Today's top news: Protection of Aid Workers, Occupied Palestinian Territory, Ukraine, South Sudan, Nigeria

Schools-turned-shelters run by the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) have suffered serious damage in strikes. Photo: UNRWA

#Protection of Aid Workers

Acting Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Joyce Msuya, said she is outraged that aid workers continue to be killed, less than a month after World Humanitarian Day.

Six people working for the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) were killed by Israeli airstrikes in Gaza’s Nuseirat yesterday, while three staff from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) were killed by shelling in Ukraine today.

Msuya said that like all civilians, aid workers must be protected – they are not a target.

#Occupied Palestinian Territory

Gaza

OCHA says that attacks on humanitarian personnel, missions and humanitarian facilities in Gaza continue to limit the delivery of life-saving aid.

This tragically materialized yesterday with the deadly Israeli airstrikes in Nuseirat, that killed six UNRWA staff, among others.

Schools, hospitals and other civilian infrastructures have been repeatedly bombarded in Gaza, killing civilians, including aid workers.

OCHA warns that these incidents are not only tragic and unacceptable but also limit humanitarians’ capacity to help the more than 2 million people working tirelessly every day to secure their own survival.

Despite the challenges, the polio campaign continues and UNRWA says that, as of yesterday, nearly 530,000 children have now received the vaccine across the Gaza Strip.

Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO) and partners, in collaboration with the United Arab Emirates, organized yesterday the largest medical evacuation from Gaza since October 2023.

In a social media post today, WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that 97 sick and severely injured patients and 155 companions were transported via Kerem Shalom to Ramon Airport in Israel for onward travel to Abu Dhabi for specialized care.

West Bank

OCHA is sounding the alarm over the continued use of lethal, war-like tactics by Israeli forces, including airstrikes in the West Bank. These actions have resulted in additional casualties and raise serious concerns about excessive use of force.

Many families have fled refugee camps impacted by the operations. In Tulkarm Refugee Camp, some were forcibly removed from their homes, which were repurposed as military outposts. Those who remain are largely confined to their homes, fearing for their safety, with reports of shortages in essentials such as milk powder, bread, hygiene products, and medicines.

In several areas, Israeli forces have surrounded hospitals, effectively laying siege to these facilities and severely restricting the access of patients and medical staff in and out.

Israeli forces must adhere to international law enforcement standards, where lethal force and firearms should only be used as a last resort and only against imminent threats of death or injury.

#Ukraine

The Humanitarian Coordination in Ukraine, Matthias Schmale, said he was devastated that ICRC staff were killed and injured while working to deliver vital humanitarian aid to war-ravaged communities in the Donetsk Region, in the east of the country.

ICRC said three staff were killed and two others injured when the vehicles they were using were hit by shelling at a planned front-line aid distribution site in the region.

The UN stresses the need for respect of international humanitarian law, including taking every precaution to ensure that those engaged in humanitarian activities are not targeted or caught up in hostilities.

Today’s deadly attack in the Donetsk Region comes amid ongoing hostilities in other parts of Ukraine.

In the north-east, aid workers are responding to an attack that struck the Sumy Region overnight. Authorities say more than a dozen civilians in the town of Konotop were injured. Homes and civilian infrastructure were also damaged, leaving the town without any power or water.

The UN and humanitarian partners also continue to reach people in need in front-line parts of the Kharkiv Region, in eastern Ukraine. Yesterday, a UN-led aid convoy delivered essential hygiene supplies to vulnerable residents in one community there, including older people and those with disabilities. It was the seventh such convoy to the region this year.

#South Sudan

OCHA warns that hundreds of thousands of people in South Sudan risk going without life-saving support unless additional funding for response efforts is received as soon as possible.

This year’s appeal to help some 6 million vulnerable people in South Sudan is only 43 per cent funded, with just US$773 million received of the $1.8 billion required.

In a new report, OCHA warns that nearly 145,000 acutely malnourished children in the country are at high risk of death due to the depletion of critical supplies. Less than two-thirds of the 2.3 million people meant to receive emergency food assistance have been reached since May – with commodity supplies mostly depleted.

Stocks to ensure safe drinking water are expected to run out in a month, raising the risk of diseases for some 1.2 million people.

And without adequate funding, conditions at dozens of overcrowded displacement sites will continue to deteriorate, affecting some 900,000 people, most of whom fled the conflict in neighboring Sudan.

The need for additional resources for response efforts is especially critical given flooding that has impacted some 700,000 people in South Sudan. Between now and December, about 3.3 million people are expected to be affected.

In Warrap and Jonglei states, the UN and our partners have stepped up efforts to reach those most affected by the floods with food and nutrition support, as well as shelter, water, sanitation and hygiene supplies.

But we need stepped-up funding to save lives. Donor countries must do all they can to keep the humanitarian crisis in South Sudan from getting even worse.

#Nigeria

Nigeria's Humanitarian Coordinator, Mohamed Malick Fall, yesterday condemned a deadly attack on civilians in Yobe State, in the northeast.

According to local authorities, at least 128 men and boys were killed by a non-state armed group in Mafa town on September 1st. Many others were injured in the attack, including women and children.

Shelters and businesses were also reportedly burned down, and improvised explosive devices have reportedly been planted along roads leading to Mafa.

Thousands of people fled the town. Some people walking for hours to seek safety in neighbouring communities, with some of them crossing into Borno State.

Local authorities are conducting rapid assessment missions in collaboration with the Nigerian Red Cross. The UN and the State Government are also planning a joint mission in the coming days and we are of couse on standby to provide assistance as needed.

In 2023, more than 4,500 civilians were killed as a result of conflict in the north-east Nigeria region, according to the 2024 report of the Secretary-General on the protection of civilians in armed conflict.