Today's top news: Occupied Palestinian Territory, Ukraine

#Occupied Palestinian Territory

Gaza: Deadly hostilities continue, preventable diseases on the rise

OCHA warns that civilians in Gaza continue to be killed or injured daily – whether in Israeli air strikes, shelling, or while trying to find food for their families. These tragic events must not be normalized and must come to an immediate end.

This afternoon, partners working on health reported a mass casualty incident following a strike in Deir al Balah, with Al Aqsa Hospital said to have received more than 20 people killed and some 70 others injured. Additional wounded patients were transferred to Nasser Medical Complex and two other health facilities.

Partners working on health also report an increase in preventable diseases. In just the past two weeks alone, more than 19,000 cases of acute watery diarrhea have been recorded, alongside over 200 cases each of acute jaundice syndrome and bloody diarrhea.

These outbreaks are directly linked to the lack of clean water and sanitation in Gaza, underscoring the urgent need for fuel, medical supplies, and water, sanitation and hygiene items to prevent further collapse of the public health system.

In a social media post, the World Health Organization (WHO) noted that yesterday, the agency delivered its first medical shipment into Gaza since 2 March, when Israel imposed a full blockade on the Strip. Nine trucks carrying essential medical supplies, 2,000 units of blood, and 1,500 units of plasma were transported from Kerem Shalom. WHO says these supplies will be distributed to priority hospitals in the coming days. The blood and plasma were delivered to Nasser Medical Complex’s cold storage facility for onward distribution to hospitals facing critical shortages amid a growing influx of injuries, many linked to incidents at food distribution sites.

However, WHO reiterates that these medical supplies are only a drop in the ocean.

OCHA stresses that to meet humanitarian needs and help reduce looting, it is essential to get more humanitarian and essential commercial goods into Gaza, and to facilitate their safe distribution across the Strip. This means increasing the volume of supplies allowed in through multiple crossings and routes.

OCHA reports that yesterday, six out of 17 attempts to coordinate humanitarian movements inside Gaza were outright rejected by the Israeli authorities. These planned UN missions included trucking water and repairing roads. Nine other attempts, which included the removal of solid waste, as well as collection of cargo from the crossings, were facilitated by the Israeli authorities, while two additional attempts were impeded. The continued restrictions on humanitarian access are severely undermining life-saving operations.

West Bank: Palestinians killed, injured in settler attack

OCHA is gravely concerned about escalating violence and Israeli settler attacks against Palestinians in the West Bank. Yesterday, OCHA documented an attack where three Palestinians were killed and others injured. That happened when hundreds of settlers, including armed people accompanied by Israeli forces, raided the village of Kafr Malik – which has a population of more than 3,000 residents, according to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics – in the Ramallah governorate and set fire to homes with people inside. 

In another attack yesterday, about 20 settlers set fire to farmland in another village, Asira al Qibliya, in Nablus governorate.

OCHA says that from Gaza to the West Bank, civilians continue to bear the brunt of this prolonged Israeli occupation. OCHA reiterates its call for the protection of civilians and humanitarian personnel, full respect for international law, and unfettered humanitarian access.

#Ukraine

Attacks cause civilian casualties, damage homes in front-line areas

OCHA reports that deadly hostilities continued yesterday in front-line regions of Ukraine. The regions of Donetsk, Kherson and Sumy were among the hardest hit, with authorities reporting six civilians killed and dozens of others injured.

Attacks also damaged some 20 homes, a cell tower and civilian infrastructure. More than 400 people were displaced in a single day – mostly in Donetsk and Sumy.

The humanitarian situation in the towns of Kostiantynivka and Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region continues to deteriorate. Local authorities report that constant shelling has left parts of both towns without electricity or access to basic services. Authorities and aid organizations are providing limited water and food assistance, but access is increasingly restricted. Authorities continue to call on the remaining population – which is more than 10,000 people combined – to evacuate for their safety.

Elsewhere in the Donetsk region, humanitarian access to the towns of Chasiv Yar and Toretsk remains extremely limited amid intensified attacks. According to authorities, only about 140 people remain in Chasiv Yar. Yesterday alone, nearly 340 people – including 47 children – were evacuated from the Donetsk region.

Food insecurity remains a concern in front-line and border regions. A recent assessment by the World Food Programme and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization found that the war has devastated livelihoods and quadrupled poverty levels, leaving the most vulnerable – particularly displaced people – at greatest risk.

From January to May, nearly 130 organizations provided food and livelihood assistance to 1.8 million people across Ukraine.* Nearly 400,000 people in the regions of Donetsk and Kherson received food support, agricultural inputs and cash-based aid.

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