Today's top news: Occupied Palestinian Territory, Ukraine, Haiti
#Occupied Palestinian Territory
Desperation mounts amid critical shortages in Gaza
OCHA continues to receive reports from the Gaza Strip of people being killed and injured while trying to access food. OCHA reiterates in the strongest terms possible that no one should be forced to risk their lives to receive aid, as people across Gaza are at risk of famine.
Meanwhile, OCHA warns that the shortage of accessible fuel could force more health, water and sanitation facilities to shut down. This could affect the most basic of programmes. Vaccines, for one, require fuel for cold chain systems.
The collapse of telecommunications services, internet connectivity and emergency communication systems is again a real threat. This would cripple life-saving coordination and prevent affected communities from receiving critical information.
Yet humanitarians’ attempts to access available stocks of fuel in Rafah continue to be rejected. Between 13 April and 9 June, 29 out of 35 attempts were denied by the Israeli authorities. This morning’s mission was also denied.
Humanitarians also continue to face severe constraints on their ability to carry out other critical work – with mission denials and delays – as well as insecurity and other impediments – hampering their movements.
Yesterday, at least 12 out of 24 attempts to coordinate humanitarian movements inside Gaza were denied by the Israeli authorities, including new attempts to truck potable water to vulnerable people who remain in northern Gaza, retrieve critical fuel and nutrition supplies from Rafah, and repair vital roads in the south.
OCHA calls once again for an enabling environment for aid operations in Gaza, including safe, rapid and unfettered access, so that humanitarians can address the immense needs of more than 2 million people. International humanitarian law is crystal clear: If the population is inadequately supplied with the essentials for their survival, Israel must agree to humanitarian relief and facilitate it by all the means at its disposal.
The World Health Organization (WHO) and other partners working on health continue to sound the alarm over shrinking access to the remaining healthcare facilities in Gaza, particularly Al Amal and Al Nasser hospitals in Khan Younis. Al Amal Hospital, while still partially functioning, is unable to accept new patients due to hostilities nearby and because of its location inside an area under displacement orders. WHO reiterates that healthcare facilities must never be militarized and must always be protected.
Yesterday, the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process ad interim, Sigrid Kaag, together with the Deputy Special Coordinator and UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Sarah Poole, visited Gaza city, where they met with partners to discuss the challenges they are facing, as well as the UN's ongoing engagement at all levels to advocate for a meaningful scale-up of humanitarian support and access in Gaza.
#Ukraine
Deadly attack hits Kharkiv
OCHA reports that the city of Kharkiv came under attack overnight, marking the third time that Ukraine’s second-largest city was attacked in just five days.
Three civilians were killed and more than 60 were injured, including nine children, according to the local authorities.
Humanitarian partners on the ground report extensive damage. Dozens of residential buildings, a school, playgrounds, and public and private transport have been damaged.
The Humanitarian Coordinator for Ukraine, Mattias Schmale, condemned the attack, describing it as part of an alarming rise in the frequency of attacks affecting civilians and civilian infrastructure across the country.
The UN and its partners provided first aid, shelter materials and other essentials, as well as psychosocial support.
Amid intensifying hostilities, authorities have announced the mandatory evacuations of civilians, particularly families with children, from seven more villages in the Kharkiv region.
Humanitarians continue to support people fleeing the hostilities and other people in need in the region. Between January and April of this year, nearly 200 humanitarian organizations reached over 530,000 people in the Kharkiv region with at least one type of humanitarian assistance. This includes aid for some 94,000 internally displaced people. Aid efforts have focused on restoring water and sanitation systems, distributing food and agricultural inputs, delivering essential medicines and healthcare, and providing psychological support, multipurpose cash assistance and other critical humanitarian aid.
#Haiti
Violence drives surge in displacement
OCHA is concerned by the alarming rise in internal displacement in Haiti, with the latest data from the International Organization for Migration (IOM) indicating that nearly 1.3 million people are now displaced across the country. This represents a 24 per cent increase since December 2024. It also marks the highest figure ever recorded due to violence in Haiti.
While Port-au-Prince remains the epicentre of violence among armed groups, its expansion into other regions – particularly the Centre and Artibonite departments – has triggered large-scale displacement.
In the Centre department, the number of displaced people has more than doubled in just months, increasing from 68,000 in December 2024 to over 145,000 in June this year. In Artibonite, more than 90,000 people have fled their homes since December, and the department of the North has seen an increase of nearly 80 per cent in people displaced. Displaced families are often forced to settle in informal sites or overcrowded host households with limited access to basic services.
Since December, the number of spontaneous displacement sites has risen sharply – from 142 to 246 – with the most significant increase observed in the Centre department, which previously had none. Today, it hosts 85 active sites. Meanwhile, 83 per cent of displaced people are hosted by families, creating additional pressure on already fragile rural communities.
IOM has scaled up its operations in the metropolitan zone of Port-au-Prince, reaching over 20,000 people with essential household items, delivering 3 million litres of clean water, and providing basic healthcare to 6,000 people. Mental health and psychosocial support have also been extended to more than 8,500 people.
OCHA notes that this sharp deterioration in the displacement situation comes at a time when humanitarian access is increasingly restricted, and funding remains critically low.* Without urgent support to meet growing needs and address the structural drivers of displacement, the crisis will deepen further, placing even more pressure on already overstretched systems and communities.
*Donations made to UN Crisis Relief help UN agencies and humanitarian NGOs reach people in Haiti with urgent support.