Today's top news: Occupied Palestinian Territory, Kenya

Occupied Palestinian Territory

The Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Martin Griffiths, warned yesterday that a ground operation in Rafah will be nothing short of a tragedy beyond words.

In a statement, Griffiths said a ground invasion in Gaza’s southernmost point would spell even more trauma and death for the hundreds of thousands of people who have fled there to escape disease, famine, mass graves and direct fighting.

Griffiths said a ground operation would also strike a disastrous blow to agencies struggling to provide humanitarian aid despite active hostilities, impassable roads, unexploded ordnance, fuel shortages, delays at checkpoints, and Israeli restrictions.

The Under-Secretary-General noted recent improvements in bringing more aid into Gaza, but he said they cannot be used to prepare for or justify a full-blown military assault on Rafah. Civilians must be protected, and their needs must be met.

OCHA reports that aid organizations continue to face a number of access constraints in reaching people in need of assistance across Gaza, including denials of planned missions or prolonged delays at Israeli military checkpoints on the roads used to move between northern and southern Gaza.

OCHA says more than a quarter of humanitarian missions to northern Gaza in April were impeded by Israeli authorities – and 10 per cent were denied.

We and our humanitarian partners continue our efforts to scale up aid operations whenever and wherever possible.

Today, the World Food Programme said it reached Beit Hanoun, in northern Gaza, which had been inaccessible for months. WFP says setting up storage space there will allow it to bring more food to Gaza city and other areas. The agency said it is ready to scale up food assistance in northern Gaza – but stressed that rolling back six months of starvation will require steady flows of food supplies.

Meanwhile, OCHA warns that the situation in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, is escalating. Our humanitarian colleagues report that there have been at least 800 attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians there that resulted in casualties or property damage since the 7th of October. This included the killing of more than 30 Palestinians by Israeli forces or settlers, the injury of nearly 500 others, and damage to dozens of homes, and nearly 12,000 trees and saplings. 

Kenya

In Kenya, the UN and our partners continue to support the Government-led response to the heavy rains and flash flooding. As of April 29th, we and our partners have provided emergency assistance to more than 124,000 people, including water sanitation and hygiene supplies, food, health and psychosocial support.

Our partners are also supporting rescue operations and the establishment of camps to host people displaced by the floods.

According to national authorities, the floods have affected more than 190,000 people and displaced over 150,000 people across the country.

The agricultural sector has also been impacted, with more than 4,800 livestock lost and more than 27,000 acres of cropland damaged.