Today's top news: Sudan, Occupied Palestinian Territory, Lebanon, Haiti, Ukraine, Syria

Sudan

Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Tom Fletcher is in Sudan on his first visit in this role. Fletcher said the Sudan crisis is one of “staggering proportions and it demands the world’s urgent attention.”

In Kassala in the east of the country yesterday, he visited a centre for children without parental care who had to be evacuated from Khartoum then from Wadi Medani, in Aj Jazirah State, due to fighting. He also visited a camp for displaced people, where he saw some of the services provided to families who have fled the atrocities in Aj Jazirah.

Fletcher took part in an event today in Port Sudan to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and the start of the annual 16 Days of Activism to end Violence against Women. He said at a school that is housing displaced people that the world is seeing an epidemic of violence against women and girls, in Sudan and beyond. He noted that one in three women and girls have experienced sexual violence, calling this completely unacceptable.

In his meetings with Sudanese authorities, he discussed ways to address constraints to the delivery of aid; the need to increase the presence of humanitarian personnel in areas worst affected by the crisis to scale up the response, and how to increase the delivery of aid across borders and across conflict lines. He underlined the importance of bringing attention to the suffering of civilians across the country.

From Sudan, Fletcher will travel to Chad to meet with Sudanese refugees and the host communities so generously supporting them, as well as with authorities and our partners.

Further on Sudan, the World Food Programme (WFP) reports that the first UN Humanitarian Air Service flight to Dongola, in Northern State, was completed yesterday. This marks the opening of the second domestic flight destination within Sudan for the WFP-managed service.

This new flight will enable humanitarian workers to expand their presence in northern Sudan and travel more quickly to Al Dabbah, a key transfer point for sending aid from Port Sudan into hard-hit areas in the Darfur region. It also makes it easier for humanitarians to reach Wadi Halfa, a transit city on the way to Egypt, where many Sudanese have sought refuge.

Occupied Palestinian Territory

OCHA reports that in Gaza yesterday, heavy rainfall caused flooding in multiple sites where displaced families are staying in Khan Younis and Gaza city. People’s tents and other belongings were damaged.

OCHA and humanitarian partners have been carrying out field visits in multiple areas to assess the impact of the latest rains and mobilize response efforts. Partners estimate that about 1.6 million people live in makeshift shelters across Gaza.

In recent months, preparations ahead of the rainy season have been severely restricted by the ongoing challenges that aid agencies are facing in bringing sufficient supplies into Gaza. These challenges include active hostilities, ongoing insecurity, access restrictions, damaged roads, lack of fuel, and unexploded ordnance, among other obstacles.

Partners have assessed about 100 flood-prone areas hosting more than 450,000 people in Khan Younis, Deir al Balah and Rafah. At nearly all of these sites, local groups are supporting with preparations for potential rains and floods, with sandbags installed at 20 sites. However, for 90 per cent of the areas assessed by humanitarian partners, there are no workable contingency plans if flooding were to render them uninhabitable.

In Gaza city, OCHA says UN teams estimate that dozens of families have been displaced following Saturday’s evacuation order by Israeli authorities for parts of eastern neighbourhoods, namely Zeitoun and Turkuman Al Jadeda. This is an area of approximately two square kilometres.

In North Gaza governorate, the World Health Organization (WHO) warns that Kamal Adwan Hospital has come under continued attacks over the past 48 hours, causing an additional 14 injuries, including among the hospital director and the very few remaining doctors and nurses.

In a social media post, WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus described the situation as deplorable. He called for attacks on Kamal Adwan to stop immediately and for safe passage for a humanitarian mission so that health personnel can be deployed and medical supplies can be provided for the remaining patients.

Dr. Tedros said there are 65 adult patients with injuries, as well as more than a dozen child patients and eight patients in the hospital’s ICU, who need care.

Lebanon

OCHA says Lebanon is facing its deadliest period in decades, with an unprecedented humanitarian crisis affecting more than a million people.

Over the past three days, Beirut’s southern suburbs have been hit by relentless attacks, resulting in extensive damage and significant casualties, and forcing more people to flee their homes.

In central Beirut, a deadly air strike on Saturday demolished a residential building, claiming nearly 30 lives and injuring more than 65 people. This is out of a total 84 people killed in the country that day alone, according to the authorities.

On average, 250 people have been killed every week in November, bringing the death toll to more than 3,700 since the escalation of hostilities in October 2023, according to data from the national authorities.

UNICEF also reports that between 22 and 23 November, at least nine children were killed, including boys and girls who were sleeping in their beds. This brings the total number of child deaths to at least 240 since October 2023.

In response to the escalating violence, the Ministry of Education and Higher Education has announced the closure of schools in Beirut and surrounding areas, and a shift to remote learning today. This is further interrupting an already disrupted school year.

Despite ongoing security concerns, the UN and humanitarian partners remain on the ground to try to scale up efforts to continue providing critical assistance.

As of 19 November, UNICEF has safely carried out 14 humanitarian convoys, reaching some 50,000 people in areas that are difficult to access, such as Tyre, Rmeich, Marjaayoun and Hasbaya. UNICEF has also supported displaced families living on the streets of Beirut, helping them find shelter amid a severe urban displacement crisis.

Meanwhile, WHO has delivered 48 tons of medical supplies to support the Ministry of Public Health’s Chronic Medication Program, ensuring that 300,000 people with chronic conditions have continued access to essential medicines.

Haiti

On this International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, OCHA stresses that the current crisis in Haiti is having a disproportionate impact on women and girls.

According to partners, between January and October of this year, 5,400 incidents of gender-based violence were reported, though the true figures are likely much higher.

Critical services for survivors of gender-based violence, as well as for sexual and reproductive health, remain severely underfunded.

The UN Population Fund (UNFPA) has secured just 19 per cent of the funding required for those services in 2024—US$5.4 million out of $28 million—leaving significant gaps in addressing these urgent needs.

UNICEF reports today that the number of children recruited by armed groups has surged by 70 per cent over the past year, with some recruits as young as eight years old.

It is estimated that minors make up between 30 and 50 per cent of all members of these groups. This alarming trend is fueled by the closure of many schools, and displacement, leaving children increasingly vulnerable.

Ukraine

OCHA says that attacks and hostilities have continued over the weekend and today across Ukraine.

According to local authorities and partners, the attacks resulted in scores of casualties, including among children, and significantly damaged civilian infrastructure, particularly in Kharkiv, Odesa and Zaporizhzhia.

As a result of the damage, nearly 150,000 families, as well as hospitals, schools and businesses, are currently without heating in the Dnipro and Ivano-Frankivsk regions, where temperatures have dropped below zero, according to local authorities.

Humanitarian organizations mobilized swiftly and provided emergency assistance in Kharkiv and Odesa, among other affected areas. They have delivered food, repair materials and psychosocial support.

Syria

The UN Deputy Regional Humanitarian Coordinator for the Syria Crisis, David Carden, has deplored attacks in the north-west of the country this weekend that led to civilian deaths and injuries. Carden called for the protection of civilians.

At least three civilians – including a nine-year-old girl and an elderly man – were killed in those attacks in Idleb and Al-Bab in eastern Aleppo. That’s according to local health authorities, who said more than two dozen others – including 12 children – were also injured.

Some of the wounded were treated at a hospital supported by the World Health Organization. This comes at a time when more than 80 health facilities had fully or partially suspended operations by the end of last month, due to a lack of funding.

As the year comes to a close, the Humanitarian Response Plan for Syria, which aims to reach 10.8 million of the most vulnerable people across the country, is less than 30 per cent funded, with just $1.2 billion received of the roughly $4 billion required.