Today's top news: Occupied Palestinian Territory, Ukraine, Haiti
Occupied Palestinian Territory
There have been no humanitarian missions to northern Gaza today, as the Israeli army closed its checkpoints on two roads due to troop movements.
Yesterday, however, UNRWA reports that it undertook a joint mission with UNICEF to the north, to Jabalia. The agencies provided medical aid and water purification assistance to people there.
It remains extremely difficult to secure safe and unimpeded access for humanitarian movements to northern Gaza. OCHA reports that as of today, more than one-third of aid missions to the north in April have been denied or impeded by Israeli authorities.
Meanwhile, as hostilities across Gaza continue, the World Health Organization warns that it is extremely challenging to resupply and support hospitals working to strengthen and restore services.
Yesterday, Al Awda Hospital in An Nuseirat refugee camp, in Gaza’s Middle Area, was reportedly hit. In a social media post, WHO’s Director-General Dr. Tedros said the attack disrupted the solar energy system that supplies electricity to the hospital. Damage to water and fuel tanks was also reported. More than 200 staff at Al Awda have been providing services to some 1,200 people each day. Dr. Tedros repeated his call to stop targeting and militarizing hospitals.
As of yesterday, WHO has documented nearly 890 attacks on health care in the Occupied Palestinian Territory since the 7th of October. This includes 443 attacks in Gaza. Of the 36 hospitals in the Gaza Strip, 32 have been damaged. In the West Bank, WHO reports 446 attacks on health care.
Staying in the West Bank, OCHA reports that between April 18th and 22nd, 18 Palestinians were killed in the West Bank by Israeli forces. This includes 14 people, among them three children, killed in Nur Shams Refugee Camp during a large-scale operation by Israeli forces. Hundreds of homes in the camp were damaged, and several commercial buildings were destroyed. The UNRWA office in Nur Shams was also raided and damaged. The bulldozing of roads severely damaged water, sewage, power and telecommunications networks.
Since October 7th, nearly 470 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem -- the vast majority by Israeli forces. Nearly 5,000 others have been injured.
Ukraine
Kharkiv and Odesa - the second and third-largest cities in Ukraine - sustained another wave of attacks overnight, causing new civilian casualties and damages to homes and civilian infrastructure.
In the city of Kharkiv, the office and vehicles of a humanitarian partner were severely damaged in an attack earlier today, forcing the organization to halt its support operations in the area temporarily.
Local authorities in the Dnipro, Donetsk and Kherson Regions in the south and east of the country also reported attacks which injured scores of civilians and damaged homes and civilian infrastructure. In the Sumy region, local authorities report that several civilians were injured following attacks in the region.
Responding to the latest waves of attacks, humanitarian workers in Kharkiv and Odesa swiftly mobilized support to provide hot meals, distribute repair materials, blankets and other supplies to people whose apartments and homes were damaged. They are also providing psychosocial support.
Humanitarian partners also delivered repair materials and provided psychological services in Kherson and Sumy regions after the latest attacks.
Haiti
The UN continues to support people affected by recent violence despite the volatile situation in Haiti.
Yesterday, the World Food Programme and its partners distributed 3,000 hot meals to displaced people in Port-au-Prince. They also provided 216,000 school lunches with fresh local vegetables in other departments, and 5000 food rations in the south of the country.
The UN Population Fund and the World Health Organization continue to support health care services, including in three hospitals in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area providing maternal health care. They have delivered essential medical equipment and other supplies. The two agencies have also extended their support beyond maternity services, responding to urgent needs in sexual and reproductive health.