Today's top news: Occupied Palestinian Territory, Sudan, Haiti, Ukraine
#Occupied Palestinian Territory
Gaza: Hostilities, hunger deepen civilians’ suffering
OCHA warns that hostilities and hunger continue to fuel desperation among more than 2 million people in Gaza who are being denied the basics necessary for their survival, amid reports of ongoing Israeli military operations.
Between 5 and 8 June, 15 attacks were reported on residential buildings and tents sheltering displaced people across Gaza, killing tens of Palestinians and injuring others.
In northern Gaza, Israeli military operations have intensified in recent days, with mass casualties reported. On 7 June, the Palestinian Civil Defence reported 30 fatalities, including women and children, in an air strike on a residential building in Gaza city.
Hungry and displaced people have also reportedly been killed while risking their lives to access food at militarized distribution hubs.
Meanwhile, four new displacement orders have been issued by the Israeli authorities for northern areas of Gaza since 6 June. The last of these was said to be in response to reported Palestinian rocket fire into Israel. Combined, they cover about 8 square kilometres but largely overlap with previously issued orders.
OCHA underscores that civilians must be protected, including those fleeing and forced to leave through displacement orders and those who remain despite those orders. Civilians who flee must be allowed to return as soon as circumstances allow. OCHA reiterates that civilians must be able to receive the humanitarian assistance they need, wherever they are. All of this is required by international humanitarian law.
Yesterday, some supplies – mainly flour – were collected from Kerem Shalom crossing. The aid was bound for Gaza city but was taken directly from the trucks by hungry and desperate people who have now endured months of deprivation.
Separately, there have also been some instances of violent looting and attacks on truck drivers, which are completely unacceptable. OCHA reiterates that Israel, as the occupying power, bears responsibility with regards to public order and safety in Gaza. That should include letting in far more essential supplies, through multiple crossings and routes, to meet humanitarian needs and help reduce looting.
Today, additional supplies have been sent to Kerem Shalom, and humanitarian partners continue their efforts to pick up supplies when they are allowed access by the Israeli authorities.
Meanwhile, Israeli authorities continue to deny many humanitarian movements within the Strip to provide whatever limited services available to the population. Yesterday, they rejected 11 out of 18 attempts by the UN to coordinate such movements. These included trucking water, retrieving fuel, carrying out a rescue mission in Khan Younis, and repairing roads.
West Bank: Northern areas affected by Israeli operations
OCHA says Israeli forces’ operations in northern areas of the West Bank continue to be reported.
Today at around midnight, Israeli forces launched an operation in Nablus city, focusing on the Old City. They imposed a curfew, conducted house-to-house searches, and reportedly used a school as an interrogation centre. At least 20 homes have been searched, with reports of damage to property.
Yesterday in Jenin, the Israeli authorities announced an imminent plan to demolish nearly 96 structures – most of them residential – in Jenin camp. More than 280 families who stand to be affected have been given 72 hours to retrieve their personal belongings.
In Tulkarm, Israeli operations have intensified in its camps – Tulkarm and Nur Shams – since 6 June, coinciding with Eid al Adha. The forces have implemented demolition orders for 58 structures. More than three dozen buildings have been demolished so far, according to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, with destruction extending beyond the original orders issued at the start of the month.
There is a heavy presence of military forces remaining at both camps. On 7 June, Israeli forces reportedly shot and injured a Palestinian man in Nur Shams. Israeli forces have also operated in parts of Tulkarm city, taking over buildings and using them as military posts.
#Sudan
Fighting escalates in Kordofan region
OCHA is alarmed by intensifying violence in the greater Kordofan region of Sudan and the growing humanitarian impact of the fighting there. Air strikes have reportedly hit residential areas of Al Obeid city, North Kordofan state, in recent days, injuring civilians.
OCHA reports that conflict in the Kordofan region continues to hinder aid operations, leaving many people in need out of reach. Ongoing battles have brought the fighting closer to critical pastoral routes, which herders use to move their livestock.
The humanitarian situation elsewhere in the country also remains dire. In Northern state, partners report that nearly 6,000 people newly displaced from North Darfur – many of them older, wounded or suffering from chronic diseases – arrived in Ad Dabbah locality during the last two weeks of May. They urgently need healthcare, safe drinking water and protection services, including support for survivors of gender-based violence.
In Khartoum state, cholera remains a threat, despite recent progress in the response by the UN, its partners and local authorities. More than 1,300 new cases were recorded by health authorities there between 26 May and 1 June, down from 7,000 the previous week. While the fatality rate has declined, partners warn that underreporting may be masking the true scale of the outbreak.
Partners estimate that US$40 million is urgently needed to rehabilitate water infrastructure in Khartoum state and prevent a cholera resurgence, especially with the onset of the rainy season this month and increased movement of people after Eid al Adha holidays.
OCHA also reports that while displacement remains staggering, there has been a slight decline in the overall number of people uprooted by the conflict. According to the International Organization for Migration, some 10 million people were internally displaced as of the end of May – down from 11.6 million in January. This reduction is attributed to people returning, particularly to Khartoum, Sennar and Aj Jazirah states.
Since December, about 1.2 million internally displaced people have returned to their areas of origin – a nearly 90 per cent increase since April. The majority returned to Aj Jazirah, followed by Sennar and Khartoum states. Basic services remain very limited in these areas, and returnees will require significant support.
OCHA once again calls for an immediate cessation of hostilities, protection of civilians, and unimpeded humanitarian access across conflict lines and borders. In addition, greater national and international support is urgently required to scale up the response and meet rising needs across Sudan.*
*Donations made to UN Crisis Relief help UN agencies and humanitarian NGOs reach people in Sudan with urgent support.
#Haiti
Critical stocks, funding in short supply as hurricane season looms
OCHA reports that Haiti is entering the 2025 hurricane season with no emergency stockpile, amid lack of funding.
The World Food Programme (WFP) reports that for the first time ever, its teams have no prepositioned food stocks in the country, nor the cash liquidity to mount a swift humanitarian response in the case of a hurricane or extreme weather event.
In previous years, WFP could rapidly assist between 250,000 and 500,000 people in the immediate aftermath of a shock. The current lack of contingency stocks and operational funds eliminates any buffer against an impending crisis, leaving Haiti’s most at-risk communities dangerously unprotected at a time of heightened vulnerability.
The UN and its partners have pre-positioned water, hygiene and sanitation kits for more than 100,000 people and health supplies for 20,000 people across Haiti. However, these items – while important – are not sufficient on their own to meet life-saving needs in an emergency, especially in the absence of food. Limited logistics capacity compounds the risk of catastrophic delays in the critical first hours of any new emergency.
This critical shortfall comes as Haiti faces a deepening humanitarian crisis. Armed violence has displaced more than 1 million people and continues to severely disrupt access to basic services. Food insecurity remains widespread, with more than 5.7 million people – nearly half the population – facing acute hunger, including 2.1 million in emergency levels of acute food insecurity, or Phase 4 of the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification. Haiti is one of only five countries worldwide with people facing famine-like conditions.
The country’s extreme vulnerability to natural disasters adds another layer to the crisis. Recent flooding in late 2024 affected hundreds of thousands of people, particularly in the Nord-Est, underscoring the urgent need for disaster preparedness and anticipatory action to ensure humanitarians can respond as soon as a disaster strikes.
OCHA stresses that humanitarians remain committed to supporting affected communities. Alongside national authorities, they continue to deliver food, clean water, healthcare, hygiene kits, shelter and psychosocial support, despite insecurity and severe underfunding. OCHA calls on international partners to act urgently to fill these critical gaps and help ensure a timely and effective response as the hurricane season unfolds.
The $908 million Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan for Haiti is currently just over 8 per cent funded, with $75 million received.
#Ukraine
Hostilities cause casualties in urban centres, front-line areas
OCHA says large-scale attacks over the weekend killed dozens of civilians and injured hundreds across Ukraine.
Local authorities report that between 5 June and today, nearly 30 civilians were killed and more than 200 were injured, including children, across urban centres and front-line areas.
Kyiv, Kharkiv and Odesa – Ukraine’s most populated cities – were particularly impacted.
In the capital Kyiv, several first responders were reportedly killed and others wounded on duty while responding to earlier strikes, according to authorities.
In Odesa, three health facilities – an emergency medical services station, a maternity hospital and a blood centre – sustained damage, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Since the escalation of the war in February 2022, WHO has verified 2,446 attacks on healthcare across the country.
On 6 June, in the Kherson region, local authorities report that a clearly marked Ukrainian Red Cross vehicle was destroyed in a strike. No personnel were injured.
Meanwhile, in the west of the country, the regions of Rivne, Ternopil and Volyn – which were previously less affected by hostilities – also came under attack over the weekend. Civilians were injured, and thousands were left without electricity following the attack.
The Humanitarian Coordinator for Ukraine, Matthias Schmale, condemned the attacks, calling them a stark reminder of the terror Ukrainians across the country experience daily.
In all affected locations, the UN and national and international humanitarian organizations distributed emergency shelter materials and hot meals and provided psychosocial support. Assistance continues, despite the intensifying violence.