Today's top news: Occupied Palestinian Territory, Sudan, Burkina Faso, Ukraine
Occupied Palestinian Territory
OCHA reports that humanitarian partners yesterday distributed tents to be used as temporary shelters in response to the latest evacuation orders in Gaza. However, stocks are running out and supplies are limited.
Staff of the World Food Programme (WFP) in Gaza had to relocate to other UN premises after being forced to leave their offices and guest houses in Deir al Balah.
Despite these challenges, WFP continues delivering lifesaving assistance. On Monday, nutritional supplements were delivered to communities in the northern areas, and trucks crossed the Strip to reach their destinations.
On the health front, following the delivery of polio vaccines into Gaza, humanitarian partners on the ground are now positioning them in 11 health centers and training over 1,000 medical workers and volunteers who will participate in the campaign.
In addition to the loss of warehouses and other humanitarian premises due to evacuation orders, it remains difficult to move around the south of Gaza due to the severe overcrowding and continuous displacement.
The access of humanitarian partners to northern Gaza is particularly challenging as it requires coordination with the Israeli authorities and passage through an internal checkpoint. The plans to fuel hospitals in that area have now resulted in access denied for five times in the past week, leaving some hospitals without new provision of fuel for over ten days. The dependency on fuel to run back-up generators is complete as the Israeli authorities cut electricity provision from the Gaza Strip back in October.
Meanwhile on the West Bank, OCHA is worried that people there are increasingly exposed to deadly attacks. Yesterday, five Palestinians in Nur Shams refugee camp were killed in an Israeli drone strike. They are among over 100 Palestinians killed by airstrikes in the West Bank since 7 October 2023, including over 30 this month alone.
Sudan
The Arba’at Dam near Port Sudan in the Red Sea State was damaged on Sunday due to heavy rains, collapsed and flooded downstream communities.
According to local authorities, 30 people died, but OCHA fears that the number of casualties could be much higher. Many more people are missing or displaced.
Some village residents were reportedly forced to escape to the mountains for safety, while others were evacuated.
Local authorities report that 70 villages around the dam have been affected – 20 of them have been destroyed, while 70 schools have also been damaged or destroyed and thousands of animals are missing.
Some 50,000 people living on the western side of the dam have had their homes destroyed or damaged, and people urgently need water, food, and shelter assistance. That is also according to the authorities.
The extent of the impact on the eastern banks is still to be assessed as road access has been cut off. Local rescue teams are attempting to open these roads.
An inter-agency team lead by OCHA has been deployed to the affected area. The team is coordinating with partners and the authorities and will support assessments to further determine the extent of the damage and people’s most urgent humanitarian needs. The team will also help to coordinate the response.
The damage to the Arba’at Dam is expected to have wider consequences as it is a primary source of fresh water for Port Sudan and will impact water supplies there.
Since the onset of the rains in Sudan in June, floods have wreaked havoc across many parts of the country with the most affected states being north and west Darfur, and River Nile state.
Before the dam collapse Sunday, more than 310,000 people have been affected by flooding across the country, including over 110,000 displaced.
On aid entering Sudan via Chad through the Adre crossing, OHCA reports that as of yesterday, 26 August, 38 trucks carrying much-needed emergency shelter supplies, as well as food, livelihood and nutrition supplies, have crossed the crossing.
In total, these trucks carried more than 1,200 tons of humanitarian supplies, which will assist more than 110,000 people.
Burkina Faso
OCHA warns of the severe humanitarian crisis that prevailed in Barsalogho, Burkina Faso, even before this weekend's terrible attack.
According to Burkinabe officials, at least 90,000 displaced people were living in Barsalogho as of last year. These families had sought refuge there from insecurity in surrounding areas, and their arrival placed additional strain on local services and supplies. All of Sanmatenga Province, where Barsalogho is located, is facing acute hunger, or IPC Phase 3, during the current lean season.
Insecurity in surrounding areas has also made it much more difficult to provide assistance in Barsalogho. Since 2022, access to the area for aid agencies has mostly required helicopter transport.
The tragedy in Barsalogho is emblematic of the unprecedented crisis facing Burkina Faso. The UN and humanitarian partners are committed to supporting Burkinabe authorities' and communities' efforts to provide assistance across the country, including in and around Barsalogho. We also want to help promote solutions to the crisis wherever possible.
The 2024 Humanitarian Response Plan aims to assist 3.8 million people this year. But so far, aid agencies have received just 34 per cent – or US$315 million - of the $935 million they require to do so. This funding has allowed agencies to help about 1 million people across the country, but much more is urgently needed.
Ukraine
In Ukraine, OCHA says that another wave of attacks overnight caused more civilian casualties and damage to civilian infrastructure across the country. Local authorities report that several civilians have been killed, with dozens more people injured and homes and civilian infrastructures damaged and destroyed, including a hotel in Kryvyi Rih.
The earlier wave of attacks yesterday - reportedly the largest missile attack since the escalation of the war in February of 2022 - damaged key energy infrastructure across the country. Nearly 250,000 consumers – families and business entities – were left without electricity supply in the Sumy Region alone, according to the regional energy operator. Railway infrastructure was also damaged, temporarily impacting transportation flows, essential for evacuating people.
Meanwhile, evacuations continue in both Sumy and Donetsk regions, with a mandatory evacuation of children and caregivers announced for another two communities in the Donetsk Region.
Humanitarian organizations continue delivering assistance to people affected by the strikes. They are also supporting people fleeing active hostilities.