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Today's top news: Occupied Palestinian Territory, Haiti, Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria, Burkina Faso

UNOCHA - United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

Occupied Palestinian Territory

More people in Gaza displaced amid intensified Israeli operations

OCHA warns that with intensified Israeli operations, the Gaza Strip is spiraling into an even deeper abyss.

Today, the Israeli military reportedly hit more buildings in Gaza city. Families gathered in the open after being warned that one of those buildings would be hit. While the Israeli military had instructed them to move south to Khan Younis, OCHA says many of them were unsure where to go next.

OCHA notes that since yesterday, the entire city has been under a blanket displacement order. Issuing displacement orders does not absolve parties to a conflict of their responsibilities to protect civilians in the conduct of their hostilities.

Today and yesterday, partners tracking the movement of people in Gaza recorded more than 10,000 displacements from northern to southern areas, mostly in the direction of Khan Younis. People are using any means possible, including donkey carts. As some families flee, many others are unable to do so because of health and safety concerns, or high transportation costs.

Today, several primary healthcare centres and outpatient therapeutic feeding programs in Gaza city had to suspend services amid ongoing strikes.

The UN Population Fund (UNFPA) warns that some 55,000 women are having to navigate pregnancy and childbirth amid perilous and traumatic conditions. Midwives continue to provide life-saving care, often under fire and with only the light of a mobile phone.

OCHA reiterates that under international humanitarian law, civilians and civilian infrastructure must always be protected and should never be a target. Civilian sites must also never be used to shield military operations.

Today, the Humanitarian Country Team of the Occupied Palestinian Territory - which brings together about 15 UN entities and some 200 NGOs, both international and local - issued a statement calling for a ceasefire and protection from forced displacement, as there is no safe place left in Gaza.

"We are witnessing a dangerous escalation in Gaza city, where Israeli forces have stepped up their operations and ordered everyone to move south," they said. This comes over two weeks after famine was confirmed in the city and surrounding areas.

The Humanitarian Country Team said that while Israeli authorities have unilaterally declared an area in the south as "humanitarian," they have not taken effective steps to ensure the safety of those forced to move there - and neither the size nor scale of services provided is fit to support those already there, let alone new arrivals. This leaves nearly 1 million people without any safe or viable options - as neither the north nor the south offers safety.

The UN and its partners called for expanded and sustained humanitarian access, including direct routes to both the north and south. They stressed that the humanitarian community will remain in Gaza city for as long as possible and will continue to do everything it can to bring aid and deliver life-saving services across the Strip.

The Humanitarian Country Team also urged the international community to call for an immediate ceasefire and uphold international humanitarian law, including the release of hostages and those arbitrarily detained.

Haiti

In Port-au-Prince, UN Relief Chief calls for urgent support to relieve immense suffering

The Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Tom Fletcher - who concluded his visit* to Haiti's capital Port-au-Prince today - stressed that the country needs urgent support amid immense suffering.

Yesterday, he visited Hôpital Universitaire La Paix, the only public hospital in Port-au-Prince able to handle advanced cases that remains open and accessible to people in need, amid the current security crisis. The facility has been pushed to the brink and forced to reduce even maternal care. Fletcher said women and girls are bearing the heaviest toll, with families who have lost everything crammed into makeshift shelters.

At a displacement site in the capital where many have sought safety from rising insecurity, Fletcher listened to people whose lives have been destroyed by brutal violence. Living conditions are extremely difficult, with many families displaced multiple times. The Under-Secretary-General stressed that people there want healthcare, clean water, education for their children, and to rebuild their lives - and the world must do better for them**.

He also visited a youth centre, where he met young people once trapped by violence who are determined to learn new skills.

During Fletcher's meeting with Haitian officials - including Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé and Laurent Saint-Cyr, the president of the Transitional Presidential Council - they discussed how to improve coordination between the UN and the Government, protection of those facing violence, ways to build long-term partnership for resilience, and the challenging political and security landscape in Haiti.

Mr. Fletcher also met humanitarian partners and members of the diplomatic community - and before his departure today, he visited a centre that provides support for women and girls who are survivors of gender-based violence, which has reached unprecedented levels in Haiti. More than 6,200 incidents were reported by service providers between January and July. Nearly half of those cases were rapes.

At the Kay Fanm support centre in Port-au-Prince, Fletcher met women who survived brutal sexual attacks and lost their families and homes in the violence. The organization - which is supported by UNFPA - is providing essential medical services and psychosocial assistance.

*B-roll and soundbites from Under-Secretary-General Fletcher's visit to Haiti is available via UNIFEED.

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

Sudan

Conflict, bureaucratic barriers, and attacks on aid workers hamper humanitarian access

OCHA reports that humanitarian access continues to be severely constrained in Sudan - with ongoing conflict, attacks on aid workers, and bureaucratic barriers continuing to pose severe obstacles to the delivery of humanitarian assistance.

No aid convoys have reached El Fasher, the besieged state capital of North Darfur, since January. Heavy rains have rendered key roads between South and East Darfur states impassable, further cutting off access to West Kordofan.

In the capital Khartoum, the response to a cholera outbreak and increasing returns of displaced people remain hampered by complex approval procedures and unforeseen costs.

Volunteers with mutual aid groups are also facing increasing risks, including arbitrary arrest and abuse. Last month, incidents of violence against volunteer aid workers were reported in Khartoum, East Darfur and North Darfur states.

Meanwhile, escalating conflict is intensifying concerns over the protection of civilians in the regions of Darfur and Kordofan.

Artillery fire reportedly struck multiple locations in El Fasher yesterday, while drone and artillery strikes on the Abu Shouk displacement camp on the outskirts of El Fasher and surrounding neighbourhoods a day earlier reportedly caused civilian casualties.

On Sunday, drone strikes in the town of Kuma, about 70 kilometres east of El Fasher, damaged civilian infrastructure.

Meanwhile, on Tuesday, the greater Khartoum area was also impacted by drone strikes which hit several key civilian sites including an electricity station, leading to a major power outage across the capital. The aerial assault shattered the relative calm that has prevailed there in recent months, demonstrating some of the risks that the civilians returning to the area in large numbers face.

These incidents also raise serious concerns about the growing use of drone warfare near populated areas.

OCHA once again calls for the immediate cessation of hostilities, protection of civilians, unimpeded humanitarian access, and increased international funding to sustain life-saving operations across Sudan.

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Surging violence imperils civilians in eastern DRC

OCHA is sounding the alarm over a recent surge in violence impacting civilians in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.

At least 89 civilians were killed in attacks by armed groups on the evening of 8 September in the territories of Beni and Lubero in North Kivu province. Local authorities report that a dozen people remain missing.

According to partners, at least 140 civilians have been killed in a series of attacks against civilians since mid-August across several villages in Beni and Lubero territories.

Humanitarian partners on the ground report that these attacks indiscriminately target women, children and vulnerable communities, forcing people to flee and leaving entire villages abandoned.

Since the second half of 2024, attacks have claimed the lives of over 2,050 civilians across Beni and Lubero territories, according to partners.

Bruno Lemarquis, the Humanitarian Coordinator in the DRC, is currently visiting Beni. Yesterday, he met with provincial authorities to discuss the urgent need to enhance the protection of civilians and to review the current state of the humanitarian response.

As violence continues to surge in North Kivu, Mr. Lemarquis warned that funding cuts are having a devastating impact on the humanitarian response. The US$2.5 billion Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan is currently just 15 per cent funded, with $377 million received.

Nigeria

UN fast-tracks support for people in Adamawa State ahead of forecasted floods

Emergency Relief Coordinator Fletcher has allocated $5 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to try to get ahead of severe floods forecast in Nigeria.

The CERF funding is part of a collective initiative and complements a $2 million allocation from the Nigeria Humanitarian Fund.

Partners supported by the two funds will focus on providing food, cash and shelter support for some 350,000 people in the north-eastern state of Adamawa.

Fletcher stressed that OCHA's pooled funds provide the majority of global anticipatory financing.

Burkina Faso

Funding released to minimize impact of expected flooding

OCHA has released $1 million to minimize the impact of expected floods in Burkina Faso, following heavy rains in the country.

The resources come from the OCHA-managed Regional Humanitarian Fund for West and Central Africa and will help two local NGO partners provide critical food, shelter and water, sanitation and hygiene assistance to 35,000 people in the regions of Centre-Nord and Sahel ahead of the forecasted floods.

This marks the first time that funds have been released from one of OCHA's regional funds as part of anticipatory action efforts - and it reflects close monitoring and cooperation between the UN, its partners, and the Burkinabe authorities.

Posted on 10 September 2025