Today's top news: Occupied Palestinian Territory, Syria, Myanmar
#Occupied Palestinian Territory
Tom Fletcher, the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, said today in a statement that less than a year after the International Court of Justice issued its first provisional orders on the application of the Genocide Convention in Gaza, the sustained intensity of violence means there is nowhere safe for civilians in Gaza. Schools, hospitals, and civilian infrastructure have been reduced to rubble."
On the ground, our partners report that yesterday, increased fighting in North Gaza - particularly in western Beit Hanoun - has forced many people, mostly women and children, into displacement.
In North Gaza, bombing around the compound of Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahiya continued to be reported.
In a social media post on 21 December, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesuse, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) said that the reports of bombardment near Kamal Adwan Hospital and order to evacuate the hospital are deeply worrisome, adding that the hospital has been in the midst of fighting for too long and the lives of patients are at risk.
We reiterate that civilians and civilian infrastructures, including hospitals, must be protected.
Despite the active fighting and Israeli access restrictions to North Gaza governorate, two UN-led humanitarian missions successfully managed to enter the besieged areas in North Gaza on December 20th.
The first mission reached Beith Hanoun and delivered food and bottled water to besieged people. The second mission, led by WHO, went to Kamal Adwan Hospital to deliver 5,000 litres of fuel, 100 blood units, and transferred eight patients and 13 companions to Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City.
These were the only two approved out of the eight missions requested by the UN to access North Gaza between 18 and 22 December.
In Gaza governorate, Israeli authorities issued another evacuation order for part of As Shuja’iyeh and Tarkman neighborhoods in west Gaza, exposing civilians to further hostilities and deprive them of access to essential services.
The affected areas cover an estimated one square kilometre. Our partners are closely monitoring the situation in these areas and will provide further update on forced displacement.
#Syria
Fuel shortages are affecting essential activities such as transportation and agriculture irrigation. In Aleppo governorate, six public hospitals and 60 primary health centres are operating only partially due to fuel and power shortages.
Partners also report that damage to bridge infrastructure connecting Damascus to other key nodes in the country is impacting the logistic chain.
Despite the challenges, we and our partners continue to support the response as security permits. We are distributing food assistance, including bread, ready-to-eat rations, hot meals and food baskets. In north-west Syria, partners have also started supporting farmers, including with cash grants.
Nutrition interventions are ongoing across the country. Thousands of children, and pregnant and lactating women, have been screened across the country. Since 2 December, at least 63 wasting cases and 18 malnutrition cases have been identified among children and admitted for treatment.
In north-east Syria, the situation remains dire for the 40,000 people staying in 215 emergency collective centres. The security situation is volatile and hampering humanitarian operations, however partners have been able to distribute winter kits, blankets and winter clothes but more is needed and there is also a critical need for additional winter support for host communities.
Partners have not been able to access Menbij and Kobani for two weeks due to insecurity
Meanwhile, partners reported Israeli airstrikes in Lattakia, as well as incursions in southern governorates, with civilian infrastructure destruction.
#Myanmar
The security situation in Rakhine is rapidly worsening, with escalating conflict between the Myanmar Armed Forces and Arakan Army in several townships in southern Rakhine.
Since November 2023, the conflict has persisted and is now affecting 16 out of 17 townships where people are facing severe humanitarian challenges, including severely limited access to essential services.
According to partners, the ongoing conflict has driven an estimated 360,000 people out of their homes in Rakhine and neighboring Paletwa Township in southern Chin, bringing the total number of displaced in Rakhine to nearly 570,000.
The escalating conflict in Rakhine is part of a broader crisis, unfolding in multiple regions and states across Myanmar, including the Northwest and Southeast, displacing more than 3.5 million people – a staggering increase of 1.5 million compared to a year ago.
The UN reiterates its calls on all parties to the conflict to uphold their obligations under international humanitarian law, to ensure the protection of civilians, humanitarian workers and supplies, and to guarantee unimpeded humanitarian access.