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Today's top news: Afghanistan, Occupied Palestinian Territory, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti, Ukraine, India

UNOCHA - United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

Afghanistan

UN Relief Chief says lives at risk after earthquake without urgent support

Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher said in a statement today that the devastating earthquake in Afghanistan is the latest crisis to expose the cost of shrinking resources on vital humanitarian work.

He noted that within hours of the earthquake, the pooled funds of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) released US$10 million to kickstart the response. The de facto authorities have quickly responded, and countries are generously providing relief supplies and critical initial funding.

"But this isn't enough," Fletcher warned. "Failing to rally resources now will mean deeper suffering and more lives lost, with winter fast approaching. Donors have stepped up for the people of Afghanistan before - we need them to do so again."

Meanwhile, OCHA says that aftershocks are causing further death and destruction, as well as hampering the response in the eastern region.

Last night, two further earthquakes - magnitudes 5.6 and 5.2 - struck the same districts already impacted in Kunar Province, causing more casualties, including among aid and health workers deployed to support the response. Shelters and roads have also been damaged.

The UN and its partners are responding, but road blockages resulting from last night's earthquakes have delayed deployments of teams and aid deliveries by truck convoys to the area.

OCHA says that while the UN and its humanitarian partners are grateful for the generous support to the response, needs are rapidly increasing, and more funding is urgently needed*.

*Donations made to UN Crisis Relief help UN agencies and humanitarian NGOs reach people in Afghanistan with urgent support.

Occupied Palestinian Territory

Gaza: Gaza city offensive intensifies

OCHA says that the ongoing offensive on Gaza city has further intensified today, with unbearable impacts on civilians and the facilities they depend on to survive.

Earlier today, Israeli forces attacked a high-rise building that they say was used to execute attacks against them. Initial information collected by OCHA indicates that tents sheltering displaced people were damaged nearby. OCHA is also concerned by the announcement that more high-rise buildings will be attacked soon.

These developments are forcing increasing numbers of people to flee, in a place where just about everyone has already been displaced, often many times, and famine has just been confirmed. In the north, people are simply exhausted. They cannot afford to move south, not only because displacement sites are overcrowded, but also because transport can cost more than US$1,000.

Between Wednesday and yesterday, partners tracking population movements in Gaza recorded nearly 3,000 movements from the north to the south - mostly from Gaza city. That brings the total since 14 August to nearly 41,000.

Meanwhile, OCHA reports that in more and more parts of the Strip, Israeli authorities require any movement of humanitarian personnel to be coordinated with them in advance. On Wednesday and yesterday, humanitarian teams attempted to coordinate 29 such movements, but 19 of them were either denied outright or initially approved but then significantly delayed or otherwise impeded on the ground. Only nine were facilitated, and one had to be cancelled by the organizers.

Despite the impediments, teams were able to collect some fuel and supplies related to water, sanitation and hygiene from Kerem Shalom and Zikim crossings, and transfer some other items within the Gaza Strip. Humanitarians could also repair a road in Rafah that is needed to improve cargo flow in the south - and they were able to assess the conditions and needs of displaced people in North Gaza.

Yesterday, the World Health Organization (WHO) distributed critical nutritional supplies to support hospitalized infants and patients at Al Nasser Hospital, in Khan Younis. These included 4,900 units of infant and high-protein formula and 2,000 feeding components.

In a social media post, WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that these supplies are vital for premature and hospitalized newborns who cannot be breastfed due to medical conditions, as well as for patients requiring specialized nutritional support.

To respond to famine and malnutrition at scale, humanitarians working in Gaza continue to call for scaled-up, sustained and safe access - so that enough food and medicines can enter the Strip and reach those who need them. Sustained and unimpeded access directly to the north, including Gaza city, is also critically important.

West Bank: Over 2,780 Palestinians injured by Israeli forces or settlers this year

OCHA reports that since January, more than 2,780 Palestinians in the West Bank have been injured by Israeli forces or settlers - a 39 per cent increase compared with the same period last year. This includes nearly 500 people injured by Israeli settlers - a two-fold rise over this same timeframe in 2024.

As of Monday, OCHA has also documented the demolition of more than 1,150 structures across the West Bank this year for lacking Israeli-issued building permits, which are almost impossible for Palestinians to obtain. This is a 44 per cent increase compared to the same period in 2024. As a result of these demolitions, nearly 1,300 Palestinians were displaced and more than 37,000 were otherwise affected.

Democratic Republic of the Congo

UN, partners support response to new Ebola outbreak

The UN and its humanitarian partners are supporting the Government-led response following the declaration yesterday of a new Ebola outbreak in Kasai Province, in the centre-west of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

As of 4 September, preliminary figures from national authorities indicate 28 suspected cases and 15 fatalities, including among four front-line health workers. The numbers are provisional and expected to change as surveillance activities are scaled up.

The affected areas, particularly Bulape and Mweka health zones, previously experienced outbreaks in 2007, 2008 and 2011.

A joint national rapid response team - supported by WHO experts in epidemiology, infection prevention and control, laboratory services, and case management - has been deployed to Kasai Province to strengthen disease surveillance and response capacity.

WHO is delivering more than 2 metric tons of essential supplies, including personal protective equipment, mobile laboratory equipment, and medical items to support the immediate response.

Haiti

Displacement compounds risk of gender-based violence

OCHA warns that gender-based violence in Haiti has reached alarming levels. Between January and July of this year, more than 6,200 incidents were reported by service providers. Nearly half of them were rapes, with 75 per cent reportedly committed by members of armed groups. Adult women are the most affected, but one in seven survivors is a girl under 18.

OCHA stresses that displacement is amplifying the risks: Just over half of the incidents involved internally displaced people. Yet only a quarter of rape survivors were able to access medical care within the critical 72-hour window due to insecurity, stigma, weak referral systems, and the lack of health facilities in remote areas.

In response, 44 humanitarian partners - including UN agencies - have assisted nearly 20,000 people by providing medical care, psychosocial support, legal aid, dignity kits, emergency shelter, and case management between January and July of this year. However, services remain heavily concentrated in the capital Port-au-Prince and in the Artibonite Department, where most partners are based - with other regions, including Centre and the Grand Sud, receiving very limited support.

OCHA stresses that chronic underfunding - combined with severe access constraints - is leaving the vast majority of survivors without life-saving care. Just 18 per cent out of the $19 million required for prevention and response to gender-based violence in Haiti has been received to date. Urgent support is needed to expand services to underserved areas and protect women and girls across the country.

Ukraine

Humanitarian workers killed in attack on demining site in Chernihiv region

In a statement yesterday, the Humanitarian Coordinator in Ukraine, Matthias Schmale, strongly condemned an attack in the Chernihiv region that killed and injured humanitarian workers.

Yesterday's missile strike on a humanitarian demining site in the Chernihiv region killed two and injured eight deminers from the Danish Refugee Council. At the time, its teams were clearing landmines and explosive remnants of war in an area heavily contaminated since the start of the full-scale invasion. According to partners, at least four other aid workers have been killed and 34 injured in Ukraine so far this year.

Meanwhile, hostilities and attacks continue across the country. Between yesterday and the early hours of today, 10 civilians were killed and more than 20 injured, according to authorities. The regions of Donetsk, Kharkiv and Kherson were most affected, with significant damage to homes and civilian infrastructure, including a school.

Evacuations from front-line regions continue. In the past 24 hours, more than 300 people - including around 100 children - were evacuated from the Donetsk region. Nearly 100 of them found temporary shelter at the Lozova Transit Centre in the Kharkiv region.

The UN and its humanitarian partners mobilized emergency assistance across affected regions. They delivered materials for rapid repairs of damaged homes and provided cash and psychological services.

India

Floods affect hundreds of thousands of people in northern areas

OCHA says severe flooding in northern India has had a devastating impact, with the state of Punjab one of the areas hardest hit.

Dozens of people have reportedly been killed, with nearly 1,900 villages and more than 380,000 people said to be affected. The floodwaters have submerged hundreds of thousands of acres of farmland.

The Government of India is leading response efforts - and the UN stands ready to support, should assistance be requested.

Posted on 5 September 2025