Today's top news: Occupied Palestinian Territory, Ukraine, Bangladesh

Children in Gaza proudly display their marked pinky fingers after receiving polio vaccinations as part of a successful campaign that immunized over 187,000 children, surpassing the target of 156,500. Photo: UNRWA

Occupied Palestinian Territory

The World Health Organization announced today that the first phase of the polio vaccination campaign in Gaza has now been completed.

In a social media post earlier today, World Health Organization’s (WHO) Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that over 187,000 children under the age of 10 were vaccinated. He added that preparations are underway to roll out the vaccination campaign in south Gaza which will start tomorrow.

UNICEF said that the pause must continue to implement the remaining phase of the campaign otherwise we will fail to protect the children of Gaza and place other children at risk.

Also on the health front, the Ministry of Health of Gaza announced earlier this week the completion of the New Emergency Department at the Al Shifa Hospital in northern Gaza. The Al Shifa Medical Complex was the largest hospital and was destroyed in March after an Israeli military operation.

Health partners also report that the Az Zawaida Field Hospital in Deir al Balah has established a hemodialysis unit.

Despite these achievements, the health facilities in Gaza continue to be severely affected by the ongoing hostilities, access constraints and lack of supplies including fuel.

According to WHO, 19 out of the 36 hospitals in Gaza are completely out of service which is absolutely inadequate for the scope of needs. WHO also reported that in recent weeks, only two out of six planned missions to hospitals in the north were approved.

Ongoing hostilities, repeated evacuation orders, access impediments and other challenges continue to hamper efforts to reach people with life-saving assistance.

In the West Bank, OCHA reports that the large-scale operation carried out by Israeli forces in the north is continuing.

In just one week, between 27 August and 2 September, 30 Palestinians were killed, including seven children, marking the highest number of Palestinians killed in a single week since November 2023 in the West Bank.

27 of them were killed during this wide-scale operation where lethal war-like tactics has been used, including ten killed by airstrikes.

Four members of the Israeli forces have been killed in the same period by Palestinians in Hebron and Jenin governorates.

Israeli forces must adhere to international law enforcement standards, where lethal force and firearms are a last resort used only against imminent threats of death or serious injury and humanitarian access must always be facilitated.

Finally, OCHA reports that, since 7 October, Israeli forces have intensified movement restrictions in the Israeli-controlled area of Hebron city, disrupting access to livelihoods and services for thousands of Palestinians. These restrictions are further aggravating the already difficult living conditions there.

Ukraine

OCHA reports that another wave of deadly attacks struck Ukraine today.

Lviv City – a regional centre in western Ukraine and home to many displaced people – suffered one of the deadliest attacks since the escalation of the war. According to the authorities, at least 7 civilians were killed and 64 more residents were injured, including 10 children. More than 50 homes and at least four education and health facilities were damaged.

Kryvyi Rih, in the centre of the country, was also affected by strikes today, with local authorities reporting dozens of civilians injured, including children and six schools were damaged.

Immediately after the attacks, aid workers started providing medical and psychological support to affected people. They organized meals and drinks for affected residents and rescuers and delivered and distributed materials to cover the damage. People also received legal aid and registered for cash assistance.

The Humanitarian Coordinator for Ukraine, Mattias Schmale, is on a field mission to Kharkiv and Poltava. In a social media post, he condemned the latest attacks impacting civilians and civilian infrastructure and expressed his condolences to the affected families.

Bangladesh

Acting Emergency Relief Coordinator, Joyce Msuya, has allocated US$4 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund to support the response to the floods in Bangaldesh that have already affected nearly 6 million people since late August.

So far, a reported 500,000 people have been displaced in more than 3,400 evacuation shelters. More than 7,000 schools are closed due to flooding, affecting more than 1.7 million primary school students. The floods also caused an estimated $156 million loss in livestock and fisheries.

The UN and humanitarian partners are mobilized and supporting the Government-led flood response. We are also helping with local efforts to help the most vulnerable flood-affected people and communities.

These recent floods mark the fourth major climate-related disaster to hit Bangladesh this year. Since the end of May, nearly 13 million people, across 30 per cent of the country, have been affected by Cyclone Remal, Northeastern and Northern Floods and now these devastating flash floods.