Today's top news: Occupied Palestinian Territory, Syria, Ukraine, Colombia, Mozambique
#Occupied Palestinian Territory
Gaza: People seeking aid reportedly attacked
OCHA reports that amid ongoing Israeli air strikes and shelling, attacks continue to deepen the suffering of civilians – including the reported killing and injury of people seeking food and other aid.
OCHA notes with alarm that such incidents are also increasingly occurring along routes used by the UN to deliver humanitarian supplies. Today, partners working on health reported that more than 60 people were killed and over 280 injured, some critically, while waiting for aid in Khan Younis. The Israeli military said its troops shot at a crowd and that the incident is under review.
The casualties were brought to Nasser Medical Complex, where emergency and intensive care units are already overwhelmed, and medical teams are operating with extremely limited supplies. Seventy of the injured were referred to field hospitals, primarily to the International Medical Corps’ Field Hospital.
According to the Ministry of Health, as of yesterday, 338 people had been killed and more than 2,800 injured while trying to access food near distribution sites, referring to non-UN militarized hubs.
Jonathan Whittall, the Head of OCHA’s Office in the Occupied Palestinian Territory – who is currently in Gaza – said today’s mass casualty incident was horrific. “It’s a chilling pattern,” Whittall said in a social media post. “Repeatedly, survivors recount being attacked as they try to reach the aid that they need to survive.”
OCHA reiterates that civilians must never be targeted, let alone those seeking food amid ongoing starvation.
Against this backdrop, humanitarian partners continue to report that fuel stocks in Gaza have reached critically low levels. Without immediate resupply, essential services – including the provision of clean water – will grind to a halt very soon. In southern Gaza, diesel supplies needed to operate critical equipment are nearly exhausted.
The drastic depletion of fuel inside Gaza is pushing life-saving services and critical humanitarian operations toward collapse. The UN Population Fund warned yesterday that without fuel, 80 per cent of critical care units essential for births and medical emergencies will shut down.
The World Health Organization (WHO) noted in a social media post yesterday that no fuel has entered Gaza for more than 100 days, and that attempts to retrieve fuel stocks from evacuation zones have been denied. Highlighting the impact on the health system in Gaza, WHO stressed that 17 hospitals, seven field hospitals and 43 primary health centres – which are currently running on minimum amounts of daily fuel – will soon have none left.
The UN and its humanitarian partners call once again for immediate, unimpeded humanitarian access – to aid supplies, to families in the Gaza Strip, and to fuel stocks.
Partners working on telecommunications report that the fiber optic cable on the Al Rasheed Road between Khan Younis and Gaza governorate has been cut off due to hostilities. As a result, there are no Internet and landline services in central and southern areas of the Strip. This fiber optic was just fixed yesterday.
Meanwhile, Israeli displacement orders are compounding an already unbearable situation – particularly for children. Child protection partners report that several child protection centres have been forced to close due to these orders, increasing overcrowding in the few that remain operational.
Despite these challenges, partners report that they continue to manage critical child protection cases daily, providing case management and mental health and psychosocial support for children and caregivers.
West Bank: Movement restrictions isolate communities
OCHA reports that Israeli forces have intensified strict movement restrictions between Palestinian cities and villages in the West Bank, through a network of more than 800 physical checkpoints, gates, roadblocks and other barriers. This lockdown has effectively splintered the West Bank, isolating communities from essential services and sources of livelihood.
Meanwhile, Israeli operations in northern areas of the West Bank are intensifying, causing further displacement and destruction.
Today for the second consecutive day, Israeli forces continued a large-scale raid in Askar camp in Nablus. This has involved house-to-house searches and arrests. The Israeli authorities informed the Palestinian District Coordination Office that at least 15 residential buildings were to be evacuated, ahead of a planned 48-hour operation by Israeli forces. This has displaced about 75 people.
In Jenin city and its refugee camp, Israeli forces continue their large-scale operation, which started two days ago. OCHA reports that the forces extensively bulldozed and demolished structures. Several residential structures, some previously slated for demolition, have been torn down. In one of the neighbourhoods, the forces raided at least 10 homes and damaged their contents.
OCHA underscores that Israel, as the occupying power, has a legal obligation under international law to protect Palestinians in the West Bank and ensure their safety and dignity.
#Syria
NGOs ‘forced to scale back’ as aid shrinks, UN Deputy Relief Chief warns at Security Council
The Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator, Joyce Msuya, told the Security Council today that although the UN and its partners continue to do what they can to provide critical assistance to people in Syria with limited resources, more funding is needed to keep this work going, if not to expand it.
“Nearly halfway through the year, our humanitarian appeal has received only $260 million – just 13 per cent of the requirements for this period,” Msuya said. “At a time when NGOs have new opportunities to expand their activities across Syria, many are instead forced to scale back.”
Across the country, 16 per cent of health facilities have suspended or reduced capacity due to funding cuts. Some two dozen safe spaces for women and girls have been shuttered, and an estimated 265,000 people will lose access to life-saving reproductive health services.
“In light of the global funding context, we will continue to adjust our operations in line with the Humanitarian Reset, laid out by the Emergency Relief Coordinator [Tom Fletcher] in March,” Msuya said. “But this will ultimately mean doing less with less.”
The Assistant Secretary-General urged the Council to keep a strong focus on the scale of the humanitarian crisis in Syria, which remains one of the largest in the world.
#Ukraine
Humanitarian Coordinator condemns attacks on Kyiv, Odesa and other cities
OCHA reports that a wave of overnight missile and drone attacks struck cities across Ukraine, killing at least 17 civilians and injuring about 160, according to local authorities.
In a statement, the Humanitarian Coordinator Matthias Schmale strongly condemned the attacks, noting the devastating toll the war is taking on civilians.
Residential buildings, schools and health facilities across the country sustained significant damage, with the most severe impacts reported in the regions of Kyiv, Odesa, Zaporizhzhia, Chernihiv, Sumy, Kharkiv and Donetsk, according to local authorities.
In the capital Kyiv, authorities report that strikes destroyed or damaged multiple apartment blocks and a school, claiming at least 14 lives and injuring more than 100 people. In the city of Odesa, attacks reportedly killed one person and injured 17; a kindergarten and a centre for disabled children were among the damaged sites. Health facilities, including Odesa’s Infectious Diseases Hospital, also reported damage but no casualties among patients or staff.
Humanitarian partners, alongside first responders and local services, are providing emergency first aid, psychological support, shelter materials and child protection assistance in the hardest-hit areas, including Kyiv, Odesa and Zaporizhzhia.
#Colombia
Armed attacks imperil civilians in Cauca, Valle del Cauca
OCHA reports that the past week has been one of the most violent that Colombia has faced this year, with civilians exposed to escalating risks.
On 10 June, more than two dozen armed attacks were reported across Cauca and Valle del Cauca, marking the most violent day of the year in these departments. In 13 municipalities that were affected – including Cali – eight people were killed and more than 80 injured, including children, due to explosive devices, car and motorcycle bombs, sniper fire and drones.
Authorities implemented a range of measures to protect civilians, including hospital alerts, school evacuations, and temporary suspensions of classes and public transportation.
So far in 2025, more than 471,000 people have been affected by violence in the departments of Cauca and Valle del Cauca alone – accounting for more than a third of the national total. OCHA continues working to maintain humanitarian access in places with security concerns.
OCHA Colombia is engaging with partners to monitor the situation, assess response capacity, and prioritize support to the most affected communities. Nine out of 42 municipalities in Cauca have been identified as areas where there is a high risk of violence. OCHA’s efforts to coordinate the humanitarian response remain focused on scaling up preparedness in key sectors, including shelter, child protection, health and food security, in collaboration with local authorities and ethnic community leaders.
However, additional funding is urgently needed to support this critical work.* This year’s highly prioritized humanitarian response plan for Colombia is less than 16 per cent funded, with just $54 million received to date of the $342 million required.
*Donations made to UN Crisis Relief help UN agencies and humanitarian NGOs reach people in Colombia with urgent support.
#Mozambique
Deadly violence disrupts humanitarian access in Cabo Delgado
OCHA is concerned about a sharp increase in non-state armed group attacks on civilians in Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado province.
The ongoing situation is aggravating the humanitarian crisis and restricting humanitarian access to vulnerable populations.
More than 134,000 people have been affected by the violence in the month of May alone, including 10 people who have been killed and at least 45 people who have been abducted, many of them children.
Insecurity is also disrupting essential services: Between April and May, mobile health teams suspended operations and schools closed in the districts of Ancuabe, Montepuez and Nangade.
Despite growing needs, this year’s $352 million Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan for Mozambique is currently 17 per cent funded, with $61 million received. Recent funding cuts have forced the suspension of critical water, sanitation and hygiene projects, leaving approximately 260,000 people in Cabo Delgado without access to essential services. This is just one example, as our collective ability to respond to people’s needs is compromised across all sectors.
Additional funding is urgently needed to sustain life-saving assistance, particularly in conflict-affected areas of Cabo Delgado.