Today's top news: Occupied Palestinian Territory, Sudan, Haiti, Ukraine
UNOCHA - United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
Occupied Palestinian Territory
Humanitarians provide vital aid in Gaza despite hostilities and access constraints
OCHA says that Israeli operations, including shelling and air strikes, have continued across the Gaza Strip. High-rise buildings were reportedly hit in Ar Rimal, Beach camp, Tal al Hawa and other areas around Gaza city.
Meanwhile, humanitarian teams are working to bring in aid to support bakeries and community kitchens. Across Gaza yesterday, 658,000 meals were prepared and delivered by 18 partners through 137 kitchens.
However, humanitarians' access to northern Gaza is especially complicated. In the north, daily meals were reduced from 170,000 in mid-September to about 50,000 yesterday, as partners relocated and scaled up their operations in central and south Gaza.
Humanitarian partners report that this week, about 50 communal ovens in Gaza city are operational, helping some 2,700 families bake their dough for free.
OCHA notes that the UN and its partners have not been allowed to bring any food aid from Zikim crossing into northern Gaza for more than two weeks.
Amid the ongoing hostilities and destruction, while many people remain in Gaza city and the north, many others continue to flee southward. Yesterday, partners recorded nearly 6,900 displacements from north to south through four monitoring points. Overall, between mid-August and yesterday, almost 453,000 displacements were recorded across the Gaza Strip, with the majority originating from Gaza city.
People are having to seek shelter in areas that are overcrowded and lacking in basic services. Only 18 per cent of the Gaza Strip is not currently subject to displacement orders or located within militarized zones.
Across Gaza, humanitarian teams continue to face denials and impediments in delivering assistance. Yesterday, more than 40 per cent of the humanitarian missions that require coordination with the Israeli military were denied. While teams were able to collect some fuel from Kerem Shalom and distribute medical supplies in Deir al Balah, water trucking continues to be denied.
Partners working in water, sanitation and hygiene assess that almost 80 per cent of the population in the Gaza, Middle area and Khan Younis governorates collect water from trucks.
The UN and its humanitarian partners in Gaza continue to respond wherever and whenever possible, despite extremely challenging circumstances and ongoing insecurity.
The UN calls upon Israeli authorities to fully facilitate humanitarian operations, including sustained and unimpeded movement into and across the Gaza Strip. It also reminds Israel, Hamas and any armed group that aid workers and their vehicles must not be attacked or denied critical access on the ground.
Sudan
Conditions deteriorate in El Fasher as siege tightens
OCHA warns that the humanitarian situation in El Fasher, the capital of Sudan's North Darfur State, grows more dire by the day as the siege on the city tightens.
Satellite images show that berms surrounding the city have now extended more than 68 kilometres, narrowing the remaining gap to as little as three to four kilometres, further constraining options for movement into or out of the area.
The images also show large groups of people attempting to flee on foot from within the berm-enclosed area. Local sources report that civilians trying to leave the city have faced violence, harassment and looting along insecure routes.
OCHA once again calls for the protection of civilians in El Fasher as required by international humanitarian law, as well as for safe passage for those who wish to leave.
Meanwhile, an association of Sudanese doctors reports that more than 20 people in El Fasher - including children and pregnant women - have died of malnutrition this month alone. These tragic deaths highlight the urgent need for humanitarian access to reach the besieged population with life-saving assistance.
The humanitarian situation in the Kordofan region also remains dire. Ongoing conflict has restricted access to food, essential supplies, banking services and humanitarian aid, while damaging critical infrastructure.
More than 1 million people have been displaced in the region since the conflict started two-and-a-half years ago, according to the International Organization for Migration. The limited assistance that aid organizations are able to provide - given active hostilities, access constraints and underfunding - cannot keep pace with the immense pressure on host communities, who are themselves running out of resources.
Elsewhere in Sudan, seasonal flooding continues to increase humanitarian needs. In Aj Jazirah State, local sources report that floodwaters have already destroyed farms in Janub Al Jazirah locality, affecting 15,000 people. Residents urgently require shelter, food and essential medicines.
OCHA stresses that stepped-up international support is urgently needed to sustain and scale up life-saving operations across Sudan.
Haiti
Suspected cholera cases increase in Port-au-Prince
OCHA says that cholera cases continue to climb in Haiti. Health authorities have reported a significant increase in suspected cholera cases across the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area, with Pétion-Ville emerging as a main hotspot.
Between 21 and 25 September alone, 40 suspected cases and three deaths were reported in Pétion-Ville, a major economic hub with a large number of schools. This surge is particularly concerning with the new school year set to begin in just two days.
In total, 66 suspected cases were recorded in the capital and surrounding communes in recent days - an alarming rise compared to previous weeks. Young adults, who are highly mobile due to work and daily activities, account for most of the cases, fueling concerns of spread across the communes of Pétion-Ville, Delmas, Tabarre and Carrefour.
So far this year, more than 3,100 suspected cholera cases have been reported nationwide.
Local health teams are conducting investigations, collecting samples, distributing water purification tablets, and launching awareness campaigns in neighbourhoods such as Brisetoux and Bobin.
OCHA, together with authorities and its partners, is working to ensure there is rigorous case monitoring and that health workers are rapidly mobilized to reduce the risk of the further spread of cholera.
Ukraine
Attacks cause civilian casualties and widespread destruction
OCHA reports that over the weekend, several parts of Ukraine came under massive attack, resulting in multiple civilian casualties and widespread destruction.
According to Ukrainian authorities and local reports from Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine, at least 12 civilians were killed and over 170 were injured between 26 and 29 September. Several children were among the casualties.
The capital Kyiv - along with Zaporizhzhia City and the Kyiv region - were among the most severely affected. In Kyiv, the attack claimed the life of a child, while several more children were injured in Zaporizhzhia City and the Kyiv region, according to authorities.
The World Health Organization reported that a strike yesterday on a cardiology facility in Kyiv killed a health worker and a patient. The attacks also caused extensive damage to residential buildings and other civilian infrastructure.
In front-line areas, the regions of Donetsk and Kherson continue to be heavily affected, and strikes on energy infrastructure in the regions of Chernihiv, Zaporizhzhia and Vinnytsia disrupted the electricity supply as temperatures drop.
Following the attacks, more than a dozen national and international NGOs - with the support of UN agencies - delivered emergency assistance*. They provided medical and psychological first aid, hot meals and shelter materials to cover the damage, among other support.
*Donations made to UN Crisis Relief help UN agencies and humanitarian NGOs reach people in Ukraine with urgent support.
29 September 2025
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
