Today's top news: Ukraine, Occupied Palestinian Territory, Syria, Tropical Cyclone Dikeledi

The Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Tom Fletcher, visits a missile-struck medical clinic in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, destroyed in December. The attack caused civilian casualties and left the facility in ruins. Photo: OCHA/Yurii Veres

#Ukraine

The Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Tom Fletcher, is in Ukraine this week to meet people affected by the hostilities, discuss how the UN can further cooperate with Ukrainian authorities, and engage with humanitarian partners.

Yesterday, in Zaporizhzhia, Fletcher held talks with authorities. He visited the site where a missile hit a medical clinic last month, destroying the facility and causing civilian casualties. He also visited an underground school, built in just 6 months, which will educate 1,000 children each day.

In Dnipro yesterday, Fletcher visited a collective site for displaced people.

Today, the Under-Secretary-General travelled to the front-line area of the Donetsk region, where he commended the work of local first responders and non-governmental organizations. He witnessed how aid organizations are supporting communities remaining in the area. At a transit centre in the city of Pavlohrad, in Dnipro, he saw how evacuees are receiving assistance.

Fletcher will visit Kharkiv tomorrow. On Thursday, he and Filippo Grandi, the head of the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), will launch this year’s humanitarian and refugee response plans for Ukraine and the region. Fletcher and Grandi will jointly speak to the press from Kyiv just before the plans are launched.

#Occupied Palestinian Territory

As the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza continues, OCHA is once again calling on the Israeli authorities to enable the delivery of life-saving assistance to people across the Strip – safely, swiftly and at scale.

OCHA reports that the Israeli authorities continue to deny UN-led efforts to reach Palestinians with vital aid.

Throughout Gaza yesterday, only seven out of 22 UN-planned humanitarian movements were facilitated by the Israeli authorities. Six were denied outright, five were impeded, and four were cancelled due to security and logistical challenges.

Meanwhile, OCHA warns that ongoing hostilities and evacuation orders continue to displace civilians across the Strip. Civilians must be protected, whether they leave or stay. Those fleeing fighting must be allowed to do so safely, and they must be able to voluntarily return when the situation allows.

In central Gaza yesterday, the Israeli military issued a new evacuation order for residents in An Nuseirat, in the Al Mufti neighbourhood.

Humanitarian partners estimate that some 4,100 people are affected by the latest directive. The area under evacuation includes residents living in and around two displacement sites managed by the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East. It also includes three medical points, two water delivery points and two temporary learning spaces.

Partners have observed a limited number of people moving from the area under evacuation toward Nuseirat City and other parts of Deir al Balah.

Displaced people across Gaza continue to report critical shortages of food, water and sanitation facilities. That’s according to a new survey of nearly 2,500 households across the Strip. More than two thirds of those households told humanitarian partners that they had been displaced at least once over the last 60 days.

Yesterday, the Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Muhannad Hadi, visited a church hosting more than 400 displaced Palestinians in Gaza city. He once again stressed the need to protect places of refuge and to end the war.

Today in southern Gaza, he visited a factory providing furniture to temporary learning spaces in the Strip. After 15 months of war, less than a fifth of school-age children in Gaza have access to some form of learning.

#Syria

OCHA says that the UN and its partners continue to support the humanitarian response in Syria, as security and logistics permit.

In the north-east, the World Health Organization and its partners conducted a successful 10-day oral cholera vaccination campaign in Al Hol camp, in Al-Hasakeh governorate, targeting people aged one year and above between 28 December and 7 January.

Meanwhile, OCHA says that the security situation remains volatile in parts of the country.

Hostilities in Aleppo governorate are affecting the area surrounding the Tishreen Dam, which has not been functional for 35 days. More than 403,000 people living in the cities of Menbij and Kobani continue to lack access to water.

In Deir-ez-Zor, most of the villages in the eastern countryside are facing drinking water shortages due to the insufficient number of functional water stations.

Some parts of the country also continue to face disruptions of internet and telecommunications services, including Dar’a and As-Sweida governorates.

#Tropical Cyclone Dikeledi

OCHA continues to track the impact of Tropical Cyclone Dikeledi in south-east Africa.

In northern Madagascar, the UN and humanitarian partners are working with the authorities to mobilize response efforts after the cyclone made landfall there on Saturday. The Government says three people were killed and more than 350 displaced to several temporary sites. According to the latest reports, over 5,200 people were directly affected, nearly 1,300 homes were flooded, and five health centres were damaged.

Humanitarian partners are distributing water treatment supplies as well as water, sanitation and hygiene kits.

Tropical Cyclone Dikeledi is now bringing heavy rains and strong winds to northern Mozambique, the same area hit by Cyclone Chido less than a month ago.

The UN and humanitarian partners in Mozambique continue to provide assistance to those affected by Chido.

As of Saturday, the World Food Programme has reached more than 190,000 people in five districts with one-week food rations. UNHCR and its partners have distributed more than 800 kits of core relief items for more than 4,000 people.

UNHCR has also stepped up its efforts to assess protection concerns in parts of Cabo Delgado province where displaced people are sheltering. In the wake of Cyclone Chido, they lack shelter or sufficient access to clean water and sanitation facilities. The loss of livelihoods, particularly in the agriculture sector, has compounded the challenges they face in rebuilding their lives.

The UN and its partners are aiming to provide humanitarian assistance to more than 400,000 people affected by Cyclone Chido. But to do that, they urgently need additional funding.