Today's top news: Occupied Palestinian Territory, Sudan, Syria, Ukraine
#Occupied Palestinian Territory
Humanitarians continue to scale up winter support for families in Gaza
OCHA reports that the UN and its partners continue to deliver assistance to the most vulnerable families in the Gaza Strip. However, they warn that needs continue to outpace the ability of humanitarians to respond, given the ongoing impediments they face. Rainstorms and colder temperatures are also exacerbating the situation across the Strip.
In the ongoing effort to provide winterization support, humanitarians have been distributing packages of essential items – including food aid, hygiene materials and shelter supplies – to help people weather future storms and support them after the latest rains. Between Thursday and Saturday, partners working on improving access to dignified shelter delivered 3,800 tents, nearly 4,600 tarpaulins, and thousands of bedding items to some 4,800 families.
Partners are also working to address the growing risks of hypothermia in newborns, with tailored kits that are locally procured and prepared for distribution. These kits will be provided to mothers and caregivers with newborn and very young children.
Meanwhile, partners leading efforts to improve food security report that after the latest rainstorms hit Gaza on Thursday, some 16 community kitchens were forced to temporarily close due to the weather. Since then, most have resumed their normal operations, with 5,000 additional hot meals per day delivered to 30 sites affected by the rains across the Strip. This is in addition to the ongoing provision of cooked meals, with nearly 1.6 million distributed on Saturday.
In terms of regular monthly food assistance, partners report that some 400,000 people have received these food packages so far in December. One package includes two food rations with staple items such as rice, lentils and oil, as well as one 25-kilogram bag of flour.
However, since Friday – and due to ongoing restrictions affecting humanitarians’ ability to bring in sufficient volumes of aid – partners have once again had to reduce the assistance being provided through such packages to one food parcel, one bag of flour, and 1.5 kilograms of high energy biscuits. This reduced package covers half of the minimum caloric needs per family for the remainder of the month.
In parallel, partners working to improve water and sanitation delivered 15 mobile wastewater pumps to areas that have been flooded. They are also constructing embankments, setting up sandbags, and supporting the drainage of storm- and wastewater.
In another positive development, a temporary medical waste management facility is now operational in the “Netzarim corridor,” which runs across central Gaza from east to west. The facility was set up by the UN and its partners and will collect and safely store medical waste from health facilities in northern Gaza.
Meanwhile, in the ongoing push to improve access to education, partners re-opened more than a dozen temporary learning spaces to accommodate 5,000 children. However, efforts to get children back to regular learning are still constrained due to education supplies being blocked from entering Gaza by Israeli authorities.
Once again, OCHA warns that impediments continue to hamper efforts to accelerate the scale-up of the humanitarian response. These impediments must be lifted, and access must be sustained to allow the UN and its partners to reach everyone in need.
#Sudan
Escalating hostilities put civilians in Kordofan at risk
OCHA warns that the situation across Sudan’s Kordofan region is rapidly worsening, with civilians facing mounting risks as hostilities intensify.
OCHA is alarmed by reports that yesterday, a drone attack struck a hospital in the town of Dilling, in South Kordofan State, killing at least six people and injuring 12 others, according to initial information from the UN Human Rights Office. Other reports indicate that medical personnel were among the injured.
OCHA reminds all parties that attacks on hospitals and health workers constitute grave violations of international humanitarian law. Medical facilities and civilians must be protected at all times, and those responsible must be held to account.
Meanwhile, in the east of Kadugli, the state capital of South Kordofan, artillery shelling was reported yesterday, posing further risks to civilians.
The escalating violence is driving new displacement. The International Organization for Migration estimates that more than 1,700 people were displaced between Thursday and Saturday from several towns in South Kordofan.
The security situation also remains volatile in North Kordofan State, including in the state capital, El Obeid, where further attacks have been reported.
Despite the insecurity, the UN and its partners continue their efforts to provide life-saving assistance, as funding and access allow. With the World Health Organization and national authorities conducting a cholera vaccination campaign in South Kordofan, Abu Jubeihah locality, it is essential that sustained access is facilitated and security is guaranteed.
Meanwhile in North Darfur State, displacement from El Fasher into Tawila continues to rise. More than 25,000 arrivals have been registered since late October, after fleeing along insecure routes where they face extreme protection risks.
Despite severe access and logistical constraints, the World Food Programme (WFP) assisted about half a million people in Tawila last month and has consistently reached some 2 million people every month across the Darfur region – half of whom are in North Darfur, in areas surrounding El Fasher.
Once again, OCHA urges all parties to respect international humanitarian law, protect civilians, and ensure rapid, safe and unhindered humanitarian access across Sudan so that assistance can reach people in need wherever they are.
#Syria
UN, partners deliver vital aid to southern areas amid funding shortfalls
OCHA reports that the UN and its humanitarian partners continue to respond to urgent needs in southern Syria, despite severe funding shortfalls which severely limit their operations.*
Two weeks before the end of the year, the US$3.2 billion humanitarian response plan is just 30 per cent funded, with $953 million received.
In November, the UN and its humanitarian partners reached more than 475,000 people with assistance, including blankets, winter clothes, cash support and winterization kits.
Since July, UN humanitarian convoys have delivered more than 1,600 trucks of aid to the governorates of As-Sweida, Dar’a and Rural Damascus. The UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR, and its partners have scaled up distributions of materials for the winter, while WFP supplied more than 6,600 metric tons of wheat flour to sustain bakery operations.
UNICEF and its health partners have deployed more than 40 mobile medical teams, delivering over 150,000 medical procedures and treatment courses, and reached nearly 30,000 people with nutrition services. Partners working in water, sanitation and hygiene supported water trucking and maintenance, restoring access to water for over 200,000 people, and distributed 78,000 litres of fuel to operate essential water facilities.
Meanwhile, OCHA reports that the number of people displaced from As-Sweida governorate has decreased by about 30,000 since late August, with some 155,000 displaced people remaining and an estimated 20,000 returnees, mainly to As-Sweida and Shahba districts. However, critical funding gaps and logistical constraints are restricting essential water, sanitation and hygiene upgrades; curtailing health and nutrition outreach; and delaying shelter rehabilitation – leaving communities exposed to harsh winter conditions.
The security situation in southern Syria remains volatile, with sporadic incidents disrupting mobility and access. Explosive ordnance contamination continues to pose serious risks. In November, partners reported 24 casualties, including 17 children. Clearance and risk education activities are ongoing as security and funding allow.
*Donations made to UN Crisis Relief help UN agencies and humanitarian NGOs reach people in need in Syria with urgent support.
#Ukraine
Weekend attacks disrupt critical services
OCHA says that new attacks in Ukraine over the weekend severely disrupted critical services, leaving more than 1 million people without electricity, heating or water, mainly across the south of the country.
Authorities report that between 12 December and early this morning, front-line hostilities and attacks across the country killed at least nine civilians and injured more than 70 others, including three children.
The Odesa region suffered repeated attacks that injured six civilians and damaged energy infrastructure. As a result, the city of Odesa, home to more than 1 million residents, was left without electricity, heating and water. While power has been restored for some 100,000 consumers and water supply has resumed, 20,000 residents remain without heating as of this morning.
In the neighbouring region of Mykolaiv, attacks damaged the power supply and injured five civilians, including a child.
The Kherson region has also been severely impacted, with about two dozen civilians injured. In Kherson city, more than 40,000 residents remain without heating following damage to the combined heat and power plant earlier this month.
Energy facilities were also hit in the region of Chernihiv in the north and the region of Kirovohrad in central Ukraine, disrupting the electricity supply in dozens of towns and villages, while other front-line regions – including Donetsk, Dnipro, Kharkiv, Sumy and Zaporizhzhia – reported civilian casualties and damage to homes and other civilian infrastructure.
With temperatures dropping to near or below zero and snowfall reported in parts of the country, attacks on critical energy infrastructure are driving widespread water and heating outages nationwide.
Humanitarian partners, with the UN’s support, are providing hot meals, bottled water, shelter materials, water trucking and psychosocial support.