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Today's top news: Occupied Palestinian Territory, Haiti, Sudan, Ukraine, Afghanistan

UNOCHA - United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

Occupied Palestinian Territory

UN facilities struck in Deir al Balah

OCHA warns that intense hostilities in Gaza continue with no let-up, as does the rapid collapse of the last lifelines keeping people alive.

Earlier today, local health authorities said that in just the past 24 hours, more than a dozen children and adults had died from hunger. Hospitals have admitted people in a state of severe exhaustion caused by a lack of food, and others are said to be collapsing in the streets.

This is on top of continued reports of people being shot, killed or injured while simply trying to find food - food that is only being allowed into Gaza in quantities that are far too small.

OCHA warns that in many cases where UN teams are permitted by Israel to collect supplies from closed compounds near Gaza's crossings, civilians approaching the trucks come under fire - despite repeated assurances that troops would not be present or engage.

This unacceptable pattern is the opposite of what facilitating humanitarian operations should look like. Absolutely no one should have to risk their life to get food.

Health facilities, which play a critical role in managing nutrition and casualties, must be supported. Instead, they cannot address these challenges properly, given the decimation of healthcare in Gaza. Hospitals have been overwhelmed with more than 2,000 trauma injuries over the past four days alone, according to the local authorities. Some have reported not having enough intravenous fluids. Due to lack of fuel, the Nasser Medical Complex and the oxygen unit supplying hospitals in the south are at risk of shutting down.

In recent days, UN facilities in Deir al Balah were struck. The coordinates of these sites had been shared with all relevant parties to this conflict.

In a statement by the World Health Organization (WHO), it was reported that the agency's operations were compromised by the destruction of a warehouse, located within the evacuation zone, and an attack on a facility sheltering staff and their families.

The staff residence was attacked three times, exposing employees and families, including children, to grave danger. According to WHO, in addition to air strikes that caused fire and damage, Israeli troops entered the premises. Women and children were forced to evacuate on foot toward Al Mawasi amid active conflict. Male staff and family members were handcuffed, stripped, interrogated and screened at gunpoint. WHO said that one of their employees remained in detention as of earlier today; this is out of four people detained - two personnel and two family members.

WHO added that its main warehouse - now destroyed and looted - had been a key hub for medical supplies, most of which are now depleted. The agency said that the attack fits a broader pattern of systematic destruction of health facilities.

In a statement, the Under-Secretary-General of the UN Office for Project Services, Jorge Moreira da Silva, reported that the UNOPS premises in Deir al Balah were hit, causing structural damage and cutting off power from both their generator and solar panels. There is also no running water at the site. Mr. Moreira da Silva noted that this is the same location that was hit by a tank in March, when a UNOPS colleague was killed.

While about 1,000 families fled in the initial hours after an Israeli displacement order was issued for parts of Deir al Balah over the weekend, no updated estimate is yet available. This is because the teams that normally track population movements are themselves affected: Some have been newly displaced, while others remain under heavy bombardment and face communication blackouts due to cable damage.

Colleagues report that - like everyone else in Gaza - they are hungry and exhausted. They can only confirm that many people have fled under fire, and many others have stayed, despite the massive risks, because there is simply nowhere safe to go. About 88 per cent of Gaza is either subject to displacement orders or located within Israeli-militarized zones. The 12 per cent that remains is already overcrowded and underserved.

However, the UN remains in Deir al Balah - its hub for humanitarian operations - with staff spread across dozens of premises, all of them with coordinates shared with the parties. UN premises are inviolable, and all civilian objects must be protected under international humanitarian law - in all circumstances.

Haiti

Thousands flee armed violence in Artibonite department

OCHA remains deeply concerned over escalating violence in Haiti's Artibonite department, which has triggered a new wave of displacement.

The International Organization for Migration reports that nearly 15,000 people fled after armed attacks on 16 July in the communes of Dessalines and Verrettes. Most sought safety in Poste Pierrot, a remote area of Dessalines, where they are being hosted by local families, putting further pressure on already vulnerable communities.

The security situation in the commune of L'Estère is also worsening. Further clashes erupted there between armed groups and local self-defense groups on Saturday, leading to additional displacement and damage to civilian property. This followed a series of coordinated offensives by armed groups between 14 and 17 July across several areas in the Artibonite department, including Liancourt, Jean Denis, Désarmes, Montrouis and Grande-Saline. In addition to casualties, preliminary reports indicate that homes and vehicles were destroyed.

Displaced families are in urgent need of hygiene supplies, food, emergency shelter, medical assistance and other essential items. However, OCHA warns that ongoing insecurity continues to severely restrict humanitarian access, making it difficult to reach the most affected communities.

In addition to access constraints, this year's humanitarian response plan for Haiti is the least funded of the country appeals coordinated by the UN, significantly limiting efforts to provide life-saving assistance at the required scale.*

This latest displacement adds to an already dire situation nationwide. Nearly 1.3 million people are displaced - the highest number ever recorded in Haiti due to violence and insecurity.

OCHA reiterates the urgency of scaling up humanitarian support and protection for displaced families in Artibonite and across the country. The UN continues to work with its partners and authorities to improve access, mobilize additional funding, and ensure that humanitarian assistance reaches those most in need - despite the increasingly constrained operating environment.

*Donations made to UN Crisis Relief help UN agencies and humanitarian NGOs reach people in Haiti with urgent support.

Sudan

UN, partners plan scaled-up support for hundreds of thousands displaced in Tawila

OCHA reports that the UN and its partners have revised and scaled up plans to respond to the overwhelming needs of more than 380,000 displaced people in the locality of Tawila, in Sudan's North Darfur State.

This includes 327,000 people - mostly women and children - who fled the famine-stricken Zamzam camp and surrounding areas following the outbreak of hostilities in mid-April.

The updated plan aims to increase life-saving assistance over the next three months, with a focus on food, healthcare, water, sanitation, shelter and protection. An estimated US$120 million is urgently needed to implement the plan and scale up the response, which has been unable to keep up with growing needs, despite relatively reliable access to the area for the UN and its partners.

The health situation in North Darfur is also deteriorating rapidly. Humanitarian partners warn that cholera, measles, malaria and trauma cases are surging in Tawila, as well as in El Fasher and Kebkabiya.

Widespread internet disruptions and a lack of rapid diagnostic tests are severely hindering disease surveillance, while insecurity has forced the closure of more than 32 health facilities. Critical shortages of vaccines, essential medicines and surgical supplies are pushing the health system to the brink, leaving thousands without access to life-saving care.

Meanwhile, displacement continues to take a deadly toll. The government's Humanitarian Aid Commission in Northern State reported that last week, 17 displaced people - including women and children - died of thirst and dehydration after their vehicle broke down in the desert.

The group was fleeing conflict in Tina, North Darfur, en route to Ad-Dabah. In total, more than 40 people were reported missing during the nearly three-week journey across unforgiving terrain, underscoring the extreme risks civilians face when fleeing violence.

In South Darfur, markets are reeling from sharp price increases, driven by flooding and seasonal rivers that have cut off supply routes from Chad and Northern State. In Nyala, the state capital, the price of a 50-kilogram sack of sugar has reportedly risen by 21 per cent in just one month, while wheat flour prices have jumped by 31 per cent - deepening food insecurity for already vulnerable families.

The hunger crisis in Sudan is having a disproportionate impact on women. Food insecurity is deepening fastest among households headed by women, with severe hunger nearly doubling in just one year - from 14 per cent in 2024 to nearly 26 per cent earlier this year. Today, three quarters of female-headed households in Sudan are food insecure, and nearly half report poor food consumption - almost double the rate from the year before, according to assessments by the UN and its partners.

Meanwhile, the UN remains deeply concerned over escalating violence in the Kordofan region. In West Kordofan State, at least five civilians were killed and several others injured in drone strikes on fuel markets in Al Fula and Abu Zabad towns yesterday, according to local reports. Massive fires destroyed both markets, sparking panic among the population.

OCHA urgently calls for an immediate cessation of hostilities, the protection of civilians and humanitarian personnel, unimpeded access across conflict lines and borders, and increased international support to address the spiraling humanitarian needs across Sudan.

Ukraine

Civilian casualties, widespread damage reported after latest attacks

OCHA reports that hostilities in Ukraine yesterday and into the early hours of today killed at least five civilians, including a child, and injured 76 others, including four children, according to authorities.

Widespread damage was reported across Ukraine, with numerous residential buildings, a theatre, a church, three schools, a shopping centre, a petrol station, agricultural property, and more than a dozen civilian vehicles destroyed or damaged. Essential services were also disrupted.

Meanwhile, strikes in the Sumy and Donetsk regions, in the east of the country, continue to drive displacement.

OCHA warns that the humanitarian situation in the town of Pokrovsk and nearby villages in the Donetsk region is worsening as fighting nears. Authorities say all critical infrastructure has been destroyed, and about 1,400 people remain, with most of them taking shelter in basements. Local authorities are maintaining a few water points and distributing food and medicine, but fuel delivery is impossible, and the last shops are expected to close. Authorities are urging civilians to evacuate, although these efforts are highly constrained and carried out by specialized police in armoured vehicles.

Humanitarian partners are supporting evacuees in transit centres with cash and other assistance. In the Dnipro region, support from the Ukraine Humanitarian Fund is helping aid organizations assist newly displaced people at a transit centre in Pavlohrad City. This includes providing psychosocial support, legal aid, and help with recovering lost documents. Last week, nearly 400 people, including over 80 children, received aid at the centre, which now supports more than 200 people daily.

Afghanistan

UN Relief Chief fast-tracks support amid surge in returns from Iran

Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher has allocated $10 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund to scale up life-saving assistance at Afghanistan's border, amid an alarming surge in returns from Iran in recent weeks. The new funding will help expand support for the most vulnerable - including women and children - as they arrive and in their areas of return.

During the first 12 days of July alone, some 339,000 people returned from Iran to Afghanistan, according to UN agencies - bringing the total number to 1.1 million so far this year.

Families account for over 60 per cent of the total returns from Iran, and 43 per cent of those returning are children under the age of 18, including a growing number of unaccompanied and separated children - raising serious protection concerns.

The majority of the recent returnees are traveling onward to the urban centres of Herat and the capital Kabul, and many need urgent support. The new arrivals are also putting further pressure on already vulnerable host communities, as services are limited and resources scarce in many areas where people are returning.

The UN and its partners are responding to the escalating needs wherever and whenever possible. So far this year, nearly 600,000 people have received food assistance at the border upon their return, with over 500,000 receiving health support.

However, additional funding is sorely needed. Halfway through the year, the Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan for Afghanistan is less than a quarter funded, with a funding gap of over $1.8 billion. OCHA continues to call on donors to support the people of Afghanistan.

Posted on 22 July 2025