Today's top news: Syria, Occupied Palestinian Territory, Lebanon, Haiti, Somalia
#Syria
OCHA warns that as hostilities in the north escalate and expand to other parts of Syria, civilians, including humanitarian workers, are facing grave threats to their safety. The fighting also continues to cause severe damage to critical infrastructure and disrupt aid operations.
Hundreds of civilians are estimated to have been killed or injured over the past week, although the situation is highly fluid and exact casualty figures are yet to be confirmed.
Since the escalation of hostilities, at least 370,000 people have been displaced, including 100,000 who have been displaced more than once. Most of them are women and children.
Tens of thousands of people have arrived in north-east Syria.
The UN Refugee Agency and non-governmental organizations operating in the north-east estimate that between 60,000 and 80,000 people have been newly displaced, including more than 25,000 currently hosted in collective centres.
These centres are filling up as soon as they are assigned. With these sites now at capacity, people are sleeping on the streets or in their cars, in sub-zero temperatures. The UN is working with our humanitarian partners in the north-east to assess the needs of families who have arrived at reception centres.
#Occupied Palestinian Territory
OCHA reports that after two months under Israeli siege, people in North Gaza governorate continue to flee deadly violence and deprivation to areas farther south.
On Wednesday, more than 5,500 people in North Gaza were displaced to Gaza city, after Israeli forces surrounded three schools and nearby homes in Beit Lahiya. Those arriving in Gaza city reported that Israeli forces opened fire on people fleeing via Salah Ed Din Road.
Humanitarian partners say that those newly displaced from Beit Lahiya have sought safety at three shelters in Gaza city. This morning, more than a dozen families displaced from the area around Kamal Adwan Hospital in North Gaza also arrived in Gaza city.
As of today, partners say that about 8,000 people have been displaced toward Gaza city from their north since 28 November. Aid organizations on the ground have been providing the new arrivals with any available assistance.
As winter sets in, some 545,000 people in Gaza are living in damaged buildings and makeshift shelters, underscoring the urgency of ensuring that thousands of tarpaulins and repair materials can be safely brought into the Strip without delay.
The UN Population Fund says 50 of the agency’s trucks carrying blankets, generators, medicines and surgical equipment have been stuck at the Egyptian border into Gaza, many of them for more than 50 days. We and our partners continue to call for the safe passage of humanitarian aid into Gaza as suffering deepens across the Strip.
#Lebanon
More than a week on since the cessation of hostilities, OCHA says that people are continuing to return to their communities in Lebanon.
The International Organization for Migration reports that more than 786,000 people have returned to their communities since 27 November, with the highest numbers recorded in El Nabatieh district in Nabatieh governorate, Saida district in the South governorate and Baalbek district in Baalbek-El Hermel governorate. Authorities note a significant decrease in the number of displaced people in collective shelters, now hosting some 9,000 displaced people, compared to 188,000 before 27 November.
Delivering humanitarian aid remains challenging, with damage to civilian infrastructure hampering response and recovery. The World Health Organization says that damaged health and sanitation infrastructure increases the risk of disease outbreaks, while vaccination rates have plummeted and thousands of people urgently need reconstructive surgery.
Fourteen hospitals in the country have been affected by the hostilities. The World Health Organization is working together with the authorities to help reopen closed hospitals.
#Haiti
OCHA says that the humanitarian situation in Haiti remains dire for millions of people across the country.
Insecurity continues to impact people in the capital Port-au-Prince, with tens of thousands of people still uprooted since the escalation of violence in November.
OCHA also reports that ongoing floods are affecting thousands of people in both the north and the south of the country.
In the face of these challenges, the UN and humanitarian partners are supporting authorities and providing assistance to people in need.
Over the last week, UNICEF and its partners have distributed more than 900,000 litres of water to more than 60,000 displaced people in 26 sites in the capital.
For its part, the World Food Programme has provided more than 95,000 hot meals to some 24,000 displaced people across four sites in Port-au-Prince.
In the south, the UN and partners are supporting and coordinating with authorities the floods response and provide emergency aid, including hygiene kits and blankets and implementing cash transfer activities.
Despite the ongoing efforts, the response remains impacted by lack of funding. As we enter into the last weeks of the year, the US$674 million Humanitarian Response Plan remains only 43 percent funded, with $290 million received.
The UN calls for additional funding immediately to ensure that the dire situation does not further deteriorate.
#Somalia
The Humanitarian Coordinator in Somalia, George Conway, allocated $5 million from the Somalia Humanitarian Fund to take action for droughts ahead of the predicted La-Niña indued rainfall deficits.
The new funds will complement the recent $5 million released by the UN Central Emergency Response Fund and will support work in health, nutrition and water, sanitation and hygiene in high-risk areas.
An estimated 4.4 million people in Somalia are facing elevated levels of acute food insecurity as drought conditions loom and 1.6 million children are projected to suffer from acute malnutrition between August of this year and July of next year, with more than 400,000 people children likely to suffer from Severe Acute Malnutrition.