Today's top news: Occupied Palestinian Territory, Syria, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sudan, Myanmar, Ukraine, Ecuador
#Occupied Palestinian Territory
Hostilities, supply shortages drive humanitarian needs in Gaza
OCHA reports that the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory continues to worsen, as intense hostilities continue for a second week.
Yesterday in southern Gaza, OCHA and the World Health Organization (WHO) visited Nasser Hospital, which was damaged in an attack on Sunday night. The team met hospital staff and spoke to emergency medical teams working at the facility, which is the largest referral hospital in south Gaza.
WHO said two people were killed and eight injured when Nasser’s surgical ward was hit, with nearly three dozen in-patient beds destroyed. In a social media post, WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stressed that health care should be protected and must not be militarized.
In North Gaza governorate last night, two additional evacuation orders were issued following reports of rocket fire by Palestinian armed groups towards Israel. Between 100,000 and 120,000 people are living in the areas newly placed under evacuation, including 27,000 people sheltering at nearly four dozen displacement sites. Two hospitals, one primary healthcare centre and one medical point are within the evacuation zone – while another hospital and six other primary healthcare centres or medical points are located within 1,000 metres.
Since 18 March, more than 120,000 people are estimated to have been displaced from areas under evacuation orders. These areas cover about 15 per cent of the Gaza Strip. This percentage does not include the "no-go" zones along Gaza's perimeter and the "Netzarim corridor."
Once again, OCHA stresses that civilians must be protected whether they move or stay. Civilians who leave for safer areas 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.
Due to the evacuation orders issued as of yesterday afternoon, partners working in water, sanitation and hygiene report that more than 100 water wells and over three dozen water reservoirs are currently inaccessible – meaning they cannot be operated, maintained or repaired. This places additional strain on facilities that are still running, since they must work overtime, putting stress on generators and pumps.
OCHA reports that most attempts by humanitarian organizations to coordinate access with Israeli authorities in Gaza are being denied. These denials are preventing humanitarian workers from doing even the most critical tasks, such as collecting supplies left at the border before the cargo closure began or delivering fuel to bakeries that rely on generators to keep feeding people. Yesterday, five out of seven attempts to coordinate humanitarian access with Israeli authorities were denied. Today, six out of nine were rejected.
At least 220 temporary learning spaces in Gaza remain closed, which is keeping more than 60,000 children from accessing any form of learning. Public schools will remain closed for in-person classes until at least the end of Ramadan due to the renewed escalation of hostilities.
OCHA warns that supplies continue to dwindle, with no cargo having entered Gaza in over three weeks. Some critical supplies will only last for a few more days unless the entry of cargo into Gaza resumes. Food partners report a surge in demand for bread over the past few days. This is due to lack of cooking gas and rising wheat flour prices, which are preventing households from baking at home.
As of yesterday, 18 bakeries out of more than two dozen supported by the World Food Programme in Gaza are still operational.
Meanwhile, operations by Israeli forces in the northern West Bank continue to cause casualties, destruction and displacement. OCHA remains deeply concerned by the continued use of lethal, war-like tactics in residential areas that seem to exceed law enforcement standards.
As these operations continue, the UN and partners are responding to the deepening needs of people in affected areas, including by providing water trucking, food, hygiene kits and other essential items to displaced families.
#Syria
UN Relief Chief urges “decisive action” to support people in Syria
The Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Tom Fletcher, told the Security Council today that with 16 million people in Syria in need of vital assistance, the international community must act with ambition, noting that the cost of hesitation will be far greater than the risk of decisive action.
Speaking to the Council via video link, Fletcher noted progress on scaling up the humanitarian response in Syria, including through expanded cross-border deliveries from Türkiye since the start of the year, to support millions of people across the country every month.
Although humanitarians are deploying available resources as effectively as they can, the Under-Secretary-General stressed that additional funding is urgently needed to save lives. This year, some US$2 billion is needed to reach 8 million of the most vulnerable people in Syria through June. However, just $155 million – 13 per cent of that requirement – has been received to date.
Given daily reports of clashes, attacks and other hostilities – particularly in Syria’s coastal areas earlier this month – Fletcher also stressed the need to continue prioritizing the protection of civilians and the de-escalation of ongoing conflicts.
“Finally, we need to move with greater urgency to invest in Syria’s recovery, reconstruction and development,” he told the Council. “The people of Syria want to rebuild their country and their livelihoods.”
#Democratic Republic of the Congo
Clashes hamper aid delivery in Ituri province
OCHA is alarmed by the growing toll that violence is taking on civilians in Ituri province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
Last night, armed groups attacked the Loda displacement site in Djugu Territory, killing six displaced people and injuring many, according to local civil society representatives.
Clashes in the province also continue to displace civilians and hinder the delivery of humanitarian aid, with relief operations largely suspended across conflict-affected areas due to the violence.
OCHA says it is very concerned by the proliferation of armed groups and violence in Ituri province. Since the start of the year, more than 200 civilians have been killed, with over 100,000 people having fled their homes in a province where 1.4 million people were already displaced.
Elsewhere in the eastern DRC, hostilities in parts of North and South Kivu provinces also continue to put civilians at risk of grave harm. On 24 March, three girls were raped and abducted by armed men in Kalehe Territory in South Kivu according to local civil society groups. This is part of a larger pattern of appalling sexual violence and other rights violations that have surged as fighting has escalated.
The UN calls on all parties to uphold their obligations under international humanitarian and human rights law. All parties must do everything they can to protect civilians in military operations and to ensure safe, rapid and unimpeded humanitarian access. Civilians must be protected and able to access the essentials they need to survive.
The Humanitarian Coordinator in the DRC, Bruno Lemarquis, made similar calls in a briefing earlier today to Member States in Geneva. Lemarquis also warned that a spiral of violence is stretching across the east of the country and urged all parties and the international community to find political solutions, establish an immediate ceasefire and pave the way towards lasting peace.
#Sudan
Fighting in Darfur, Khartoum takes deadly toll on civilians
OCHA is gravely alarmed by continued attacks on civilians across Sudan.
Last night in North Darfur, dozens of casualties were reported when an air strike hit Tora market, about 40 kilometres north-west of El Fasher.
OCHA is also deeply concerned about escalating attacks on populated areas in Khartoum, amid shifting conflict lines in and around Sudan’s capital.
In eastern Khartoum yesterday, there were reports of civilians killed and injured when artillery struck a mosque during evening prayers. Civilian casualties were also reported on Sunday as a result of heavy shelling in Omdurman, Khartoum’s twin city.
OCHA reminds all parties to the conflict of their obligations under international humanitarian law to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, and to take all possible measures to avoid harm to civilians.
Ongoing hostilities and recent funding cuts by major donors have severely disrupted health services in Sudan, including in the Darfur region – compounding severe gaps in coverage due to ongoing attacks on healthcare. Last month alone, nearly half of all reported attacks on healthcare facilities in Sudan occurred in Darfur.
Partners working in health report that most facilities in the region have only one to two months of supplies remaining, with acute shortages in North and South Darfur states.
The UN and partners continue to do all they can to meet rising needs – despite funding shortfalls and access constraints, including due to the ongoing hostilities.
In North Kordofan, west of Khartoum, recent shifts in frontlines have enabled a humanitarian mission by partners to the area. Their assessments found that nearly 58,000 people – including displaced people, returnees and residents – are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance. A health partner is now operating a facility and mobile clinic, and distributions of food and non-food items are planned.
OCHA urges the international community to step up support for the humanitarian response in Sudan – both through increased funding and by pressing all parties to protect civilians – including aid workers – and ensure safe and unhindered access to people in need.
#Myanmar
Hostilities exacerbate dire conditions in Myanmar
The highly volatile security situation in Myanmar continues to affect civilians, with armed clashes, shelling, airstrikes and drone attacks increasingly reported in conflict-affected areas in the past two weeks.
Airstrikes in the regions of Magway and Mandalay in the northwest have reportedly resulted in dozens of civilian casualties and destroyed civilian infrastructure, including dozens of homes, according to local sources.
The continued use of airstrikes and drone attacks poses a serious threat to civilians, further aggravating humanitarian needs and raising concerns about the protection of civilians in conflict-affected areas.
The attacks worsen an already dire humanitarian situation, where more than one third of the population – or nearly 20 million people – need of humanitarian assistance and 3.5 million people are internally displaced. Civilians face extreme protection risks, acute food insecurity and the near-collapse of critical public services.
Despite insecurity, severe underfunding and other challenges, humanitarian partners reached more than 4 million people with assistance in 2024.
The UN and the humanitarian community reiterate the call on all parties to the conflict to uphold their obligations under international humanitarian law to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, including humanitarian workers and assets. They also stress the need to facilitate safe, sustained and unimpeded humanitarian access to the most vulnerable people.
#Ukraine
Attack in Sumy causes dozens of civilian casualties
OCHA reports that a massive attack yesterday in Sumy City – northeast of Ukraine, close to the border with the Russian Federation – resulted in several dozen civilian casualties, including children.
According to local authorities, nearly 100 civilians, including more than 20 children, were injured. Two schools, a hospital and multiple homes were also damaged in the attack, according to the authorities and partners on the ground.
Complementing the efforts of the first responders, and immediately after the attack, humanitarian organizations provided first aid and helped transport the wounded to the hospitals. They also distributed shelter materials, blankets and other necessities to the people whose homes were damaged.
The Humanitarian Coordinator there, Mattias Schmale, condemned the attack in Sumy and recent drone strikes in the cities of Zaporizhzhia and Kyiv.
Since the escalation of the war in 2022, the Human Rights Monitoring Mission to Ukraine has verified more than 2,500 child casualties in Ukraine. It also noted an alarming increase in child casualties in 2024, caused by explosive weapons in territory controlled by Ukraine, due to intensified attacks along the front line in the Donetsk Region and increased use of long-range missiles, drones and air-dropped bombs in large cities.
#Ecuador
UN disaster team responds to oil spill in Ecuador
At the request of the Government of Ecuador, a UN Disaster Assessment and Coordination team managed by OCHA arrived in the capital Quito yesterday to support authorities in responding to the environmental emergency caused by a major oil spill.
The oil spill in Esmeraldas province, in the northwest of Ecuador, has severely contaminated key water sources, leaving some 500,000 people without access to safe water and sanitation. Partners working in health report an increase in respiratory illnesses and gastrointestinal disorders, leaving children, the elderly and those with pre-existing conditions at heightened risk.
The UN team brings together experts in humanitarian coordination, rapid needs assessment and information management. A group of specialists in responding to oil spills, the management of hazardous waste and restoring ecosystems will also be deployed. That team is from the Joint Environment Unit, a partnership between OCHA and the UN Environment Programme.
Local authorities are responding, including by providing clean water, but the magnitude of the impact of the oil spill prompted the Government’s request for international support.