Today's top news: Occupied Palestinian Territory, Ukraine
Occupied Palestinian Territory
OCHA reports that the UN and its partners are providing food assistance to newly displaced people in Gaza.
This is in the wake of the displacement last week of tens of thousands of Palestinians from areas of Gaza city in the north, and from southern Al Mawasi, in Rafah in the south.
Unfortunately, there are little to no shelter materials or other critical supplies available to support those newly displaced.
It continues to be nearly impossible to collect humanitarian aid from the Kerem Shalom crossing to distribute that assistance inside Gaza.
This is due to the lack of public order and safety, as well as ongoing hostilities, damaged roads, fuel shortages, and access restrictions.
OCHA reports that during the entire month of June, Israeli authorities facilitated less than half of 115 planned humanitarian assistance missions to northern Gaza. More than a third were impeded, nearly 10 per cent were denied access, and about 9 per cent were canceled due to logistical, operational, or security reasons.
Meanwhile, humanitarian colleagues warn that unexploded ordnance continues to pose a significant risk to the lives of people across Gaza, including internally displaced people and those returning to areas that have been bombarded or affected by heavy fighting.
Children are particularly at risk: On Saturday, a nine-year-old girl was reportedly killed and three others injured by unexploded ordnance in an area south of Khan Younis.
The UN Mine Action Services estimates that more than 37 million tons of debris in Gaza Strip contains about 800,000 tons of asbestos, other contaminants, and unexploded ordnance, noting that at least 10 per cent of fired ammunition potentially fails to function.
Efforts to scale up mine action work in the Gaza Strip continue to face a range of challenges, including insecurity, administrative impediments and the denial of entry of critical supplies into Gaza.
Despite this, humanitarian partners continue their efforts to address the risk posed by unexploded ordnance in Gaza. Between 10 and 23 June, five inter-agency convoys supported assessments of explosive hazards.
Ukraine
More than 100 casualties have been reported in Ukraine in recent attacks, which began last Friday and continued over the weekend, with the most severe impacts in Donetsk, Kharkiv, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia.
On 28 June, an attack destroyed an apartment block in Dnipro City in front of the UN offices and caused over a dozen civilian casualties, including a pregnant woman and a seven-month-old child, according to the authorities and partners on the ground.
The next day, on 29 June, another deadly attack – in the town of Vilniansk of the Zaporizhzhia Region - caused 38 civilian casualties, including 5 children, and extensive damage to civilian infrastructure. The attacks caused a large scale fire and damaged more than a dozen apartment blocks and houses, three education facilities, shops, and other civilians premises. That’s also according to the authorities and our humanitarian partners.
Cumulatively, authorities reported more than 120 civilian casualties, including nearly 40 people killed and massive damage to civilian infrastructure.
Aid workers provided emergency assistance, complementing the efforts of the first responders and municipal services. They provided medical and psychological support, food and construction and helped finding temporary accommodation for the people whose apartments were destroyed or damaged in the attacks.