Today's top news: Occupied Palestinian Territory, Syria, Lebanon, Ukraine

#Occupied Palestinian Territory

The Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Tom Fletcher, has warned that humanitarian efforts in Gaza, which is already struggling, face mounting obstacles.

In a statement issued yesterday, Fletcher said recent incidents involving attacks by Israeli forces and looting by Palestinian gangs mark a dangerous pattern of sabotage and deliberate disruption of aid operations. 

The Under-Secretary-General said that despite the determination to deliver food, water and medicine to survivors in Gaza, efforts to save lives are at a breaking point. He noted that there is no meaningful civil order in the Strip and that Israeli forces are unable or unwilling to ensure the safety of our convoys. 

Fletcher said statements by Israeli authorities vilify aid workers, even as the military attacks them. Community volunteers who accompany convoys are being targeted. The Under-Secretary-General said there is now a perception that it is dangerous to protect aid convoys but safe to loot them.

Once again, Fletcher called on UN Member States to insist that all civilians and all humanitarian operations are protected. 

Despite the challenges, the UN and humanitarian partners are working to save lives in Gaza.

In central Gaza earlier this week, OCHA and the UN Mine Action Service carried out a rapid needs assessment in the Yaffa and Al Somud makeshift sites in Deir al Balah, which host more than 190 families. 

Ten people at these makeshift sites were reportedly injured by an airstrike this past Friday.

The team found that 84 tents had been destroyed at both sites, with 100 others damaged. Essential infrastructure, including water, sewage and solar power systems, was affected, and three learning spaces were damaged. 

Humanitarian partners provided assistance to affected families, including emergency shelter materials, non-food items and food aid. Another partner has mobilized to provide water and sanitation services. 

As hostilities continue across Gaza, OCHA stresses once again that civilians must be protected at all times, and the essential needs for their survival must be met.

#Syria

The UN and partners continue to provide assistance in Syria as security and logistical conditions permit.

More than 2.5 million people across the country—including people in camps, collective centres and host communities—have received bread between 27 November and 6 January. Over 300,000 received other food assistance, including ready-to-eat rations, hot meals, and food baskets.

OCHA says that in the north-west, partners continue to support farmers and breeders with agricultural inputs such as fertilizer, as well as start-up grants to help small and medium enterprises.

The insecurity and displacement in November and December coincided with the agriculture planting season. According to the caretaker authorities, only 40 per cent of the usual amount of wheat has been planted in parts of Syria this season. Farming households are in dire need of agricultural input, including seeds, fertilizers and animal feed. Rainfall has also been lower than average and erratic over the past few weeks. Without additional support, humanitarian partners warn that wheat and barley production in 2025 will be severely impacted in a country where 15 million people are already food insecure.

Meanwhile, OCHA says that humanitarian access remains a challenge in parts of north-east Syria. The internal crossing connecting Menbij to areas east of the Euphrates River, including Ar-Raqqa, remains closed, preventing the movement of goods and people, including aid workers.

In other areas in the north-east, access has not been disrupted. For instance, humanitarian shipments from Damascus to Qamishli City in Al-Hasakeh Governorate are ongoing. Several UN agencies also received supplies through the Tabqa crossing point in Ar-Raqqa Governorate.

#Lebanon

The UN and partners today extended the Lebanon Flash Appeal, originally launched on 1 October 2024, for a further three months, covering January to March 2025.

More than one month since the cessation of hostilities, humanitarian needs in the country remain critical. While over 880,000 people displaced by the conflict have started to return to their home areas, many find their homes, as well as infrastructure and essential services, damaged or destroyed. Moreover, nearly 125,000 people are still displaced outside their areas of origin, unable to return, including to the more than 60 villages and areas for which the Israeli Army continues to reiterate that civilians should not return.

The extended Flash Appeal calls for US$371 million to provide life-saving assistance and protection to one million Lebanese, Syrians, Palestine refugees in Lebanon, Palestinian refugees from Syria, and migrants.

#Ukraine

OCHA says that according to authorities and partners in Ukraine, hostilities in the first week of January resulted in hundreds of casualties, including children.

Over the past three days, homes, gas facilities and electricity infrastructure have been damaged in several front-line regions, exposing civilians to heightened health risks as temperatures dropped below zero in some parts of the country.

In Kherson Region alone, in the south of the country, more than 60 residential buildings were damaged. In Svesa Town, Sumy Region, in the northeast, attacks on 4 January shattered around 1,000 windows, compounding the difficulties faced by civilians in sub-zero temperatures.

The ongoing hostilities have also forced new displacements, and since the beginning of the year, at least 1,600 people, including children, have fled front-line areas, primarily in the Donetsk and Kharkiv regions, according to local authorities.

Despite limited access in some front-line areas due to intense fighting, aid workers continue to deliver emergency supplies, provide first aid, and offer psychological support to civilians.