Today's top news: Occupied Palestinian Territory, Sudan, Ukraine
UNOCHA - United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
Occupied Palestinian Territory
UN Relief Chief outlines 60-day plan to deliver vital aid after Gaza ceasefire
The Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Tom Fletcher, told journalists today that President Trump's peace plan must be the basis for life-saving work throughout the region and for saving tens of thousands of lives.
"We must seize this moment with collective will, with determination, and with generosity," he said. "There must be no backsliding on the agreements that have been made."
Speaking from Riyadh, Fletcher said that this moment "cannot be a false dawn for civilians in Gaza and Israel who are so desperate for peace."
The Under-Secretary-General outlined what the humanitarian community plans to deliver during the first 60 days of the ceasefire. "Our plan - detailed and tested - is in place," he said. "Our supplies, 170,000 metric tons - food, medicine and other supplies - are in place. And our team - courageous and expert and determined - are in place."
Fletcher said the UN and its partners would aim to increase the pipeline of supplies to hundreds of trucks every day and scale up the provision of food to reach 2.1 million people across Gaza and some 500,000 who need nutrition support. He stressed that humanitarians would also work to restore the decimated health system and scale up medical supplies and healthcare.
Some 1.4 million people would be prioritized for water and sanitation services, and the provision of shelter would be massively scaled up to help families prepare for winter. Temporary learning spaces would reopen to support learning for 700,000 school-aged children.
For humanitarians to deliver, the Emergency Relief Coordinator stressed the need to ensure protection of civilians and efforts to identify unexploded ordnance. He said cooking gas and at least 1.9 million litres of fuel would need to enter Gaza each week. Relief supplies must also come into Gaza through multiple corridors, with more functional crossings and security guarantees.
Fletcher said that basic infrastructure must be restored, humanitarian workers must be protected, NGO access must be facilitated, and the passage of humanitarian relief must be able to proceed rapidly and without impediment. Aid operations must also receive adequate support, with this year's Flash Appeal for the Occupied Palestinian Territory only 28 per cent funded.
"For those tens of thousands of Palestinians and Israelis who have lost their lives in the last two years, on October 7th and since, including the hundreds of our humanitarian colleagues who have died trying to save lives; for those who have hoped against all hope for reason to prevail and this day to come; for those who yearn for food, medicine, shelter, security, to be reunited with their families and loved ones; and for those whose future can still be one of peace, we must act," Fletcher said. "And we will act."
Sudan
Deadly attacks hit hospital and mosque in El Fasher
OCHA condemns the escalation of violence in El Fasher, the besieged capital of Sudan's North Darfur State. Since the start of October alone, more than 50 civilians have reportedly been killed, according to a medical association and other local sources.
The Sudan Doctors Network said that yesterday, at least a dozen civilians were killed - including women and children - with 17 others injured, in an attack on a hospital in El Fasher, allegedly carried out by the Rapid Support Forces. This follows reports of a deadly attack on the hospital's maternity ward the previous day. The people of El Fasher are trapped, terrified and cut off from aid - and their last lifeline for medical care is under threat.
OCHA is also alarmed by reports of a deadly attack yesterday on a mosque where families in El Fasher had sought shelter. More than a dozen people were reportedly killed. As the Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan, Denise Brown, stressed last month following a separate attack on a mosque in El Fasher, international humanitarian law demands the protection of mosques and the civilians worshipping in them.
Once again, OCHA echoes the UN Secretary-General's call for an immediate humanitarian pause in and around El Fasher. The UN and its partners remain committed to supporting the people of El Fasher and all those affected by the conflict across Sudan*. However, humanitarians need rapid, safe, sustained and unimpeded access, and civilians - including front-line responders - must be protected.
*Donations made to UN Crisis Relief help UN agencies and humanitarian NGOs reach people in Sudan with urgent support.
Ukraine
Hostilities cause civilian casualties and damage energy infrastructure
OCHA says that attacks and hostilities across Ukraine continue to kill and injure civilians. Over the past three days, authorities report that at least a dozen civilians were killed and more than 80 injured. Most civilian casualties were recorded in the regions of Kherson, Sumy, Donetsk and Kharkiv.
Ukraine's energy system remains under sustained pressure. Substations, power plants and oil depots were damaged in the regions of Chernihiv, Kharkiv, Odesa and Donetsk, temporarily cutting off electricity to hundreds of thousands of households and businesses. As colder weather sets in, strikes on critical infrastructure are deepening humanitarian needs.
The town of Shostka, in the Sumy region, was among those hardest hit, with weekend attacks leaving some 70,000 people without electricity and disrupting gas and water supplies. Humanitarian partners quickly responded, opening warming points and providing hot meals, essential supplies and psychosocial support. They also registered affected families for cash assistance.
Despite growing challenges, the UN and its humanitarian partners continue to support the response. In the first half of 2025, partners working on health provided essential care to nearly 1 million people, while food and livelihood programmes supported over 1.1 million displaced and vulnerable families across Ukraine.
Posted on 09 October 2025
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
