Today's top news: Occupied Palestinian Territory, South Sudan, Ukraine
Occupied Palestinian Territory
Lynn Hastings, the Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, briefed reporters in Geneva today, saying there are now about 1.4 million people displaced in Gaza, and nearly 630,000 of them are in UNRWA shelters, most of which are at least at 2.5 times their capacity.
She estimated that about 300,000 to 400,000 people are still left in the north of Gaza, and she stressed that we need to be able to deliver assistance to wherever people in need are living.
Ms. Hastings noted the limited resumption of aid deliveries through the Rafah crossing. She said that since 21 October, we have gotten in approximately 74 trucks, and we expect another eight or so today.
Speaking to the media in Jerusalem, Philippe Lazzarini, the UN Relief and Works Agency Commissioner General, said that we should avoid conveying the message that a few trucks a day means the siege is lifted for humanitarian aid. It is not, he said; the current system in place is geared to fail. What is needed, he added, is meaningful and uninterrupted aid flow and a humanitarian ceasefire to ensure this aid reaches those in need.
Mr. Lazzarini said that as of today, at least 53 UNRWA staff members have been confirmed killed.
South Sudan
OCHA said increasing violence and threats against aid workers and assets in South Sudan continue to hamper efforts to reach some 6.8 million people who need life-saving assistance.
A dozen such incidents were recorded in September, according to OCHA’s latest report on humanitarian access in South Sudan.
Despite these challenges, the UN and partners reached at least 4 million people in the country with aid, but needs are growing: As of this week, some 333,000 people fleeing the war in Sudan have arrived in South Sudan.
Meanwhile, inflation is rising, and the humanitarian response is underfunded: The Humanitarian Response Plan for 2023 seeks almost US$1.7 billion, but it is reported as just over half-funded, with just two months left in the year. As a result, humanitarian partners are being forced to reprioritize and even suspend some programmes.
Ukraine
The humanitarian community continues to deliver life-saving assistance in Ukraine amid ongoing attacks across the country.
Today, OCHA reported that a UN inter-agency convoy reached the front-line community of Huliaipole, in the Zaporizhzhia Region. The convoy carried medicine, shelter kits, hygiene items and other assistance to support some 2,000 people.
Huliaipole has suffered large-scale destruction and remains without power, water and gas.
Today’s humanitarian convoy was the thirteenth to the Zaporizhzhia Region this year. In the past 10 months, the UN and partners have reached nearly 30,000 people there with aid.
Earlier this week, NGOs delivered UN shelter materials to the Khmelnytskyi Region in western Ukraine, following an attack on Wednesday that damaged hundreds of homes, dozens of schools, and other civilian facilities. The supplies will cover damaged roofs and windows to protect residents as winter approaches.
The Ukrainian Red Cross and national NGOs also delivered emergency assistance, with partners providing legal and mental health support to affected families. Dozens of residents were reportedly injured in Wednesday’s attack.