Today’s top news: Occupied Palestinian Territory, South Sudan, Haiti

Occupied Palestinian Territory

The Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Martin Griffiths said in a social media post that parties must take all feasible precautions to spare civilians – including UN personnel and humanitarian workers – after one UN staff member was killed and another injured yesterday when their vehicle was hit en route to the European Hospital in Rafah.

The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in the Near East reports that families continue to flee Rafah in search of safety. The agency estimates that as of yesterday, nearly 450,000 people had been displaced from Rafah in the last week.

UNRWA says families are fleeing wherever they can – including to rubble and sand dunes.

All parties must respect international humanitarian law, at all times. This means that civilians must be protected, and their essential needs – including food, shelter, water and health – must be met, wherever they are in Gaza and whether they move or stay. 

The families being displaced from Rafah are arriving at sites that lack shelter, latrines, and water points.

However, it is impossible to improve the situation at displacement sites if supplies cannot enter Gaza – and if we lack the fuel to transport them inside Gaza to the families who need them.

Despite that, efforts are ongoing to deliver life-saving assistance wherever and whenever possible. Humanitarian partners report that work continues to restore health services at Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis, which is expected to formally reopen in the coming days. The hospital already started providing hemodialysis treatment last week to patients who can no longer be treated at An Najjar Hospital in Rafah – which has ceased providing services.

Meanwhile, the humanitarian community continues to face major obstacles – including insecurity – when trying to ensure that critical humanitarian supplies can enter Gaza.

Israeli settlers attacked aid trucks bound for Gaza in the West Bank yesterday. The settlers offloaded and vandalized the vehicles at the Tarqumiya checkpoint and near the Barrier by Beit ‘Awwa. Several trucks were damaged.

South Sudan

More than estimated 7 million people in South Sudan are likely to experience high levels of food insecurity through July.

OCHA’s latest humanitarian snapshot says at least 79,000 people are at risk of catastrophic levels of hunger – mostly in locations affected by conflict, economic crisis, and climate-related shocks.

Meanwhile, the influx of returnees and refugees from the conflict in Sudan continues to strain already limited services at border points and in host communities. Since the war in Sudan began in April of last year, at least 670,000 new arrivals have been registered in South Sudan – 80 per cent of them returnees.

Humanitarian partners are also mobilizing support for people displaced by intercommunal fighting in Tambura County, in Western Equatoria. An estimated 26,000 people have fled so far, and most residential areas around Tambura town are deserted.

This year’s humanitarian appeal for South Sudan remains severely underfunded – which is challenging response efforts. Just 11 per cent of the US$1.8 billion required has been received to date, some $195 million.

Haiti

According to first assessments conducted by humanitarian organizations, attacks on May 10 in Gressier, south of Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, have displaced some 4,400 people. Nearly three quarters of these people are sheltering with host families, with others seeking refuge in seven makeshift displacement sites.

This brings the total number of people newly displaced in Port-au-Prince in the past two weeks to nearly 10,000.

More assessments are being carried out and OCHA is liaising with its partners to coordinate the ongoing response.

UNICEF and its partners have reached more than 50,000 displaced children and families impacted by attacks since late February through their mobile clinics in Port-au-Prince.