Today's top news: Occupied Palestinian Territory, Ukraine

#Occupied Palestinian Territory

Gaza: storm floods tents, leaves casualties as buildings collapse
        

OCHA says that heavy rain continued overnight across the Gaza Strip, flooding more tents and causing damaged buildings to collapse in Jabalya and Gaza city. Several casualties were reported, including among children.  

Humanitarian partners warn that inclement weather conditions and flooding are increasing the risk of disease outbreaks, including water-borne illnesses, as drainage systems overflow and water sources become contaminated. They stress that to enable urgently needed work to collect and safely dispose of waste, the immediate and sustained entry into Gaza of spare parts and access to essential machinery must be facilitated.  

As temperatures drop, families are struggling to keep their children warm at night, as they lack access to gas and electricity. They are also exhausted as they continue to seek out safer shelter on higher ground.  

Partners are distributing winter clothing, tarpaulins and tents to affected families.* However, they estimate that some 1.3 million people still need urgent shelter assistance across Gaza. They note that since the ceasefire just over two months ago, fewer than 50,000 tents for about 270,000 people have entered Gaza. This includes both UN-coordinated and bilateral aid. Thousands of pallets of shelter materials have been rejected by the Israeli authorities, and many NGOs have been blocked from bringing in relief.  

Partners leading on shelter estimate that more than 140,000 people were affected by earlier rains that flooded more than 200 displacement sites. They continue to help families access critical services and improve drainage, as hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians remain at heightened risk of flooding.  

Families staying along the coast were displaced and are staying with relatives. Many other families sought temporary accommodation in already crowded emergency shelters. As tents and some classrooms were inundated, teams are removing water from flooded yards, clearing manholes, and repairing damaged tents inside school compounds.   

The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) said that it has shelter supplies for up to 1.3 million people outside Gaza, but the agency has been barred from bringing that aid into the Strip – hindering humanitarian efforts.  

Once again, OCHA stresses that restrictions on the entry of aid must be lifted, including the ban on UNRWA and the denial of NGO operations.

West Bank: displacement, settler attacks continue at alarming levels                                                                     

OCHA reports that since the beginning of the year, more than 1,000 people have been displaced in Area C, which constitutes some 60 per cent of the West Bank and where – just like in East Jerusalem – the Israeli authorities retain near exclusive control, including over law enforcement, planning and construction. Most of the people displaced had their homes demolished by Israeli authorities for lacking Israeli-issued building permits, which are nearly impossible for Palestinians to obtain. This level of displacement is the second highest annual record since 2009.  

OCHA also continues to document high levels of Israeli settler attacks against Palestinians, with devastating humanitarian impacts.  Since the start of the year and as of today, an average of five such attacks has been recorded each day.

OCHA calls for the protection of Palestinians across the West Bank, including East Jerusalem – including by halting punitive and other unlawful demolitions and preventing attacks by settlers.

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

#Ukraine

Attacks imperil key energy infrastructure as temperatures plummet 

OCHA reports that as temperatures drop to zero, intense hostilities in front-line areas and attacks in other regions of Ukraine continue to cause widespread destruction to civilian infrastructure, including critical energy facilities. 

Overnight attacks on energy infrastructure in the Odesa region damaged two power substations, leaving part of Odesa City and surrounding areas without electricity and affecting at least 90,000 families. Hospitals, schools and other municipal facilities are now running on backup generators. The city’s water supply and heating were also disrupted. 

According to the latest report from the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, between October and November, at least eight waves of large-scale missile and drone attacks severely affected the country’s energy system. The strikes caused emergency power outages and daily electricity cuts in multiple regions, with scheduled power cuts lasting up to 18 hours each day. Some areas experienced disruptions to water services and heating that lasted for many hours or even days. 

Meanwhile in Kherson City, humanitarian organizations on the ground warn that following last week’s attacks on the Central Heating Power Plant, the situation is critical, with about 40 per cent of the population cut off from heating. Local authorities have issued an urgent appeal for 120,000 heaters to help residents cope with the cold. OCHA is working with UNHCR and other partners to coordinate emergency support.