Today's top news: Occupied Palestinian Territory, Haiti, Sudan, Mali, Hurricane Beryl, Ukraine

Occupied Palestinian Territory

Civilians displaced by the ongoing hostilities in Gaza continue to face harrowing conditions.

OCHA took part in a mission to three sites in Gaza city today to assess the needs of people displaced in the wake of Israel’s latest evacuation orders.

That mission was led by the Deputy Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Scott Anderson – with the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, UNICEF, the UN Mine Action Service, the UN Department of Safety and Security, and the NGO ACTED also taking part.

The team said those displaced urgently need food, water, health care and protection.

People fleeing from other parts of Gaza city told Anderson that they were uncertain whether there would be any humanitarian support available in the places they are seeking shelter.

The assessment team heard from women about the specific challenges they face, including lack of privacy and access to hygiene products, as well as difficulties feeding their infants. They also witnessed how the lack of fuel is undermining aid organizations’ efforts to provide critical services to displaced families.

OCHA reports that active hostilities, damaged roads, access restrictions and a lack of public order and safety continue to prevent aid organizations from obtaining adequate supplies of fuel. Movement along the main humanitarian cargo route between the Kerem Shalom crossing and central Gaza remains extremely difficult. As a result, just a quarter of the fuel supply needed to sustain humanitarian operations this month has been accessible in Gaza as of Wednesday.

Gaza has been under a power blackout since October – so we need fuel to run the back-up generators that power hospitals, bakeries, and water, sanitation and hygiene facilities.

Haiti

OCHA says the people of Haiti continue to pay a heavy price for the widespread violence that has ravaged the country.

Speaking from Port-au-Prince at the conclusion of a four-day visit to the capital and other parts of Haiti, OCHA’s Operations and Advocacy Director, Edem Wosornu, said the country has been “rocked by one disaster after the next.” She briefed journalists at UN Headquarters remotely, alongside officials from UNICEF and European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid (ECHO).

During their joint visit, the aid officials saw firsthand how Haitians are coping with the crisis, including farmers, women entrepreneurs, and children who are out of school. Wosornu called on the international community to stand with Haitians, saying people there told her they want peace and an end to the violence so that they can reclaim their lives.

Sudan

OCHA is deeply concerned about a surge in displacement due to the ongoing fighting in Sudan's Sennar State, in the south-east of the country.

Yesterday alone, armed clashes in the village of Maiurno forced about 100 families to flee their homes, according to sources on the ground. Civilian casualties were also reported.

The International Organization for Migration says more than 150,000 people in Sennar have reportedly been displaced both inside and outside the state since 24 June.

We and our partners are supporting those who have fled the fighting in Sennar. So far, the World Food Programme (WFP) has provided assistance to nearly 46,000 people displaced to Blue Nile State farther south, as well as some 3,000 people who fled to neighbouring Gedaref State.

WFP says the fighting in Sennar signals an alarming spread of conflict eastward, towards Port Sudan.

In addition to rising insecurity, OCHA is deeply concerned that the expansion of the fighting may sever an important route for the transport of humanitarian assistance from Port Sudan.

OCHA once again underscores that the parties must de-escalate immediately and uphold their obligations under international humanitarian law – to protect civilians and facilitate humanitarian access.

Mali

The UN and partners continue to support Mali's Government-led humanitarian response, despite access and funding constraints. OCHA estimates that during the first quarter of the year, they were able to assist 600,000 people.

However, needs continue to rise, amid an influx of refugees and asylum seekers, mainly from Burkina Faso – as well as the start of the lean season.

More than 1.3 million people in Mali are suffering from acute hunger – that’s IPC Phase 3 or higher. This includes more than 2,500 people who are facing catastrophic conditions – IPC Phase 5.

According to Government figures, more than 330,000 people in Mali are internally displaced as of the end of May. Although overall displacement has decreased slightly since the start of the year, it is still rising in some parts of the country. This includes areas affected by insecurity in northern and eastern Mali, including in Bandiagara, Gao and Menaka. The vast majority of those displaced – some 86 per cent – are women and children. 

Stepped-up funding for the humanitarian response in Mali is critical – as is an improvement in the security situation that will allow aid organizations to access and deliver assistance to people in hard-to-reach areas.

Six months into the year, the US$700 million Humanitarian Response Plan for Mali is less than 19 per cent funded, with $130 million received to date.

Hurricane Beryl

Humanitarian colleagues, including teams from OCHA and the UN Disaster Assessment and Coordination, continue to ramp up the response and to complete assessments of the damage caused by Hurricane Beryl in Grenada, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Jamaica.

We are also supporting the delivery of food, plastic sheeting and hygiene kits, among other supplies.

In Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and in Grenada, access to remote islands continue to be a challenge due to limited electricity and impassable roads. The islands of Carriacou and Petite Martinique in Grenada lack of electricity, which is hampering communications, and there is an urgent need for generators.

People are seeking refuge in schools and churches in some of these smaller islands due to damage to emergency shelters, and evacuations to the mainland of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines are continuing.

Ukraine

Escalating fighting along the front lines in the east and the south of Ukraine continues to impact communities.

Yesterday, 11 July, strikes in the Donetsk region, in eastern Ukraine, resulted in casualties on both sides of the front line, according to the Ukrainian administration and Russian-installed authorities.

Ukrainian authorities reported that strikes in the town of Myrhohrad, also in Donetsk, killed a 15-year-old boy and injured two 13-year-old children, along with 11 other adults. Multiple homes and two education facilities were damaged.

Aid organizations immediately mobilized emergency support, including by providing bottled water and material to cover the damage to homes. The Ukrainian Red Cross provided first aid and psychological support.

Meanwhile, in the south, an inter-agency convoy delivered four truckloads of food, hygiene supplies, clothes and other essential items to the frontline community of Mylove in the Kherson region. Civilians infrastructure in the area has been severely damaged by ongoing hostilities, and several villages have been without electricity since 2022.