Today's top news: Occupied Palestinian Territory, Ukraine, Haiti, Myanmar

#Occupied Palestinian Territory

Ongoing hostilities, cargo blockade deepen needs of Gaza civilians

OCHA warns that the ongoing hostilities in the Gaza Strip continue to claim lives, displace families and devastate civilian infrastructure.

The total blockade on aid and any other supplies – now nearing two months – has led to the depletion of essentials such as fresh food and tents, and to the near-exhaustion of other critical supplies. Children are going hungry. Patients remain untreated. People are dying. The time to lift those restrictions is now.

The cargo blockade has driven up the price of essentials, according to the latest analysis. Food prices have increased by between 29 per cent to as much as 1,400 per cent above ceasefire levels, with many essential items such as dairy, eggs, fruits and meat no longer available.

On average in April, prices rose 50 per cent over March levels. Shortages of cash and reduced purchasing power have pushed many people deeper into hunger.

Yesterday, the acting Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Suzanna Tkalec – together with an OCHA team – visited Deir al Balah and Khan Younis.

In Khan Younis, they visited the main desalination plant in southern Gaza, which since early March has been operating at only 15 per cent of its usual capacity, following power cuts by Israel. As a result, people’s access to clean water is extremely limited. They also visited two makeshift displacement sites to assess the living conditions of families staying at these crowded locations.

In Deir al Balah, they visited an inclusive community kitchen run by Atfaluna Society for Deaf Children, which provides food, skills training and social support for youth and women, including people with disabilities.

Meanwhile, emergency shelter partners report severe shortages of tents, tarpaulins and essential materials. Warehouses are nearly depleted, limiting shelter assistance to just a fraction of what is needed.

Despite insecurity, access challenges and supply shortages, the UN and its humanitarian partners continue to deliver life-saving support across Gaza. Partners working on child protection report that 700 vulnerable children and caregivers received child protection services last week.

The UN Population Fund (UNFPA) and the agency’s partners continue to address gender-based violence and deliver supplies and services critical for sexual and reproductive health across Gaza.

This week, 10 reproductive health kits – enough to reach more than 6,900 people – were distributed to six health partners in the Gaza Strip. Key hospitals were also provided with emergency supplies. More than 900 women and girls received dignity kits, menstrual hygiene supplies and other items – and 245 sessions on gender-based violence were held, with 200 new case files opened.

The agency warns that health facilities still partially functioning in Gaza are under extreme pressure – with limited staff, equipment and power. UNFPA also notes growing shortages of supplies essential to support reproductive health.

#Ukraine

Large-scale attack strikes Kyiv, other regions

The Humanitarian Coordinator in Ukraine, Matthias Schmale, strongly condemned last night’s large-scale attack by the armed forces of the Russian Federation on residential areas in the capital Kyiv* and surrounding regions, which killed and injured civilians, including children and a pregnant woman.

Schmale called it yet another appalling violation of international humanitarian law and underscored that civilians must never be targets.

In Kyiv, attacks were reported in more than a dozen locations across the city. Authorities and aid workers there say two children remain missing and some 20 residential buildings were damaged, with several destroyed.

OCHA reports that at least nine regions of Ukraine – including Kharkiv, Dnipro, Donetsk, Zhytomyr and Kherson – were also hit by strikes overnight, with local authorities reporting more than 170 civilian casualties.*

The UN and its humanitarian partners rapidly mobilized to provide emergency aid and shelter, as well as legal and psychosocial support. 

*OCHA footage and soundbites following the attack in Kyiv are available here.

#Haiti

Attacks displace civilians, disrupt health services in Centre Department

OCHA warns that rising violence and recent funding cuts are seriously undermining essential services and worsening the humanitarian situation in Haiti, particularly in the Centre Department.

Escalating violence by armed groups has triggered mass displacement, with more than 51,000 people – over half of them children – fleeing recent attacks, including in the towns of Mirebalais and Saut-d'Eau. Many are now stranded at makeshift sites or seeking safety in neighbouring departments. 

The University Hospital of Mirebalais – a major referral facility with 300 beds, operated by Zanmi Lasante – has suspended operations following a wave of insecurity in the area. Armed attacks, a mass prison break and the destruction of public infrastructure forced the hospital to gradually shut down. Before its closure, the facility served nearly 850 patients each day, including through maternal care and advanced cancer treatment.

Two other hospitals in the area – St. Therese in Hinche and Albert Schweitzer Hospital in the Artibonite – are now coming under increased strain and face critical shortages, including oxygen and emergency medical kits. Since the closure of the University Hospital, they have treated more than 200 patients for gunshot wounds, strokes, suspected cholera and malnutrition. St. Therese alone has received more than 3,500 internally displaced people – tripling its outpatient caseload.

UNICEF and its humanitarian partners are working to relieve pressure on the health system in Centre Department. In coordination with the Government and Caritas, mobile clinics are being deployed to reach 30,000 people in host communities and displacement sites. Services include vaccination, malnutrition screening and cholera prevention.

Four months into the year, the Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan – which requires US$908 million to support 3.9 million people in Haiti – is only 6 per cent funded, with $57 million coming in so far. For the health response, partners require $43.5 million, but less than $7 million has been received to date.

The UN and its humanitarian partners are committed to continue providing aid as security and funding allow.

On Friday, 25 April, the Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Haiti, Ulrika Richardson, will brief journalists via videolink during the Daily Press Briefing by the UN Spokesperson, starting at 12 p.m. New York time. The briefing will be livestreamed via UN Web TV. 

#Myanmar

UN steps up support for local organizations in quake-hit Myanmar

In response to the devastating earthquakes that struck Myanmar nearly a month ago, humanitarian agencies have been working to save lives in a new environment – characterized by Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher as a “humanitarian reset.” This has included moving the response closer to the people whom humanitarians serve and partnering with local organizations to reach those in need, including the delivery of medical care, shelter, clean water, sanitation support and food.

As part of the reset, the UN is stepping up support for local responders, who have long been the backbone of the humanitarian response in Myanmar. The UN’s close partnership with them includes providing flexible support through the Myanmar Humanitarian Fund*. In the first allocation from this pooled fund in 2025, we channeled 80 per cent of the $20 million provided to 66 local partners, including $4.7 million for the earthquake response.

As part of the UN’s efforts to reach those most in need, following engagement by Mr. Fletcher while he was in Myanmar earlier this month, access was secured to some hard-to-reach areas in Sagaing for the first time. The UN now has a coordination mechanism in Sagaing and is planning a UN presence there to scale up the response, as this was one of the areas hardest hit by the earthquakes. Humanitarians have also been able to reach areas that had previously been difficult to access in Mandalay.

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

*Asterisks indicate that a figure, sentence, or section has been rectified, added, or retracted after the initial publication of this update.