Today's top news: Occupied Palestinian Territory, Sudan, Hurricane Melissa, Madagascar
UNOCHA - United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
Occupied Palestinian Territory
Gaza: UN and partners expand humanitarian response
OCHA reports that the UN and its humanitarian partners continue scaling up their operations in the Gaza Strip, in line with the 60-day response plan.
This includes movingcargo into Gaza and collecting supplies from the crossings. On Sunday, the UN and its partners picked up 80 truckloads - a total that does not include bilateral and commercial deliveries. Among the cargo collected was food, animal fodder, shelter materials, winter clothing and hygiene items.
Based on preliminary data, partners report that they collected nearly 750 pallets of relief items yesterday from Kerem Shalom and transported them to Gaza city. Another four trucks delivered medicine and medical supplies. Congestion and heavy traffic continue to hamper collection efforts.
Inside Gaza, since the resumption of general food distributions on 13 October, nearly 1 million people - half of the total population - have received assistance through 46 distribution points run by partners working on food security across the Strip. Efforts are ongoing to expand so that this month, families can receive two monthly food parcels, up from one in October.
Between mid-October and this Sunday, the UN and its partners collected more than 210 metric tons of animal fodder from the crossings, and the distribution of that supply to some 1,700 herders in Deir al Balah is almost complete.
On Sunday, partners providing nutrition services collected more than 120,000 packs of fortified cereal, a nutritional supplement to prevent acute malnutrition in children. This supply is sufficient to support large numbers of children for one month, helping bridge gaps caused by shortages of other supplements.
Partners providing water and sanitation services continue to scale up their responses as well. On Saturday and Sunday, they distributed over 2,400 hygiene kits and 900 dignity kits, as well as thousands of soap bars, buckets and jerrycans to displaced families in shelters. They also installed 10 rigid water tanks as community water points to improve delivery.
Furthermore, with humanitarian support, the Coastal Municipalities Water Utility began rehabilitating three water wells supplying neighbourhoods in Gaza city.
Meanwhile, partners providing protection support report that their services remain under severe strain due to displacement, damage and insecurity, with major gaps in the north. Despite this, they continue to respond wherever possible.
Yesterday, over 300 children joined protection and rights awareness sessions, while more than 100 adolescents and caregivers accessed psychosocial support. Another 300 children participated in structured learning activities, while children with disabilities received rehabilitation support. About 775 at-risk children and their families were referred for additional assistance.
Also yesterday, more than 700 women and girls took part in psychosocial and first aid sessions in the areas of Khan Younis, Deir al Balah, Nuseirat and Al Mawasi. Another 500 women in Deir al Balah and Al Mawasi area received dignity kits and menstrual health items to reduce health and protection risks.
OCHA reiterates that to fully deliver on the 60-day humanitarian plan, the UN and its humanitarian partners need a durable ceasefire, more functional crossings, the lifting of bureaucratic hurdles, safe and viable routes inside Gaza, sustained funding, and unimpeded access - including for NGOs.
West Bank: UN Relief Chief calls for protection and accountability as attacks on Palestinians continue
The Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Tom Fletcher, today appealed for the protection of Palestinians, amid reports of ongoing attacks by Israeli settlers across the West Bank. He noted that many of these attacks are related to Palestinians' attempts to harvest their olive crops.
Mr. Fletcher stressed that the failure to prevent or punish such attacks is inconsistent with international law - calling for perpetrators to be held accountable.
Sudan
Ongoing attacks deepen humanitarian crisis in North Darfur
OCHA warns that violence continues to intensify across Sudan's North Darfur State. On Sunday, multiple air and drone strikes were reported across the areas of El Fasher, Tina and Wana Mountain.
Local sources continue to report civilian casualties, but these remain unverified due to limited access and the difficulty of communicating with people in the affected areas.
Yesterday, the Director-General of the World Health Organization, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, condemned continued attacks on healthcare in Sudan, after the Kernoi Pediatric and Maternity Hospital in North Darfur was struck, resulting in at least four deaths - including children - and three injuries. He stressed that such attacks on healthcare must stop everywhere.
Despite the extremely dangerous operating environment, the UN and its partners continue to deliver life-saving assistance wherever access permits. In Tawila, which is hosting hundreds of thousands of people who fled attacks in and around El Fasher, UNICEF reports that humanitarian partners have reached more than 12,000 people who recently arrived there with safe water, while chlorination activities at 10 public water stations now serve 45,000 people daily. Given the huge scale of needs and severe funding shortfalls, it is urgent that donors step up their support for the humanitarian response.*
Mobile health and nutrition clinics continue to provide services for new arrivals, including screening children under 5 for malnutrition and admitting severe cases to outpatient therapeutic programmes.
Across North Darfur, UNICEF warns that the nutrition situation among displaced populations remains critical, with recent screenings showing 14.6 per cent of children under 5 suffering from severe acute malnutrition, the deadliest form. A staggering 45 per cent are acutely malnourished.
The UN and its partners are scaling up therapeutic feeding and vitamin supplementation programmes, while efforts continue to ensure safe deliveries and emergency care for pregnant women through mobile clinics.
Meanwhile, the security situation in the Kordofan region continues to worsen. Local sources report that at least 40 civilians were killed and dozens injured yesterday in an attack on a funeral gathering in El Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan State.
Once again, OCHA calls for an immediate cessation of hostilities and for all parties to protect civilians and respect international humanitarian law. It also urges all sides to ensure safe and unimpeded passage for humanitarian workers and relief supplies to reach all people in need.
*Donations made to UN Crisis Relief help UN agencies and humanitarian NGOs reach people in Sudan with urgent support.
Hurricane Melissa
Jamaica: over half the population impacted by hurricane
OCHA reports that more than 1.5 million people - over half of Jamaica's population - have been affected by Hurricane Melissa and are facing the loss of their homes and livelihoods.
Infrastructure has been severely damaged. More than 130 roads have been blocked, while power and communications networks have been disrupted. Access to some western parishes remains difficult due to roads being blocked by debris, as well as fuel shortages.
The UN and its humanitarian partners continue to support the Government's efforts to restore access, strengthen health surveillance, and ensure that life-saving assistance reaches those most in need.
Health services are under heavy strain. Several hospitals and clinics were damaged or destroyed, including the hospital in the town of Black River. This has prompted the deployment of an emergency medical team from the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), with further support planned. PAHO has also deployed a mental health and psychosocial support specialist to assist children and health workers. Hospitals report having only a few days' worth of food supplies, as well as critical shortages of water and fuel for electricity, which are affecting their ability to deliver care.
The World Food Programme (WFP) estimates that up to 360,000 people may require food assistance. Meanwhile, UNICEF and its partners are working to restore safe water and sanitation services, particularly in shelters and affected communities.
The OCHA-led UN Disaster Assessment and Coordination team is coordinating multiple assistance teams and aid arriving, in support of the Government.
Haiti: humanitarians step up efforts to assess hurricane damage and deliver vital aid
The UN and its partners in Haiti continue to carry out assessments of the damage wreaked by Hurricane Melissa and are ramping up their efforts to reach people in need.
According to the authorities, at least 30 people have died.
Joint assessments by the Government, the UN and humanitarian partners continue in the Grand'Anse department and will expand to other affected departments in the coming days.
The Food and Agriculture Organization indicates losses in beans, corn and fruit crops, as well as damage to fishing infrastructure. This is expected to increase hunger in a country where half of the population is already food insecure.
In parallel, humanitarian partners have begun addressing the most urgent needs - providing food, water and sanitation assistance and support in shelters.
WFP has reached more than 12,000 people across the Grand Sud region with food aid. Ten trucks carrying 325 metric tons of food have been dispatched to replenish the Miragoâne warehouse in the Nippes department to allow for further food distributions. WFP is also supporting the deployment of an Internet connectivity system.
UNICEF pre-positioned 2,900 water, hygiene and sanitation kits across the South department, reaching some 14,500 people.
The UN Population Fund has pre-positioned emergency reproductive health kits in 43 health facilities, covering up to 4,200 deliveries and 180 cases of sexual violence.
Despite a severe lack of funding, access challenges and logistical conditions, the UN and its partners remain committed to stay and deliver life-saving assistance to those most in need. OCHA continues to work closely with authorities and its partners to ensure a coherent, efficient and well-coordinated response, facilitating information-sharing and supporting collective efforts to reach affected populations.
The US$908 million Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan for Haiti is just over 21 per cent funded, with about $195 million received so far.
Madagascar
Drought and cyclones exacerbate hunger crisis
OCHA says that Madagascar is facing a deepening humanitarian crisis, mainly in the regions of Grand Sud and Grand Sud-Est, where 22 districts have been hit by a series of droughts, cyclones and other shocks this year and last.
The lingering impact of the 2023-2024 El Niño drought and the 2024-2025 cyclone season - combined with a malaria outbreak and strained health systems - has left many communities with little ability to recover.
As a result, Madagascar's hunger crisis is intensifying, with the number of people facing emergency food insecurity - or Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) Phase 4 - in the Grand Sud region expected to quadruple to 110,000 by January 2026. Seven of 11 districts are already at crisis levels of hunger, IPC Phase 3.
Cases of severe acute malnutrition in the Grand Sud region have surged in the past year, affecting nearly 160,000 children.
In districts such as Ikongo, global acute malnutrition rates are approaching 15 per cent, just as the area is also experiencing a sharp increase in cases of malaria.
Severe funding cuts have crippled humanitarian operations, forcing partners - especially in areas of acute humanitarian need - to shut down their activities and leave thousands of people without vital aid.
The National Office for Risk and Disaster Management, with support from the UN and its partners, has instituted a National Humanitarian Response Plan, which calls for nearly $185 million to address food insecurity, malnutrition and disease outbreaks through April 2026. However, the plan currently faces a funding gap of $125 million.
In support of this Government-led plan, the Humanitarian Country Team - comprising the UN and its partners - are urgently calling for $85 million to meet the most urgent humanitarian needs of 1.5 million people.
Posted on 4 November 2025
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