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Today's top news: Occupied Palestinian Territory, Sudan, Central African Republic, South and South-east Asia, Hurricane Melissa

UNOCHA - United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

Occupied Palestinian Territory

Humanitarians continue to step up response in Gaza, despite ongoing insecurity

OCHA says that the humanitarian scale-up is well underway in Gaza,* even as insecurity persists, with frequent reports of attacks across the Strip causing casualties - including among civilians - and further destruction.

On Monday, partners leading on shelter and protection support distributed critical items to thousands of households - including thousands of winter clothing items and hundreds of bedding kits - as well as tents, tarpaulins and kitchen sets. About 1,100 people were also reached that day with individual protection services, ranging from psychological support to legal consultations. Also on Monday, partners set up 30 activity tents in different locations across Gaza to provide safe spaces where children can access psychosocial support and structured activities.

In November, the UN and its partners distributed monthly food parcels to more than 60 per cent of Gaza's population - about 1.3 million people out of 2.1 million. Humanitarians are also supporting community kitchens, bread production, and other activities critical to addressing food insecurity.

Throughout November, mine action partners conducted just over 130 assessments of explosive hazards across priority humanitarian locations - including warehouses, distribution points, major transport corridors and key infrastructure - classifying their findings as low, medium or high risk. This mapping exercise has been essential to enable the UN and its partners across all sectors - food, water, health, shelter, education and beyond - to scale up operations based on the plan for the initial period of the ceasefire.

Mine action partners also continue to educate people, especially children, on how to stay safe around explosive hazards, reaching thousands of people every week.

At the same time, OCHA warns that humanitarians in Gaza continue to face impediments to their efforts to fully implement the scale-up. OCHA urges full respect for the ceasefire to ensure that the safety of all civilians - including aid workers - is fully guaranteed. In addition, more crossings must open so that higher volumes of more diverse supplies can enter Gaza through multiple routes, and without delays or other impediments. The work of all humanitarian partners - including UNRWA and NGOs - must be facilitated. To that end, customs currently imposed on humanitarian supplies should be waived and restrictive registration requirements lifted.

*Donations made to UN Crisis Relief help UN agencies and humanitarian NGOs reach people in Gaza and the West Bank with urgent support.

Sudan

Humanitarian community alarmed by impact of surging hostilities, sieges on civilians in Kordofan

OCHA warns that civilians across Sudan's Kordofan region face growing dangers as violence intensifies.

Earlier today, the humanitarian community in Sudan issued a statement condemning in the strongest terms the escalating violence across Kordofan and the ongoing sieges that have cut off multiple cities.

People in Dilling and Kadugli in South Kordofan State remain trapped - facing extreme hardship, severe restrictions on movement, and limited access to essential services and protection. Famine conditions have been identified in Kadugli, while sustained attacks have been reported in Babanusa, in West Kordofan State, in recent days.

The humanitarian community in Sudan also expressed deep concern over continued attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure in the region, noting that the violence is restricting access to food, medicine and essential supplies and limiting farmers' access to their fields and markets - increasing the risk of famine spreading across the Kordofan states.

The statement urged all those involved in the fighting to protect civilians, including medical and humanitarian workers - particularly those fleeing besieged areas and local front-line responders delivering life-saving support. Aid workers in Sudan face extraordinary risks as they work to deliver basic assistance to 1.1 million people across the Kordofan region. They require safe and unimpeded access to reach those in need.

The humanitarian community in Sudan also stressed that sexual violence, abductions and the recruitment of children must end, and that civilian sites and infrastructure - including hospitals, markets and displacement sites - must be respected and protected in line with international humanitarian law.

Meanwhile, in North Darfur State, Save the Children reports that more than 43,000 people displaced from El Fasher following the escalation of conflict in late October have arrived in Korma town and Silk camp, placing immense strain on already fragile host communities. An assessment last week in Korma, which is located about 70 kilometres north-west of El Fasher, found critical shortages of food, healthcare, nutrition, water and sanitation services, education and protection.

An OCHA team also visited Korma yesterday and noted that people fleeing violence continue to arrive in the area. Last month, the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Tom Fletcher, also visited Korma, where he heard from survivors who escaped the violence in El Fasher. Once again, OCHA calls for safe passage for civilians - as well as safe, sustained and unhindered humanitarian access across Sudan so that assistance can reach all people in need in the country.

Central African Republic

Violence imperils civilians in Mboki region

OCHA is alarmed over the impact that armed violence is having on civilians in the south-east of the Central African Republic.

On Sunday and Monday, an ambush in the Mboki region killed several civilians and heightened intercommunal tensions, according to local sources. Several homes were burned, and the violence displaced about 1,000 people, who reportedly sought safety at a Catholic church elsewhere in the region.

Mboki has seen repeated clashes, with humanitarian access made extremely difficult due to insecurity and poor telecommunications.

Last week, two staff from a local NGO working in the area were injured by stray bullets. They had been partnering with the UN Population Fund to provide food, protection, and water, sanitation and hygiene support - as part of a project backed by the UN Global Emergency Fund (CERF).

Although the situation has improved in some parts of the Central African Republic, violence continues to deepen needs other regions - including the south-east, where some 50,000 people require humanitarian assistance.

South and South-east Asia

Deadly floods, landslides impact millions of people

Catastrophic flooding and landslides have already killed more than 1,500 people and affected nearly 11 million people across South and South-east Asia.

Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Thailand, Viet Nam and Malaysia have been among the countries hardest hit - facing record-breaking rainfall, storm surges and widespread inundation.

In Sri Lanka, the UN and its partners continue to support the Government-led response and assessments. In close coordination with authorities, they have delivered emergency aid - including food, health and hygiene supplies, kitchen sets and water tanks. They have also distributed maternity and dignity kits and deployed medical teams. Early recovery efforts are underway, including damage assessments.

In Viet Nam, Mr. Fletcher allocated US$2.6 million from CERF yesterday to bolster assistance in the most affected provinces. The new funds will support shelter, water, sanitation and hygiene, as well as food security interventions - including cash assistance - and will complement Government-led efforts.

In Indonesia, the Government-led response to the devastating floods in Aceh, north and west Sumatra, continues despite major logistical and access challenges. The UN is working closely with the Government at the national level on logistics, health, water and sanitation, and facilitating coordination with local partners.

The UN remains in close contact with national authorities and stands ready to support ongoing relief and response efforts.

Hurricane Melissa

UN, partners support Government-led responses in Jamaica, Cuba

OCHA reports that more than one month after Hurricane Melissa made landfall, communities in Cuba and Jamaica continue to face significant needs.

In Jamaica, some 280,000 people remain displaced, with very few returns recorded. While the number of people in formal shelters has declined, many families are still awaiting transitional housing.

Humanitarian partners have reached an estimated 280,000 people with assistance, including food distributions and hot meals. As large-scale distributions wind down, they are transitioning to providing cash-based assistance.

Critical services are gradually being restored, but access remains uneven, with tens of thousands of households still without electricity or reliable piped water. Daily water trucking continues in the hardest-hit areas.

Despite the distribution of more than 70,000 tarpaulins, bedding and essential household items, shelter needs remain widespread, particularly for families unable to return to their heavily damaged homes.

The UN and its humanitarian partners continue to support Government-led efforts, including the deployment of 5.5 metric tons of health supplies, psychological first aid, and ongoing assessments to guide recovery planning. UNICEF is supporting school recovery through sanitation, cleaning and efforts to maintain access to learning, while the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) is helping repair health facilities and procure medical supplies and equipment.

In Cuba, the UN system continues to support Government-led recovery efforts. Over the past month - and with support for anticipatory action from CERF - PAHO reached nearly 1 million people with health assistance, ensuring essential services across hospitals, clinics, family medical practices, maternal and care homes for older people, ambulance services, and provincial medical warehouses. The World Food Programme has provided food assistance to some 340,000 people, and the UN Development Programme has distributed materials to help 120,000 people repair damaged roofs. The Food and Agriculture Organization has also distributed half a million vegetable seeds to support the recovery of household agriculture.

Despite these efforts, the needs remain significant. The UN Plan of Action to support the response to Hurricane Melissa in Cuba - which seeks $74 million to help 1 million people - is currently only 20 per cent funded.

Posted on 4 December 2025