Today's top news: Occupied Palestinian Territory, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti
UNOCHA - United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
Occupied Palestinian Territory
Hostilities drive further death, displacement in Gaza
OCHA warns that the continued onslaught and mass deprivation of people in the Gaza Strip are being normalized. Every day brings more preventable deaths, displacement and desperation.
Just today, the Israeli authorities issued yet another displacement order, this time for parts of North Gaza. OCHA also continues to receive deeply troubling reports of malnourished children and adults being admitted to hospitals with little resources available to treat them properly.
OCHA warns that the energy crisis in Gaza continues to deepen, despite the resumption of limited fuel imports. This is because the small quantities entering - while critical to continue - remain at lower levels than what was previously able to be extracted from dwindling internal reserves, which are now fully depleted.
The depletion of fuel has forced solid waste collection to pause over the past couple of days, and additional water wells have also had to shut down, particularly in Deir al Balah. While specific health services - including dialysis - have reduced or shut down, others could go on for a few more days before they, too, will have to go dark. With every day that passes, people have less clean water and healthcare and more sewage flooding ground floors.
Since the limited entry of fuel supplies resumed on 9 July, the UN has managed to send just over 600,000 litres of diesel to Kerem Shalom. Yesterday, for the first time, the UN was also able to send 35,000 litres of much-needed benzene. These volumes are limited because Israeli authorities have allowed only 14 trucks over the past week. On average, this is 55,000 litres per day, including the weekends, when the crossing is closed.
To sustain life-saving operations, hundreds of thousands of litres of fuel are needed every single day. The limited fuel now coming in is being allocated primarily to health, water and telecommunications services, as well as to power vehicles.
Fuel is offloaded into an underground pipeline on the Israeli side of Kerem Shalom, then extracted on the Gaza side by separate Palestinian tankers. This is another chokepoint: The compound is fenced off and heavily militarized. For drivers to access it, Israeli authorities must pause hostilities, give the green light, and allow enough time for extraction and safe return of UN teams through highly dangerous terrain. This creates delays and further undermines the predictability of fuel flows.
Meanwhile, humanitarian movements inside Gaza continue to be restricted. Yesterday, seven out of 13 attempts to coordinate the movement of aid workers and supplies with the Israeli authorities were facilitated, allowing humanitarian teams to retrieve some fuel, collect some water, relocate generators, provide supplies related to hygiene and sanitation, and transfer much-needed medical supplies. However, the six remaining attempts were either denied outright or approved initially but then faced impediments on the ground.
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Civilians flee deadly armed clashes in eastern DRC
OCHA reports that ongoing violence in South Kivu and North Kivu provinces, in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, continues to claim the lives of civilians and trigger new displacement.
In North Kivu, partners on the ground in the territories of Rutshuru and Lubero reported that fighting between M23 and other armed groups continued until 15 July. As of earlier this week, eight civilians had reportedly been killed, with more than 42,500 fleeing the fighting.
In South Kivu, heavy clashes between M23 and other armed groups have persisted since early July in several territories - including Walungu, Kabare, Fizi, Mwenga and Kalehe. Local partners say the fighting has displaced at least 37,000 people from their homes.
A humanitarian convoy coordinated by OCHA - which was primarily planned for today along the road between the provincial capital, Bukavu, and the city of Uvira - has been postponed due to a lack of necessary security guarantees for that route.
Meanwhile, in villages along the border between North Kivu and Ituri provinces, attacks by ADF armed groups have reportedly killed at least 65 civilians, with dozens more injured. Many others remain missing. Significant displacement has been reported toward Beni and Mambasa territories. While precise figures are still being verified, humanitarian partners stress that civilians urgently need humanitarian assistance - especially food, shelter, education and basic services.
Partners and teams on the ground are doing their best to maintain services for those affected, but access restrictions and severe funding shortages pose significant obstacles. Halfway through the year, the US$2.54 billion response plan for the DRC is less than 13 per cent funded, with about $321 million received to date.
Brutal funding cuts are putting the lives of millions of people in the DRC at risk, as many partners are forced to scale back their operations, disrupting essential services for those in need. OCHA calls on the international community to take urgent action to address these severe funding gaps and stave off a humanitarian tragedy.*
*Donations made to UN Crisis Relief help UN agencies and humanitarian NGOs reach people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo with urgent support.
Haiti
Widespread insecurity fuels displacement, deepens needs
OCHA stresses the need to scale up support for displaced families in Haiti, amid widespread insecurity that continues to drive people from their homes.
As of last month, there were nearly 250 active displacement sites across Haiti. However, the vast majority are informal sites - with just over a fifth managed by humanitarian organizations, in collaboration with local authorities. This means that many families are living in precarious conditions.
Since the beginning of the year, the UN and its partners have provided support to more than 113,000 displaced people, including essential services such as water, shelter, sanitation and healthcare.
However, the needs are vast: Nearly 1.3 million people are now internally displaced in Haiti - the highest number ever recorded in the country due to violence.
In June alone, more than 200 alerts were reported across displacement sites. These alerts are reports of urgent problems, such as lack of water, food, shelter or healthcare. Over 80 per cent were related to essential needs. These figures underscore the need to step up humanitarian assistance to help ensure the safety and dignity of displaced people living in extremely difficult conditions.
But the overall response remains severely constrained by limited funding and persistent insecurity. This is hampering humanitarian access to the most affected areas and delaying the delivery of aid.
OCHA continues to work closely with Haitian authorities and humanitarian partners to coordinate relief efforts, strengthen on-the-ground presence, and mobilize additional resources to support displaced communities.
Posted on 18 July 2025
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