanitarian law must be respected.

#Ukraine

Attacks strike Ukrainian cities

The Humanitarian Coordinator in Ukraine, Matthias Schmale, condemned the large-scale attacks on Kharkiv and other densely populated cities across the country over the weekend.

Between 2 and 5 May, drone attacks and hostilities in the cities of Kharkiv, Kyiv and Cherkasy, as well as in several regions – including Sumy, Kherson, Dnipro and Donetsk – killed 12 people and injured more than 100 civilians, according to local authorities and partners. The attacks also damaged homes, schools, a hospital and other civilian infrastructure. Nearly 370 people, including 42 children, were evacuated to safer areas, according to authorities.

Humanitarian organizations provided first aid, psychosocial support, emergency shelter kits, repair materials, meals and drinks.*

Meanwhile, a fire triggered by a strike near the city of Izium in the Kharkiv region burned 85 hectares of land and damaged more than a dozen buildings yesterday. No casualties were reported. Emergency services and deminers are mobilized, and humanitarian partners are providing food and water.

Attacks on healthcare in Ukraine continue, with 39 incidents verified in March alone – causing 13 injuries and one death among health workers and patients. 

The UN and its partners have reached 600,000 people so far in 2025 with first aid, medical transport, primary care and mental health support, including at transit centres for displaced people.

*Donations made to UN Crisis Relief help UN agencies and humanitarian NGOs reach people in Ukraine with urgent support.