Today's top news: Somalia, Lebanon, Occupied Palestinian Territory, Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Congo

#Somalia

UN Relief Chief warns funding cuts pushing most vulnerable to the brink

In Somalia, Tom Fletcher, the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, visited a hospital and a site for displaced people in Baidoa, in South West State.

At Bay Hospital, Fletcher visited parents and their severely malnourished children receiving treatment. Funding cuts, he said, mean they have to go much further to get life-saving food, medicine and water, with no guarantees they will find any.

Fletcher met families displaced by drought and conflict at the Elbet1 displacement site, which faces serious shelter and sanitation problems. Some 135 households share only two latrines, raising the severe risk of transmission of waterborne diseases.

The displaced people told Fletcher that assistance has dwindled significantly. Shelter is particularly urgent, as continued rains are flooding homes and cutting off access to affected communities.

Fletcher also met the Interim Leader of South West State, Jibril Haji. They discussed the need to ensure humanitarian access and also concerns about the impact of funding shortfalls. South West State hosts the largest displaced population in Somalia. In Baidoa city alone, there are some 700,000 people who have fled drought and conflict in rural areas.

The 2026 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan for Somalia remains underfunded, with just 14 per cent of the $852 million required having been received to date.

#Lebanon

Humanitarian workers killed as attacks on healthcare climb

OCHA reports that the situation in Lebanon remains fragile and volatile, given ongoing insecurity, particularly in the south.

Authorities reported today that three civil defence rescue workers were killed in southern Lebanon when two strikes hit a building in the town of Majdal Zoun, in the Tyre District. Authorities said the emergency teams were responding to people wounded in an earlier strike at the time.

The incident underscores the risks faced by civilians, including emergency and humanitarian personnel. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), since the start of the conflict, the number of attacks on healthcare has climbed to 149, with 100 deaths and 233 injuries recorded.

That volatility continues to drive people from their homes. On 29 April, Israeli authorities issued a new displacement order south of the Litani River, covering 16 areas and instructing residents to move to the nearby town of Saida.

Women and children remain disproportionately affected. There are reports they are facing increased psychological distress and are bearing the brunt of the impacts of displacement, family separation, and economic hardship. Risks of gender-based violence remain high, particularly in overcrowded shelters. Some families who had initially rented places to live are turning to collective shelters as they run out of money.

Humanitarian partners are responding where access allows. They have distributed more than 7.3 million meals and over 100,000 meal boxes. Over 3.8 million litres of bottled water and around 716,000 litres of fuel have been delivered to sustain critical water services for more than 623,000 people.

But despite these growing needs, the humanitarian response remains significantly underfunded. The Lebanon Flash Appeal has received just over $117 million, which is only 38 per cent of the $308 million needed.

#Occupied Palestinian Territory

Aid operations, evacuations continue Gaza hostilities

In the Occupied Palestinian Territory, OCHA reports that strikes across the Gaza Strip continue to hit residential areas and disrupt basic services.

A recent airstrike reportedly hit NGO workers at a water well in Gaza city. One of them was killed and four were injured. Partners report that the well was heavily damaged, and on-site work has been suspended. Activities are also suspended at another water filling point, Al Mansoura, where two civilian truck drivers contracted by UNICEF were also recently killed.

Despite this, partners working on water say overall water production has not yet fallen and that they are filling gaps by sourcing more clean water to deliver by truck. They stress that people’s water needs are far from being met: some 60 per cent of families can’t access enough clean water.

Humanitarians warn that current arrangements are costly and not sustainable. They rely heavily on increased fuel, oil, generators, spare parts, trucks and a devastated pipe network that is wholly inadequate. The UN is engaging with authorities so these and other critical items can enter Gaza. Without them, water production and other services are at serious risk of collapse.

OCHA stresses that civilians and civilian objects, including critical facilities that people rely on to meet their basic needs, must be protected, in line with international humanitarian law.

Meanwhile, humanitarian operations continue across all sectors. Yesterday, the UN and humanitarian partners collected additional food, medicine, and hygiene items at the Kerem Shalom crossing. They also supported the medical evacuation of two dozen patients and their companions and offered protection and other services to nearly 50 returnees.

Also yesterday, the UN recovered broken trucks from hard-to-reach areas where Israeli forces remain deployed. And nearly 100 humanitarian staff crossed in or out of Gaza, a routine but essential cycle to ease pressure and prevent burnout among frontline teams working in extremely challenging conditions.

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

#Sudan 

UN-backed vaccination campaign targets children as conflict fuels health risks

OCHA reports that WHO and UNICEF, together with the Government of Sudan, launched a nationwide polio vaccination campaign yesterday, aiming to reach more than 4 million children under the age of five. This is the first of two rounds and focuses on high-risk and conflict-affected areas in several states.

Polio was detected in December of 2025 in the states of Kassala and North Kordofan. Nearly 1.5 million children continue to not be sufficiently protected against polio and other vaccine-preventable diseases due to years of conflict. The risk of transmission is increasing as people continue to be displaced and move across borders.

Partners report that some 128,000 people across 28 villages in North Kordofan once again have access to safe drinking water.

However, OCHA warns that fighting continues to put civilians at risk. Local sources reported drone attacks yesterday in the states of White Nile and Khartoum, as well as clashes around the village of Sali in Blue Nile State.

#Democratic Republic of the Congo 

Renewed clashes drive mass displacement, strains aid efforts

OCHA warns that the humanitarian situation in Masisi Territory in the eastern province of North Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo, continues to deteriorate amid renewed clashes between armed groups.

Since early February, intensified violence has triggered large-scale displacement, with people forced to flee multiple times. As of mid-April, more than 170,000 people across the Masisi Health Zone have been displaced, according to local sources.

Several villages have reportedly been emptied of their inhabitants. In some cases, families have reportedly been forced to leave after directives from armed groups, often with little or no notice.

Repeated displacement is pushing already vulnerable people into greater danger. For example, on Monday of this week, unidentified armed men attacked a school in Masisi serving as a displacement site, which had been sheltering at least 500 people. Many were forced to flee again overnight and were reportedly subjected to violence and looting, losing essential belongings and means of subsistence.

Against this backdrop, conditions in host areas remain extremely precarious, straining already overstretched basic services. People urgently need food, shelter, water, sanitation and healthcare.

OCHA and humanitarian partners are organising joint assessments to identify needs and are trying to scale up the response, as access and resources allow.

The UN reiterates its call on all parties to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, and to facilitate safe, sustained and unhindered humanitarian access.