Today's top news: Occupied Palestinian Territory, Somalia
UNOCHA - United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
Occupied Palestinian Territory
UN Relief Chief warns that Gaza's children are "trapped in a graveyard"
The Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Tom Fletcher, said today that the children of Gaza are "trapped in a graveyard," having been bombed, maimed, starved, burned alive, buried in the rubble of their homes, and separated from their parents.
"We must join world leaders, including President Trump yesterday, in calling for a ceasefire," he said during an event on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly's High-Level Week.
Fletcher stressed that humanitarians must be given access to reach Gaza's women, children and older people, who "cannot eat statements of concern."
He stressed that accountability must be pursued and noted that the suffering of children is not confined to Gaza, with children in Israel among those killed and taken hostage on 7 October 2023. In the West Bank, children also face escalating levels of violence.
OCHA reports that Israeli military operations have continued across the Gaza Strip, including in several neighbourhoods in Gaza city, where people were reportedly killed and injured and infrastructure damaged.
Today, the Ministry of Health warned that fuel is urgently needed for hospital generators in Gaza. Despite ongoing challenges, the Ministry said that Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza city has managed to keep functioning, albeit only partially.
However, the World Health Organization (WHO) said yesterday that escalating violence near the Al-Rantisi and Ophthalmic Hospitals in Gaza city has rendered those facilities non-functional, unsafe and inaccessible - forcing patients and staff to flee for safety. WHO warned that "with hundreds of thousands of people still in Gaza city and health facilities shutting down, more lives will be lost."
Since the start of the year - and as of 15 September - WHO has recorded 145 attacks on healthcare in Gaza, with more than 100 healthcare workers killed.
Meanwhile, partners report that people continue to be displaced from Gaza city southward to Deir al Balah and Khan Younis. On Monday, some 20,000 people - many traveling on foot - passed by the monitoring points operated by humanitarian partners in Deir al Balah and Khan Younis. The UN and its partners have distributed some bread and water to displaced people as they continued their journey.
Humanitarians continue to do whatever they can to reach people in need across the Gaza Strip - both in the north and the south.
In the past two days, partners provided psychosocial assistance to more than 500 children in the south, including opportunities for play and emotional support. Partners report that 70 per cent of children are having trouble sleeping, and nearly one in five are withdrawn or silent.
As of Monday, more than half a million daily meals were prepared and delivered through over 100 community kitchens, mostly in the south.
In the past few days, partners working in protection have established temporary collective shelters for women and girls with disabilities and are doing their best to provide them with assistance.
Aid workers themselves are also facing displacement and trauma, with some living and working in the same location.
Somalia
Hunger projected to worsen in coming months
OCHA says that food security in Somalia is expected to worsen in the months ahead, while low funding continues to hinder the response.
According to the new Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) analysis, released yesterday, the situation is expected to deteriorate significantly between October and December this year.
3.4 million people are currently facing acute food insecurity, down from nearly 4.4 million between April and June. But with forecasted poor rains, the number is projected to rise to more than 4.3 million people by the end of the year.
The situation is particularly dire for the 3.5 million internally displaced people in Somalia, many of whom live in displacement sites and depend on humanitarian assistance.
The analysis also notes that acute malnutrition remains at alarming levels. About 1.85 million children under 5 are estimated to suffer from acute malnutrition, including more than 420,000 who are estimated to suffer from severe acute malnutrition.
Humanitarian operations this year have been severely constrained by reduced donor funding. Somalia's US$1.4 billion Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan for 2025 has to date received only $289 million - 20 per cent.
Due to lack of funds, food assistance is expected to decline sharply in November and December, reaching only 375,000 people per month - covering just 9 per cent of those in need. This is a drop from 960,000 reached in July.
Similarly, the number of operational supplementary feeding sites has halved since the start of the year, from 617 to 300.
The IPC analysis calls for sustained, life-saving and life-sustaining assistance, particularly for the most vulnerable, along with predictable funding for humanitarian programmes.
*Donations made to UN Crisis Relief help UN agencies and humanitarian NGOs reach people in Somalia with urgent support.
Posted on 24 September 2025
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