Today's top news: Occupied Palestinian Territory, Syria
UNOCHA - United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
Occupied Palestinian Territory
Gaza: UN and partners remain in Gaza city, call for protection of civilians
OCHA warns that the ongoing Israeli offensive on Gaza city could have an even more horrific impact on people across the Gaza Strip if it intensifies further.
OCHA notes that the Israeli announcement today that daily tactical pauses have been discontinued in Gaza city - which Israel now classifies as a "dangerous combat zone" - will further threaten people's lives and aid workers' ability to support them.
Aid workers on the ground noted that those declared pauses appeared to signal some willingness that humanitarian work should be allowed to move forward. Yet in recent weeks, they still observed bombing in areas and at times where such pauses had been declared. OCHA stresses that life-saving aid operations must be further enabled, not rolled back.
Moreover, forcing hundreds of thousands of people to move south is a recipe for further disaster and could amount to forcible transfer.
The UN and its partners remain in Gaza city to provide life-saving support, with a commitment to serve people wherever they are. They stress that their work must be fully facilitated and remind parties that civilians, including humanitarian workers, must be protected at all times. Humanitarian facilities and other civilian infrastructure must also be safeguarded.
OCHA notes that aid workers continue to face impediments to their movement inside the Gaza Strip. Yesterday, one in every four such movements - fully coordinated with Israeli authorities and initially approved - faced impediments and was unable to be fully accomplished. This is four out of a total of 16. These impediments undermined the planned collection of cargo from crossings and much-needed road repairs.
West Bank: settler violence injures and displaces Palestinian families
OCHA says that it continues to see very high levels of Israeli settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank - with a harsh humanitarian impact.
Between last Tuesday and this Monday, OCHA documented at least 15 such attacks that caused injuries or property damage in 13 Palestinian communities. Those attacks left eight Palestinians injured and forced six herding families to flee their homes, with 15 adults and nearly 20 children displaced.
OCHA says that settler violence has become one of the main drivers of displacement across the West Bank. In one pocket of Bethlehem governorate, around Barriyet Kisan, OCHA has recorded at least 64 Palestinian herding families - more than 100 adults and over 80 children - who have had to leave since October 2023 because of persistent violence and intimidation by settlers. Eighteen of those families were displaced just last month after being assaulted or threatened, or after their property was destroyed or looted.
Home demolitions in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, are also driving families away. Since the start of the year and as of this Monday, 873 Palestinians - half of them children - were displaced when Israeli authorities demolished or forced the demolition of their homes for not having the required Israeli-issued building permits required. That is nearly 40 per cent more than during the same period last year and double the number seen over the same period in 2023. OCHA reiterates that such permits are nearly impossible for Palestinians to obtain.
Across the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, civilians must be protected, and demolitions must be halted. Steps must be taken against settler violence as well.
Syria
Aid convoy reaches As-Sweida
OCHA reports that a humanitarian convoy involving the UN, the Syrian Arab Red Crescent and partners successfully reached As-Sweida Governorate via the Damascus-As-Sweida Highway 110. This was the first movement on that road since 12 July, as it has been closed due to clashes. Since then, convoys had been rerouted through less direct roads, adding to logistics and security challenges.
Yesterday's convoy included 19 trucks carrying relief items such as food baskets, hygiene kits, nutrition supplies, fuel, medical supplies and solar lamps. In addition, colleagues carried out needs assessments in northern rural As-Sweida Governorate and in the town of Salkhad.
As of 25 August and since mid-July, humanitarian partners report that clashes in As-Sweida Governorate have displaced more than 187,000 people across southern Syria.
The UN and its humanitarian partners continue to scale up the response*. Between July and August, nearly 370,000 people across As-Sweida, Dar'a and Rural Damascus governorates have received humanitarian assistance.
*Donations made to UN Crisis Relief help UN agencies and humanitarian NGOs reach people in Syria with urgent support.
Posted on 29 August 2025
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