Today's top news: Occupied Palestinian Territory, Ethiopia, Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Occupied Palestinian Territory
OCHA reports that more civilians have been fleeing from parts of Khan Younis in Gaza today, following yesterday’s evacuation order issued by the Israeli authorities and the subsequent intensification of hostilities in that area.
Yesterday, about 150,000 people fled areas in Khan Younis, as assessed by OCHA monitoring population movements on the ground.
OCHA has expressed concerns about the short interval between the dropping of leaflets announcing the evacuation order and the escalation of military operations, which posed significant risks to those fleeing. Many have been observed on the move with none of their belongings. The immediate escalation of hostilities in the area also resulted in many people being trapped in the evacuation area – including people with reduced mobility and family members supporting them.
OCHA reminds us that each evacuation order profoundly disrupts people's lives. People have been forced to move into areas with little to no infrastructure – where there is very limited access to shelter, health, sanitation or other life-saving humanitarian assistance.
Evacuation orders also upend humanitarian operations. The area designated in yesterday’s evacuation order included two primary health centres and two medical points, as well as a dozen of food distribution points and eight cooked meal provision points. They have all ceased operations, with only one community kitchen still operational for those who have remained.
Today and yesterday, different sections of Salah ad Din road have seen security incidents involving live fire. Parts of this road, which is a key route for humanitarian movements, were included in yesterday’s evacuation order. As a result, humanitarian actors were forced to re-route many of their essential movements to the Coastal Road, which isn’t a viable alternative due to congestion.
The World Health Organization (WHO) says Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis has been forced to cope with an influx of patients, following the latest hostilities in Khan Younis. Some of the medical supplies that WHO provided last week – enough for some 10,000 patients – are being used to treat those injured in the latest mass casualty incident.
WHO says those injured in Khan Younis have also been taken to Al Aqsa, which is now at full capacity.
And just a note that displacement also continues from the northern Gaza Strip southwards, as well as within and from Al Bureij area of Deir al Balah, amid ongoing hostilities.
Humanitarian actors’ ability to support those newly displaced is limited. Nevertheless, they continue doing everything they can to provide health care and child protection services, as well as cash assistance, and essential items.
To update you on our efforts to provide crucial assistance to people in northern Gaza – humanitarian colleagues, led by UNICEF, managed to transfer pipes to the north yesterday. They will be used to provide water to Jabalya. A reminder that people in Gaza are now surviving with only a fourth of the water supply available before the war.
Meanwhile, WHO and its partners carried out a mission to Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza city yesterday. The team had been planning to assess the Al-Helou and Patient Friendly hospitals – but due to delays, they were unable to reach those facilities.
WHO is also warning that there is a high risk of the variant poliovirus type 2 spreading in Gaza and beyond without a prompt response to the outbreak. As you’ll recall, WHO said last week that six environmental samples of the variant had been detected in Khan Younis and Deir al Balah. No paralytic cases have been detected.
Ethiopia
OCHA reports that search-and-rescue operations in Ethiopia's south continue after heavy rains triggered three deadly landslides earlier in the week.
Authorities have reported at least 157 deaths in the South Ethiopia region, with that number expected to rise. More than 14,000 people have been affected.
Local officials – as well as police and health workers who were on site to provide support – were said to be among those killed.
Authorities and the Ethiopian Red Cross have already dispatched some initial relief to the area.
OCHA is coordinating a humanitarian assessment today, with UN agencies – including UNICEF, the World Food Programme, the World Health Organization and the UN Population Fund – ready to deliver critical supplies, including food, medical items, and water, sanitation and hygiene support.
That assessment will help determine the extent of displacement and damage caused by the rains and landslides. Right now, the most pressing needs for those affected are food, shelter, heath care, and water, sanitation and hygiene assistance.
Sudan
OCHA continues to be extremely alarmed by the worsening food security situation in Sudan, where almost 26 million people are acutely hungry, including more than 750,000 who are just one step away from famine (IPC 5).
Rising food prices, access challenges and the impact of conflict are compounding people's limited access to food. Last month, the price of local food increased by 16 per cent compared to May. It is also 120 per cent higher than June of last year.
People's hardship is only set to worsen as the rainy season takes hold. The Tine border crossing, which is used to transport supplies from Chad into Darfur, is currently impassable due to heavy rains and flooding. Many routes in the southern part of Sudan are also inaccessible.
We are facing a worst-case scenario. The humanitarian community in Sudan urgently needs access via all possible routes to avert a further deterioration of the situation. Additional funding is also crucial: As of today, this year’s humanitarian appeal for Sudan is just over 30 per cent funded.
Democratic Republic of the Congo
OCHA is concerned about the impact of deadly violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo's east that has continued despite a humanitarian truce announced more than two weeks ago.
OCHA says ongoing armed attacks against civilians in Lubero, in North Kivu Province, have constrained humanitarian access to several areas where displaced people have sought shelter.
Between March and early July, when the humanitarian truce was announced, violence in North Kivu displaced nearly 390,000 people in Rutshuru and Lubero territories.
Although that truce has allowed aid organizations to resume the distribution of medical supplies and other life-saving assistance to displaced people and returnees in Lubero, many still need critical support.
To reach them, aid workers – like all civilians in the DRC – must be protected. The extension of the humanitarian truce through 3 August is a welcome step, but it is critical that parties to the conflict work to definitively end the fighting and pursue a sustainable resolution.