Today's top news: Occupied Palestinian Territory, Ukraine

Occupied Palestinian Territory

The World Food Programme (WFP), in a statement, warns that the renewed fighting in Gaza makes the distribution of aid almost impossible and endangers the lives of humanitarian workers. WFP says only a lasting peace can end the suffering and avert a looming humanitarian crisis.

OCHA reports that yesterday, for the third consecutive day, Rafah was the only governorate in Gaza where limited aid distributions took place. In the adjacent Khan Younis governorate, aid distribution has largely stopped due to the intensity of hostilities. 

The UN’s ability to receive incoming loads of aid has been significantly impaired over the past three days by several factors. These include a shortage of trucks within Gaza; the telecommunications blackout on 4 December; and the increasing number of staff who were unable to report to the Rafah crossing due to the hostilities. 

Ukraine

OCHA says that an attack yesterday in Kherson City, in southern Ukraine, destroyed a local NGO’s humanitarian warehouse. No humanitarian workers were hurt, but the warehouse and humanitarian supplies burned down. 

The exact amount of losses is yet to be estimated. The humanitarian centre has been providing vital assistance to tens of thousands of residents of Kherson City and the Kherson region whose needs have increased in the winter weather.

This is yet another impact of relentless attacks in Kherson City. Yesterday, attacks led to several civilian casualties and a damaged health facility, according to authorities in the oblast.

The war in Ukraine continues to impact civilians and civilian infrastructure. Humanitarians are on the ground providing support. In 2023, humanitarian partners reached 20,000 people in the Kherson region with critical winter response support, including warm clothes, heaters, solid fuel, firewood and cash to buy fuel and pay for heating. 

In a briefing on Wednesday to the UN Security Council on the humanitarian situation in Ukraine, OCHA warned that millions of children, women and men are now faced with the prospect of yet another winter of severe hardship amid the impact of increased attacks on hospitals, electricity transmission systems, and gas and water supplies.

Speaking on behalf of the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Martin Griffiths, OCHA’s Director of Coordination, Ramesh Rajasingham, said that so long as the war in Ukraine continues, “the conditions that are causing such devastation and misery, and the ripple effects around the world, will persist.”