Today’s top news: Occupied Palestinian Territory, Haiti, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ukraine, Myanmar

occupied palestinian territory

OCHA reports that Around 80,000 people have been displaced from Rafah. since Tuesday, when the Israeli army began its ground operation there. Most of these displaced people seek safety in Khan Younis and Deir al Balah. These areas lack the basic services needed to support civilians in need of food, shelter, and medical care.

In recent days, no humanitarian assistance – nor the fuel to power our aid operations – has been able to enter through the Rafah or Kerem Shalom crossings.

The World Food Program reports that its main warehouse in Gaza is now inaccessible. He says only one bakery is still operating and that food and fuel supplies are running low. Without them, the WFP says its operations will grind to a halt.

In a recent statement, UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell warned that without the arrival of fuel and humanitarian supplies, life-support services for premature babies will run out of power; children and families will become dehydrated or consume dangerous water; sewage will overflow and further spread diseases.

We continue to work with everyone involved to resume the inflow of goods, including fuel, and so that we can begin managing incoming supplies again.

We are counting on cooperation and facilitation to get these crossings back into operation as stocks of critical supplies, including fuel, are depleted by the hour.

Yesterday, OCHA – together with UNRWA, the United Nations Mine Action Service and the United Nations Department of Safety and Security – were at the Kerem Shalom and Rafah crossings to assess the security situation.

The area is highly militarized, making it impossible for organizations to distribute on the scale they previously did. The situation remains extremely fluid and we continue to face a number of challenges amid active hostilities.

Meanwhile, debris on the roads has made these routes impassable for the time being. We are exploring alternative solutions, including using the fenced path or other routes.

We reiterate that the parties’ obligation to facilitate aid does not end at the border or in a delivery zone. Help must reach those who need it safely.

Haiti

The UN and its partners are responding to recent attacks in the commune of Delmas in the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince. Meals, shelter and other supplies have been provided to displaced and host communities, and we hope to increase this assistance as security allows.

This week, the World Food Program distributed food to 264,000 schoolchildren and more than 5,600 displaced people in Port-au-Prince. The WFP also distributed food to the population of Cité Soleil, one of the most insecure neighborhoods in Port-au-Prince, reaching approximately 26,000 people so far.

Since the beginning of March, WFP has reached more than 680,000 people. It has distributed more than 800,000 hot meals to more than 94,000 displaced people in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area. WFP has also distributed school meals to more than 330,000 schoolchildren across the country.

Also since early March, we and our partners have distributed 8.4 million liters of drinking water to nearly 70,000 displaced people in Port-au-Prince.

Democratic Republic of Congo

The situation in eastern DRC, Goma, is relatively calm, almost a week after the May 3 explosions that claimed 18 civilian lives and injured dozens in displacement sites.

Our partners were able to resume their activities at the displacement sites the next day. Our partners provide food and water, essential supplies and medical care. The World Health Organization sent 24 tons of medicine for the wounded in Goma.

Meanwhile, OCHA says intensified fighting in North Kivu has led to new waves of displacement. Since the beginning of May, some 80,000 people have sought refuge in the territory of Kalehe, in the neighboring province of South Kivu. This influx has put significant pressure on the province that is already home to almost 2 million displaced people.

Access to Kalehe territory is limited due to security and lack of infrastructure, which is hindering the delivery of large-scale humanitarian assistance to displaced populations.

The 2024 Humanitarian Response Plan for the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which seeks $2.6 billion, is only 17 percent funded, at $443 million.

Ukraine

a massive wave of attacks The attacks that occurred yesterday across Ukraine affected civilians, including children.

In Kharkiv, several children were injured when a playground was hit. In Dnipro and Kropyvnytskyi, two more children were injured, according to local authorities. In addition, according to partners on the ground, several educational centers and a hospital were damaged in the city of Zaporizhzhia.

Meanwhile, authorities and power plant operators reported damage to critical energy facilities in the west and center of the country, also on May 8. In total, nine regions have experienced power outages and the system is still experiencing power outages today, according to the grid operator.

Humanitarian organizations are mobilizing to provide psychological support and deliver repair materials to families whose homes were damaged by the overnight attacks in the cities of Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia, as well as in the kyiv and Kropyvnytskyi regions.

Burma

The UN is deeply concerned about the escalating conflict in Myanmar’s Rakhine State. Civilians face devastating violence, growing tensions between communities, and forced recruitment by parties to the conflict.

Fighting is rapidly escalating between the Arakan Army and the Myanmar Armed Forces in Buthidaung, northern Rakhine. This comes amid reports that other armed groups are joining the conflict, raising fears of inter-communal violence, as well as fear among civilians and aid workers. As the Arakan Army approaches the city center, military airstrikes have also intensified.

All parties to the conflict are reminded of their obligations under International Humanitarian Law not to attack humanitarian workers or the facilities of humanitarian organizations.

Amid the worsening security situation across the country, the UN reiterates its call for the protection of civilians in Myanmar, the cessation of hostilities and humanitarian access. We also urge all parties to the conflict to end disinformation and hate speech and promote social cohesion and respect for human rights.