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

A child at a reception center in Salqin, western Idleb, housing displaced Syrian families affected by hostilities.
A reception centre in Salqin, western Idleb, housing displaced Syrian families affected by hostilities. Photo: OCHA/Bilal Al-Hammoud

#Syria

OCHA says that more than 1.1 million people are now displaced across Syria since the recent escalation of hostilities.

Food shortages continue to be reported in Aleppo as a result of bakery closures due to flour and diesel shortages. Vegetable supplies are limited, electricity outages persist in some neighborhoods and fuel prices remain high.

Hostilities near Tishreen Dam in the Aleppo governorate have led to extended electricity outages since 10 December, affecting more than 400,000 people in areas such as Menbij city and Kobani city, disrupting access to water and other key services.

The UN and partners continue humanitarian activities as the security situation allows. Some partners have resumed operations in the cities of Damascus, Tartous, Lattakia and Raqqa, in a limited scope, and the UN will continue to monitor the situation closely.

OCHA reports that the cross-border operation from Türkiye continues. Yesterday, 26 trucks carrying food aid crossed into north-west.

Humanitarian access and aid delivery remains challenging in parts of north-east Syria. The cities of Raqqa, Tabqa, Hassakeh and Derik are experiencing movement restrictions due to checkpoints and reports of looting continue.

Despite the challenges, and as security allows, the UN and partners provided food to more than 700,000 people in north-west Syria since the escalation of hostilities.

In north-east Syria, more than 40,000 displaced people are staying in around 200 collective centers, according to partners. Humanitarian organizations are distributing food, hygiene kits and cash, as well as psychosocial support to children and adults.

#Occupied Palestinian Territory

OCHA warns that ongoing hostilities across the Gaza Strip – especially in North Gaza governorate, which has been under siege for more than two months now – are making it extremely difficult, if not impossible, for trauma patients to get the critical healthcare they need.

Access to basic health services has also been severely constrained, and in the face of these challenges, the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) continues to serve as a lifeline for the people of Gaza.

The agency accounts for more than half of the people reached with health services since October of last year, providing some 6.7 million medical consultations across the Strip as of 1 December.

More than 90 mobile medical teams are providing health services at 54 medical points inside and outside shelters in Gaza’s Middle Area, Khan Younis, Al Mawasi, and Gaza governorate, as of this past Sunday, 8 December.

Meanwhile, seven of UNRWA’s 27 health centres in Gaza remain operational. But, as you know, the number of health facilities that are still up and running at any given time changes constantly due to insecurity and access restrictions.

UNRWA warns that stocks of medicines in its health facilities are low, and at least 60 items will run out within a month.

Access impediments, coupled with the limited number of safe and viable routes to bring supplies into Gaza, continue to result in shortages of critical medicines and medical supplies across Gaza Strip.

#Lebanon

The Humanitarian Coordinator in Lebanon, Iman Riza, today visited the governorates of Baalbek and Bekaa, together with the Minister of Environment, Nasser Yassin, to assess the humanitarian situation and urgent needs, including those of displaced people now returning to their communities. Riza met with local authorities, humanitarian partners and the governors of both regions.

Over the past two days, the UN and partners have delivered medical supplies to hospitals in Baalbeck El-Hermal Governorate.

The World Health Organization has also received a new shipment of dozens of essential kits for limb-saving surgeries that will be distributed to hospitals across Lebanon.

The UN and partners continue to monitor the movement of people so we can support people returning to their communities, people who are still on the move, host communities and people in hard-to-reach areas.

The Flash Appeal calling for US$426 million, launched together with the Government of Lebanon, to help 1 million people, is just 64 per cent funded. The UN needs additional resources urgently to continue to support people across the country.