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

Humanitarian partners, with funding from the UN Global Emergency Fund or CERF, provide people with winter clothes and tarpaulins in Gaza. Photo: OCHA

#Occupied Palestinian Territory

Humanitarians in Gaza work to address toll of winter storms

OCHA reports that the UN and its partners in the Gaza Strip continue to respond to the mounting needs of displaced families and to mitigate the impact of recent winter storms, which have further worsened conditions for thousands of people across the Strip.

However, partners report that despite these efforts, the humanitarian response has been unable to keep pace with the scale of needs due to ongoing restrictions imposed by the Israeli authorities, including on the entry of supplies into Gaza.

For example, shortages of new materials are complicating efforts to maintain and repair Gaza city’s sewage networks, with teams having to use old components.

Meanwhile, partners leading on water and sanitation services report that efforts are underway to improve water purification capacity at the Al Bassa Desalination Plant in Deir al Balah by transferring specialized equipment to the facility. In Gaza city, installation of the Al Manshia Desalination Plant has begun.

In the West Bank, OCHA warns that ongoing operations by Israeli forces and settler violence continue to put Palestinians at risk and deepen humanitarian needs.

Over the past two weeks, OCHA has documented further incidents resulting in the killing and injury of Palestinians. Between 9 December and yesterday, six Palestinians were killed, including five by Israeli forces and one by an Israeli settler. Of the total, four were children. Three Israelis were injured by Palestinians during the same period.

OCHA is also deeply concerned by the ongoing displacement of Palestinians across the West Bank, with over 100 Palestinians displaced due to demolitions and evictions over the past two weeks, including 63 in East Jerusalem and the rest in Area C.

This includes 50 people – among them 21 children – displaced in a single Israeli demolition of a four-story building in the Silwan neighbourhood on 22 December for lacking an Israeli-issued building permit, which is nearly impossible for Palestinians to obtain.

#Syria

Millions require vital assistance

OCHA reports that humanitarian needs remain severe across Syria, with 16.5 million people – or nearly two thirds of the population – still needing aid.

Explosive ordnance contamination remains a major threat. In November alone, 21 people were killed and more than 60 injured, half of them children.

On the education front, 2.5 million children remain out of school, and 40 per cent of schools are non-operational.

In 2025, the UN and its humanitarian partners reached more than 3 million people each month with humanitarian assistance.*

Meanwhile, OCHA and its partners continue to coordinate with authorities and monitor developments in Aleppo City, where a ceasefire agreement was reached last night.

Recent hostilities in the area resulted in the shelling of multiple neighborhoods, triggering new displacement. According to the Ministry of Health, two civilians were killed and several others injured.

The World Health Organization dispatched emergency health kits to health authorities.

*Donations made to UN Crisis Relief help UN agencies and humanitarian NGOs reach people in need in Syria with urgent support.

#Ukraine

Deadly attacks damage homes, energy infrastructure

OCHA says that overnight strikes and front-line hostilities in Ukraine once again caused civilian casualties and damage to critical energy infrastructure,

Between 22 December and the early hours of this morning, authorities reported several civilians killed and nearly 30 injured, including children. Attacks also damaged homes in the regions of Kyiv, Zhytomyr, Khmelnytskyi, Kherson, Dnipro, Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia, as well as in the capital Kyiv.

In the Odesa region, overnight drone strikes damaged more than 120 residential buildings, as well as key energy, port and transport infrastructure, particularly in the port town of Reni, near the border with Romania. More than 10,000 customers were left without electricity, while critical facilities are operating on backup power.

Farther north, strikes damaged energy facilities in the town of Novhorod-Siverskyi in the Chernihiv region and in Shostka Town in the Sumy region, leaving parts of Shostka – already heavily affected by previous attacks – without electricity and heating once again. The Ministry of Energy also reports large-scale power outages in the Khmelnytskyi, Rivne and Ternopil regions, with disruptions recorded in six additional regions. These attacks come as temperatures in parts of Ukraine are expected to be below zero in the coming days.

NGOs, UN agencies and partners are mobilized and assessing needs, providing emergency aid, and registering people for cash assistance.

Over the past 11 months, across Ukraine, the UN and its humanitarian partners reached more than 430,000 people with emergency assistance following strikes – including essential medical supplies and healthcare services, as well as cash assistance. Most assistance was delivered in front-line regions, while needs are rising in previously less-affected areas as attacks expand.

Today, an inter-agency humanitarian convoy delivered eight metric tons of humanitarian aid to the Novoraiske community in the Kherson region, where access has been constrained following recent attacks. The assistance included medical and hygiene supplies, charging stations, children’s clothing and mattresses. Due to continued hostilities, several locations in the community – home to some 1,900 people, including more than 200 children – currently have no access to water, gas or electricity.