Today's top news: Occupied Palestinian Territory, Syria, Sudan, Ukraine
UNOCHA - United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
Occupied Palestinian Territory
UN Relief Chief tells Security Council conditions in Gaza are "beyond vocabulary"
The Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Tom Fletcher, told the Security Council yesterday that "we are beyond vocabulary to describe conditions in Gaza." He said food is running out, those seeking it risk being shot, people are dying trying to feed their families, field hospitals received dead bodies, and medical workers hear stories firsthand from the injured - "day, after day, after day."
Fletcher called once again for the UN and its humanitarian partners to be allowed to do their work.
"We don't have to choose - and in fact, we must not choose - between demanding the end to the starvation of civilians in Gaza and demanding the unconditional release of all the hostages," he said.
The Under-Secretary-General stressed that all members of the Security Council "have been unequivocal: ceasefire, ceasefire, ceasefire."
OCHA warns that air strikes, bombing and other attacks continue across the Strip - more than 200 over the course of two days this week alone, according to the Israeli military. There was also one report today of Palestinian rocket fire towards Israel.
Strikes over the past 24 hours have hit sites hosting displaced people, with some of them injured and killed. This includes reports of a deadly hit on the Holy Family Church in Gaza city. This incident is now under review by the Israeli military.
Between last Tuesday and this Tuesday, more than 11,500 people were newly displaced in Gaza. This brings overall displacement since the latest escalation of hostilities on 18 March to over 737,000 people - about 35 per cent of Gaza's population. Over the past 21 months, nearly everyone in the Strip has been displaced, typically multiple times.
OCHA reminds us that most housing in Gaza has been flattened or is otherwise uninhabitable. Many families are staying out in the open because the Israeli authorities have not yet lifted the ban - imposed since early March - on tents and other shelter materials.
Many displaced people have been hesitant to bathe in the Mediterranean this week, after Israeli authorities reinstated a ban on access to the sea along Gaza's coast - specifically prohibiting swimming and fishing. OCHA says that for many, the sea has been their only option to wash, as there is barely any functioning water infrastructure and almost no fuel to pump water. Today, the temperature in Gaza is 36 degrees Celsius (96 Fahrenheit).
Meanwhile, OCHA reports that the amounts of fuel that Israel is allowing into Gaza are still nowhere near enough to keep life-saving services running. Shutdowns remain a real risk.
There was a small but important step forward today: For the first time in more than 135 days, the UN was allowed to bring in some benzene, which powers ambulances and other critical services. This is in addition to the limited amounts of diesel allowed over the past week.
However, these supplies are not enough. OCHA is calling for more fuel - both benzene and diesel - to come in regularly. The ban on shelter materials must also be lifted immediately. Lives depend on both.
Syria
As-Sweida violence displaces hundreds of families, strains healthcare
OCHA says that as of today, nearly 2,000 families have been displaced from areas affected by violence in Syria's As-Sweida governorate - including Mazra'a, Kanaker and Thaala - according to a local partner. These families are currently sheltering in a dozen collective sites, primarily in Salkhad district. Many are unable to return home due to damage, looting or destruction of their residences.
The health system in As-Sweida remains critically strained. Hospitals in neighbouring Dar'a governorate are also overwhelmed. These facilities are operating without power and face severe supply shortages, with some patients transferred to Damascus. Reports indicate that at least two doctors in As-Sweida were killed during the recent clashes, and some health facilities have been used by armed groups, endangering patients and staff.
The UN and its partners are mobilizing to deliver humanitarian assistance and assess needs as security allows, as well as engaging with interim authorities to facilitate access.
The World Health Organization has dispatched 35 trauma and emergency surgery kits - enough for 1,750 interventions - but many remain undelivered due to access constraints. The interim health ministry has also mobilized medical supplies to be sent to the area.
OCHA urges all parties to protect people caught up in the violence, including by allowing them to move freely to seek safety and medical assistance. Security forces must respect applicable international law, norms and standards throughout their operations.
Sudan
Hostilities, floods deepen needs in North Darfur
OCHA warns that the humanitarian situation in Sudan's North Darfur State continues to rapidly worsen due to relentless conflict, flooding and the collapse of essential services.
Heavy rains and flooding on 14 and 15 July displaced more than 400 people in the state's Dar As Salam locality, which is south of El Fasher, destroying dozens of homes, according to the International Organization for Migration. Displaced families are now sheltering with host communities, who are themselves struggling to cope.
Meanwhile, violence continues to take a devastating toll on civilians. Yesterday, five children were reportedly killed during shelling in El Fasher, where fighting continues on multiple fronts. The day before, shelling of the Naivasha market in the famine-stricken Abu Shouk camp reportedly killed six people.
The conflict has crippled people's access to food, medicine and healthcare, with many health facilities damaged or destroyed. The El Fasher Maternity Hospital - the only major hospital still operating in the area - is overwhelmed with patients, critically short-staffed and severely under-resourced. Cholera cases are surging in the locality of Tawila and nearby areas, and the lack of safe water and sanitation in displacement sites and urban areas is fueling further disease outbreaks.
Food insecurity is also rising sharply. The cost of the local food basket has risen by 15 per cent in just one month and is now more than double what it was this time last year, according to the latest data from the World Food Programme. The lean season, which runs through October, is pushing more families towards hunger, with market disruptions and limited incomes making food increasingly inaccessible.
Child malnutrition has surged in many parts of the country, including Darfur, according to UNICEF. Without urgent action, many children will not survive.
OCHA continues to call for an immediate cessation of hostilities, the protection of civilians and humanitarian personnel, unimpeded access across both borders and conflict lines, and increased international funding to respond to this escalating crisis.
Ukraine
Humanitarians launch winter response plan
OCHA says that the humanitarian community in Ukraine today launched its 2025-2026 Winter Response Plan, as the country braces for another winter amid escalating hostilities and ongoing strikes on critical infrastructure.
The plan - which requires nearly US$278 million - aims to provide winter-related support to more than 1.7 million people, including 356,000 who are displaced and 1.3 million war-affected residents at risk of extreme cold between this coming October and March of next year.
The focus is on four priorities: supporting vulnerable people near the front line, facilitating evacuations, responding to attacks, and assisting displaced people in collective centres. Key winter support includes shelter and non-food items, and water, sanitation and hygiene, as well as health and food security.*
Meanwhile, OCHA says missile strikes and drone attacks have continued across Ukraine, with authorities reporting that at least five civilians were killed and 56 others injured between yesterday and early today. Most of these casualties occurred in the Donetsk and Dnipro regions, where hostilities damaged homes and ambulances and disrupted vital services.
In the town of Dobropillia, in the Donetsk region, a strike killed two people and injured 27, according to local authorities. The attack damaged more than 300 apartments and disrupted electricity and mobile Internet services. Aid workers provided emergency shelter materials and psychological support to those affected. Since the start of July, Dobropillia - which is home to more than 22,000 residents - has suffered nearly 40 attacks.
Meanwhile, in the Dnipro region, attacks reportedly killed two people and injured a dozen civilians in Dnipro City and in front-line areas around the city of Nikopol. There were reports of rescuers injured while assisting civilians.
Across Ukraine this year, the UN and its humanitarian partners have continued to deliver vital assistance to vulnerable people in front-line and neighbouring regions - including Dnipro, Donetsk, Kharkiv, Kherson, Mykolaiv, Odesa, Sumy and Zaporizhzhia.
*Donations made to UN Crisis Relief help UN agencies and humanitarian NGOs reach people in Ukraine with urgent support.
Posted on 17 July 2025
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