Today's top news: Occupied Palestinian Territory, Ukraine, Syria, Democratic Republic of the Congo
UNOCHA - United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
Occupied Palestinian Territory
UN Relief Chief calls for Gaza ceasefire as starvation spreads
OCHA warns once again that conditions on the ground in Gaza are already catastrophic and deteriorating fast - with death, displacement and destruction continuing to be reported as a result of ongoing Israeli military operations.
The starvation crisis is deepening across the Strip. Hunger and malnutrition increase the risk of illnesses that weaken the immune system, especially among women, children, older people, and those with disabilities or chronic diseases. The consequences can turn deadly fast. Food scarcity is also having a severe impact on pregnant and breastfeeding women, as their babies are more likely to be born with health complications. It affects mothers' ability to breastfeed, putting children at increased risk of infectious diseases.
Life is being drained out of Gaza, as systems and services are on the verge of collapse. Just yesterday, the local health authorities announced that two more people died from starvation. In the meantime, the trickle of supplies that are making it into the Strip are nowhere near adequate to address the immense needs.
The Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Tom Fletcher, warned that Gaza is starving and called for a ceasefire now. "We must save as many lives as we can - and we have a plan," he said in a social media post yesterday. Mr. Fletcher shared that plan with Member States. It outlines the steps necessary to stop the horror, as well as the constraints placed on humanitarian operations in Gaza and the UN's proposed solutions to resolve them.
UN teams are in place to ramp up delivery as soon as they are allowed to do so. Their supplies - which have been paid for by the world - are ready to move. During the last ceasefire, tens of thousands of truckloads entered Gaza, with food aid reaching nearly every single person in the Strip.
What is missing right now is safe, sustained access. Aid workers face constant danger, crossings are unreliable, and critical items are routinely blocked. If Israel opens the crossings, lets fuel and equipment in, and allows humanitarian staff to operate safely, theUN will accelerate the delivery of food aid, health services, clean water and waste management, nutrition supplies, and shelter materials. Ensuring these elements are in place will be critical to scaling up assistance in the event of a ceasefire.
However, right now, various constraints imposed by the Israeli authorities on aid delivery continue to hamper humanitarians' ability to respond. One aid agency provided a recent example of a mission which faced multiple obstacles on its way to bring supplies to the agency's warehouse. The convoy was loaded and ready to depart Kerem Shalom at 9:39 a.m. that morning. Only at 6:16 p.m. in the evening was the team informed by the Israeli authorities that they would have to use a different route than the one originally planned.
The team also had to change the warehouse where the supplies would be dropped off, as the original site came under displacement orders the same day. The mission finally ended close to midnight, nearly 19 hours after it began. OCHA reiterates that humanitarian actors must be enabled to deliver aid safely and efficiently.
As access constraints continue, yesterday - out of 15 attempts to coordinate humanitarian movements inside Gaza - four were outright denied, with another three impeded. One was postponed, and two others had to be canceled by the organizers. Only five missions were facilitated, including the pickup of cargo from the crossings and the transfer of fuel.
The quantities of fuel entering Gaza remain insufficient to maintain critical facilities. The limited amount of fuel received yesterday has been fully allocated to support community kitchens, healthcare, and water and sanitation facilities.
Meanwhile, the Under-Secretary-General has written a letter to the head of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.
In it, Mr. Fletcher reiterated that the UN stands ready to engage with any partner to ensure that desperately needed humanitarian aid reaches people in Gaza.
However, he stressed that any such partnership must adhere to the globally accepted principles of humanity, impartiality neutrality and independence. This means that aid must go where needs are greatest and without discrimination, and that humanitarians answer to civilians in need, not the warring parties. These principles are vital to fostering the community acceptance and trust that underpin effective humanitarian action.
Mr. Fletcher said he welcomes dialogue on how to reach as any people as possible and alleviate widespread suffering - without causing harm.
Ukraine
UN Deputy Relief Chief urges Security Council to act now to protect civilians
The Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Joyce Msuya, told the Security Council that there is no safe place left in Ukraine - with renewed waves of missile and drone strikes devastating lives across multiple regions over the past week.
"Civilians in Ukraine continue to bear the heaviest burden - struggling to access food, water, power and healthcare," she said. "Nearly 13 million people need assistance, but limited funding means we can reach only a fraction of them."
Ms. Msuya noted that despite relentless risks, humanitarian partners in the country continue their vital work - reaching more than 3.6 million people with emergency healthcare, shelter, clean water and cash to families since January - but access remains precarious.
The Assistant Secretary-General stressed that humanitarian access must be ensured. She called on the Council and all Member States to exert their influence to ensure that civilians are protected and aid workers can reach those in need. Ms. Msuya also underscored the need to support the response.
"Ukrainians cannot afford delays or donor fatigue," she said. "Every contribution counts."
Syria
About 176,000 people displaced by As-Sweida hostilities
OCHA reports that as of yesterday, an estimated 176,000 people have been displaced due to the recent hostilities in As-Sweida Governorate, in southern Syria. This includes an increase in displaced people arriving in Damascus Governorate - in addition to those in As-Sweida, Dar'a and Rural Damascus.
The UN continues to work with its partners, including the Syrian Arab Red Crescent, to deliver assistance to those affected by the violence, but access - particularly to As-Sweida - remains highly constrained.
Meanwhile in northern Syria, local authorities reported a large explosion yesterday at an ammunition depot in Ma'arrat Tamasrin town, in Idleb Governorate. Six people were killed and at least 140 others injured, according to the local authorities. Syrian Civil Defense teams responded to evacuate people and transfer the injured for medical care - though secondary explosions in the vicinity have significantly hindered emergency response efforts.
These latest developments underscore the urgent need to sustain large-scale humanitarian assistance in Syria. However, severe underfunding of the response is challenging these efforts.*
The Humanitarian Coordinator in Syria, Adam Abdelmoula, yesterday launched an extension of the 2025 humanitarian appeal. The plan requires US$3.2 billion to support 10.3 million people in need through the end of this year.
But to date, only $367 million has been received, representing less than 12 per cent of the funding needed. Last year's response plan was only 37 per cent funded - a steep decline compared to previous years.
OCHA and its partners call on the international community to step up with timely, flexible and predictable funding to help millions of Syrians rebuild their lives and futures.
*Donations made to UN Crisis Relief help UN agencies and humanitarian NGOs reach people in Syria with urgent support.
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Stepped-up funding needed to strengthen cholera response
OCHA warns that the worsening cholera outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) demands an urgent scale-up of the response.
As of today, health authorities have reported more than 38,000 suspected cases and nearly 950 deaths since January, surpassing the total number of cases and deaths for last year. The outbreak has now spread to 17 of the DRC's 26 provinces, including Kinshasa, Maï-Ndombe and Équateur, which are non-endemic for cholera.
While the Government, the UN and humanitarian organizations are scaling up health interventions, significant challenges remain. Water, sanitation and hygiene services remain critically underfunded.
To curb the spread of cholera, a vaccination campaign has been underway since early July, aiming to reach 3 million people across 11 health zones in four provinces through the end this month.
Yesterday, an additional $750,000 was allocated from the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to support anticipatory action against cholera in the capital Kinshasa, where a significant increase has been reported. Kinshasa has recorded more than 1,500 suspected cases and 120 deaths since mid-April.
The new CERF allocation for the cholera response is the third of its kind in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2025, following earlier CERF allocations for the cholera response in North Kivu in March and Maniema and Tshopo in May.
OCHA warns that the risk of the outbreak spreading further will increase as the rainy season approaches between September and December. Immediate funding is urgently needed to strengthen health responses and address critical gaps in water, sanitation and hygiene services.
Posted on 25 July 2025
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