• Military Menu                       

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Industry
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• WMD
• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

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

UNOCHA - United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

Afghanistan

UN and partners scale up earthquake response

OCHA says that assessments and response efforts continue following the devastating earthquake that hit Afghanistan on Sunday.

Overall, the de facto authorities are now reporting 2,205 people killed and 3,640 people injured. Some 84,000 people have been affected, with 6,700 homes destroyed.

The UN and its partners have completed assessments in 25 villages across the provinces of Kunar, Nangarhar and Laghman. Roads and bridges have also been damaged, further limiting people's access to essential services. Dozens of water sources have been destroyed, worsening water shortages already aggravated by recent floods and heavy rains.

Despite challenges - including damaged roads and limited connectivity - the UN and its partners continue to scale up the response*. Partners working on food have distributed six tons of high-energy biscuits.

Meanwhile, 20 mobile health teams have been deployed to affected areas in Chawkay and Nurgal districts. Partners working in health have also transferred 23 tons of medicines and medical supplies - enough to treat more than 2,000 patients - to health facilities, along with 24,000 units of intravenous fluids.

The World Food Programme has announced the establishment of a hub in Mara Dara in Nurgal District connecting and providing support to its partners.

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

Occupied Palestinian Territory

Hostilities in Gaza city drive further displacement

OCHA reports that over the past week, areas across the Gaza Strip have come under heavy bombardment, with drastic consequences for civilians.

Military ground operations have been especially intense in Gaza city, as well as in Jabalya and surrounding neighbourhoods in North Gaza - and this is driving further waves of displacement.

Humanitarian partners warn that if conditions worsen in northern areas of Gaza, especially Gaza city, this could endanger the operation of the few remaining water and sanitation facilities serving nearly 1 million people.

Today, colleagues from UN agencies and NGOs visited two displacement sites in the Al Karama area of North Gaza governorate - Ahali an Nazla and Ad Deira - to assess people's conditions and needs. The visit followed reports of newly displaced families arriving.

Displaced families told humanitarian teams that they had been uprooted as many as 17 times. Those from An Nazla said they fled under fire, unable to take anything beyond the clothes they wore. Teams saw as many as four families crammed into a single shelter, others living under makeshift curtains, and babies sleeping out in the open. People reported challenges in accessing water and spoke of losing their incomes, leaving them unable to afford whatever goods that are available in the market. Many described water-related illnesses such as diarrhea and skin diseases.

They said they urgently need shelter materials and basic supplies ahead of the rainy season. With hygiene items lacking, people are cleaning themselves with toothpaste or washing their belongings with sand. Parents said their children had no access to school and expressed fears about sending them far from the site. Families also said they are cooking by burning plastic, as firewood is too costly and cooking gas unavailable.

Women highlighted the need for psychosocial support for themselves and their children. Some displaced people also recounted losing loved ones who were killed while seeking aid.

OCHA, which also participated in this assessment, stresses the urgent need for unimpeded humanitarian access and an end to forced displacement. It is essential that the Israeli authorities fully facilitate the transport of essential supplies at scale through all land routes, including those leading directly to the north.

Meanwhile, OCHA reports that inside Gaza, humanitarians' movements continue to be delayed and impeded. Although fewer missions have been outright denied by the Israeli authorities, approved movements still take hours to complete, with teams having to wait on roads that are often dangerous, congested or impassable.

Between 27 August and 2 September, out of 86 attempts to coordinate planned movements with Israeli authorities across the Gaza Strip, 50 were facilitated - about 58 per cent. More than a quarter - 22 missions - were initially approved but then impeded on the ground, while five movements were denied and nine had to be canceled by the organizers for logistical, operational or security reasons.

Facilitated movements included missions to transfer fuel, move and rotate staff, and collect medical and water, sanitation and hygiene supplies. Denied movements included missions aiming to retrieve nutrition supplies, inspect a dumpsite to expand solid waste operations, and repair roads to ensure safe passage of trucks along routes.

Amid these incredibly difficult conditions, humanitarian partners continue to provide desperately needed aid, to the extent they are able. Between 17 and 30 August, cash assistance was distributed to 6,800 households, prioritizing newly displaced families or those identified as being highly vulnerable, enabling them to purchase essential supplies. Partners also reached more than 38,000 people, including more than 2,800 children, with mine and explosive ordnance risk education.

Meanwhile, partners continue their efforts to reunite children separated from their families during displacement and hostilities. In August alone, 73 children -- nearly half of them girls - were reunified with their families and caregivers through partners.

However, these combined efforts are but a fraction of what is needed - and what is possible if the restrictions imposed on humanitarian operations were lifted.

Sudan

UN and partners reach landslide-affected area in South Darfur with vital aid

OCHA is coordinating the response to the devastating landslide that struck Tarsin village in the locality of Sharg Aj Jabal, in Sudan's South Darfur State, on Sunday, after days of heavy rainfall.

The death toll has not yet been verified, as ongoing downpours and rugged terrain make it extremely difficult to reach the affected community. The International Organization for Migration reports that an estimated 150 people were displaced from Tarsin and neighbouring villages, with families now sheltering in nearby communities.

Yesterday, OCHA and its partners finalized plans for a rapid inter-agency assessment and response mission. Today, teams comprising nearly a dozen local and international NGOs and UN agencies went to the site - traveling part of the way by donkey - to confirm the number of people affected and to assess and respond to urgent needs. They brought with them critical supplies for up to 750 people, including medical kits, nutrition support, food rations, plastic sheeting, non-food items, and water, sanitation and hygiene materials.

Mobile health clinics and emergency medical teams were also deployed to provide immediate care on the ground. The response aims to support survivors in Tarsin, as well as neighbouring villages affected by the disaster. The assessment's findings will guide the scale-up of assistance, with UN agencies preparing to send more supplies to meet additional needs.

These response efforts were coordinated with partners mobilized from Golo in Central Darfur and Tawila in North Darfur. Local communities, who were the first responders, remain central to the effort, while humanitarian partners are working to complement their actions and deliver life-saving assistance.

Meanwhile, OCHA warns that the situation in El Fasher, the state capital of North Darfur, is worsening, amid escalating violence and flooding. Local sources report that heavy artillery fire has killed dozens of civilians in recent days. Humanitarian access continues to be impeded, and women and girls face grave protection risks, including sexual violence.

Compounding the crisis in the area, heavy rains and flooding displaced some 350 people in Korma Town this past Monday, with latrines destroyed at the Korma displacement site. Families have sought shelter with host communities.

In recent days, flooding in the Zamzam and Abu Shouk camps has affected 4,300 displaced people, destroyed 900 tents and damaged 2,300 houses, according to local partners. These incidents further deepen the crisis in areas already facing famine conditions.

Meanwhile, cholera continues to surge, with partners reporting nearly 8,000 cases in North Darfur and more than 3,800 cases in South Darfur since May. The outbreak has been heightened by severe malnutrition, which has doubled in North Darfur over the past year, leaving children particularly vulnerable.

The UN and its partners are supporting the response to the outbreak by providing clean water and health services and conducting cholera vaccination campaigns, despite serious logistical challenges.

South Sudan

Floods impact hundreds of thousands of people

OCHA reports that widespread flooding is affecting hundreds of thousands of people in several parts of South Sudan.

According to local sources, more than 270,000 people are affected in 12 counties across four states: Jonglei, Unity, Upper Nile and Central Equatoria.

OCHA notes that these areas were already grappling with floods, displacement, food insecurity and cholera.

Farmland, homes and humanitarian facilities have been submerged, disrupting access to education, health, nutrition and water services.

More than 100,000 people in the counties of Panyijiar, Twic East, Terekeka, Pochalla, Fangak and Ayod have been displaced, seeking safety and shelter on higher ground.

Overcrowding at relocation sites has led to tensions among displaced families. Meanwhile, reports of waterborne diseases and snake bites are increasing public health risks.

The UN and its humanitarian partners are assessing and responding to the urgent needs of affected communities.

Meteorological forecasts predict above-normal rains between September and November, with peak flooding anticipated from September to December.

Ukraine

Deadly attacks strike Donetsk region

OCHA reports that attacks and hostilities in the Donetsk region of Ukraine over the past 24 hours have led to multiple civilian casualties and widespread destruction.

According to local authorities, at least 11 civilians were killed and more than a dozen injured, including a child, mostly in the front-line towns of Kostiantynivka and Druzhkivka.

Nationwide, at least 15 civilians were killed and more than 30 injured in the same 24-hour period, according to the same sources.

Today, local humanitarian organizations, with the support of UN agencies, delivered emergency shelter materials to affected families in the towns of Druzhkivka and Sloviansk.

OCHA notes that civilians continue to flee front-line areas. In August alone, more than 40,000 people were displaced from the Donetsk region, according to local authorities and humanitarian partners. Some 17,000 civilians - including 40 children - remain in 20 communities designated as active combat areas.

Humanitarian organizations, supported by the Ukraine Humanitarian Fund - the largest country-based pooled fund globally - continue to facilitate evacuations to safer areas and deliver life-saving assistance in the aftermath of attacks.

Posted on 4 September 2025