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

#Occupied Palestinian Territory

Escalating hostilities and access denials compound dire conditions in Gaza

OCHA underscores the severity of the situation unfolding in Gaza. Relentless bombardment and daily displacement orders – coupled with the ongoing blockade on entering cargo and systematic denials of humanitarian movements inside the Strip – are having a devastating impact on the entire population of 2 million people.

 OCHA warns that everything in Gaza is running out: supplies, time and life.

The space for families to survive in is shrinking, as new Israeli displacement orders are issued by the day. On Wednesday, another order was issued for neighbourhoods in Gaza city, following reported rocket fire by Palestinian armed groups.

These orders now cover 17 per cent of Gaza – roughly 61 square kilometres. In just one week, at least 142,000 people have been displaced, and that number is now expected to rise. OCHA stresses that with every wave of displacement, thousands of people lose not just their shelter, but also access to essentials such as food, drinking water and healthcare.

The latest directives follow repeated displacement orders between 7 October 2023 and January 2025, during which time 90 per cent of people in Gaza were displaced at least once. This population has very few, if any, means left to cope with having to move yet again, at a time when all crossings are closed, goods are not flowing, and the security situation has deteriorated sharply.

Since 18 March, more than 20 nutrition treatment sites, as well as at least one safe space for women and girls, have shut down due to displacement orders and insecurity.

OCHA notes that the Israeli cargo closure imposed on all crossings into Gaza is now in its fourth week. Humanitarian partners warn that as a result, medical stocks, cooking gas and fuel needed to power bakeries or ambulances are all running dangerously low. Prices are skyrocketing, and humanitarian provisions are being rationed.

The UN Population Fund says incubators, ultrasound devices and oxygen pumps – all vital for newborns with medical complications – remain stuck at the Gaza border.

OCHA reports that the Israeli forces have also expanded the areas within Gaza where they are requiring humanitarian organizations to coordinate their movements with them in advance – and routinely deny such attempts. Between 18 and 24 March, 40 out of nearly 50 coordinated aid movements – 82 per cent – were denied. Today, half of UN coordinated missions were denied – five out of 10.

OCHA warns that when humanitarian access is denied, tasks as critical as picking up essential supplies or refueling a bakery are effectively blocked.

#Sudan

Humanitarian Coordinator condemns Darfur market attack

The Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan, Clementine Nkweta-Salami, said Monday’s horrific attack on the Torra market in North Darfur is yet another stark reminder of the growing disregard for human life and international humanitarian law in the country’s conflict.

The attack – about 40 kilometres north of El Fasher – reportedly killed and injured dozens of civilians.

Nkweta-Salami said there are disturbing reports that some of the injured are dying due to lack of access to timely medical care in El Fasher, where the ongoing siege and hostilities have forced most health facilities to shut down.

In a statement today, the Humanitarian Coordinator unequivocally condemned all deliberate and indiscriminate attacks on civilians. She stressed that markets, hospitals, schools, mosques and private homes are not battlegrounds – and yet civilians are being killed in the very places where they should be safest.

OCHA calls once again for the protection of civilians and safe passage for those fleeing areas of active conflict. Humanitarian access must also be ensured to all people in need – across North Darfur and beyond.

#Haiti

Thousands flee Port-au-Prince violence

OCHA warns that escalating attacks on populated areas in Haiti have forced repeated and record levels of displacements in the Port-au-Prince Metropolitan area.

OCHA warns that the scale and pace of displacement is rapidly outstripping the capacity of humanitarian actors to respond.

Nearly 23,000 people were displaced in just a week in mid-March, according to the International Organization for Migration, with families seeking shelter in already severely overcrowded sites with minimal essential services such as water, sanitation, healthcare and protection.

Meanwhile, OCHA says that cholera continues to pose a serious public health threat, particularly in displacement sites. The Ministry of Health, UNICEF and partners are jointly intensifying cholera prevention efforts, such as distributing cholera kits, promoting hygiene activities and strengthening water, sanitation and hygiene services to contain the spread and support affected communities.

Food security remains alarming: Beyond the worrying situation in the capital, almost half of the entire population – or 5.5 million people – is going hungry, one of the highest proportions in any crisis worldwide.

The UN Food and Agriculture Organization is working with Haitian authorities to restore access to food by providing farmers with seeds and tools to promote household-level food security.

#Ukraine

UN Deputy Relief Chief warns of growing civilian suffering in Ukraine

The Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator, Joyce Msuya, told the Security Council today that since 1 March, not a day has passed without an attack harming civilians in Ukraine, where almost 13 million people need humanitarian assistance.

“In front-line communities, civilians are confronted with relentless shelling and face impossible choices: flee under dangerous conditions, leaving behind everything they own, or stay and risk injury, death and limited access to essential services,” she said.

Msuya stressed that the UN and its humanitarian partners continue to do their best focusing on these communities, as well as people forced to evacuate their homes due to increased violence, those most immediately impacted by attacks and newly displaced people.  

Today, OCHA reports that an inter-agency convoy delivered vital aid to one of the most affected communities in the Donetsk region. This is the fourth convoy to front-lines communities in the region this year.

Humanitarians brought six metric tons of medical, hygiene and other critical supplies, including for older people, to help some 1,500 residents remaining in the community of Kostiantynivka. 

Local residents there face daily shelling. Homes and critical civilian infrastructure have been damaged and electricity, water and the gas supply have been disrupted.  

Civilians in the Donetsk region continue to bear the brunt of ongoing hostilities. Yesterday, according to local authorities, a mother and her daughter were killed and the second daughter injured, following an attack in the village of Kurtivka.