Today's top news: Occupied Palestinian Territory, Haiti, Chad, Zimbabwe, Kuwait, Syria

Occupied Palestinian Territory

The Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Martin Griffiths, says civilians in Gaza are being starved and killed, and the humanitarian community is prevented from helping them.

In a social media post yesterday, Griffiths said nothing and no one has been allowed in or out of Gaza for days. He warned that the closure of the crossings means no fuel, trucks, generators, water or electricity – and no movement of people or goods.

“It means no aid,” the Under-Secretary-General said. “Our supplies are stuck. Our teams are stuck.”

OCHA says ground incursions and heavy fighting continue to be reported in eastern Rafah, including around the Kerem Shalom and Rafah crossings.

The Executive Director of the World Health Organization, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said a WHO staff member, his spouse and their child were injured two days ago in Rafah when their home was destroyed due to an airstrike nearby. The staff member’s seven-year-old niece was killed. Dr. Tedros called for the protection of all civilians and humanitarian workers. 

UNRWA reports that more than 142,000 people [142,828 as of 10 May] already displaced from Rafah are facing dire shortages of food, water, shelter and sanitation services.

Humanitarian partners working on the health response in Gaza warn that with fuel supplies dwindling – five hospitals, five field hospitals, 17 primary health care centres, nearly two dozen medical points and 28 ambulances will only be able to sustain their operations for less than 48 hours.

Meanwhile, eight bakeries supported by the World Food Programme in southern Gaza have already ceased operations, and four others will soon run out of fuel and supplies. The four operational bakeries in northern Gaza have one week of supplies available to make bread. 

Humanitarian missions to northern Gaza continue to face significant access constraints. As of yesterday, only nine of 32 aid missions to northern Gaza this month have been facilitated by Israeli authorities.

Haiti

Humanitarian colleagues warn that the prevalence of sexual and gender-based violence has reached an alarming level in the country. According to a joint report by Haiti's Government and our humanitarian partners released today, the number of gender-based violence survivors was five times higher in March than it was in January and February combined.

Some three-quarters of the cases concern sexual violence, with 94 per cent of survivors being girls and women, while 78 per cent of survivors are internally displaced people.

The number of cases of gender-based violence committed by members of armed groups represents 72 per cent of reported incidents.

Humanitarian organizations continue to support survivors, with 90 per cent of survivors having received psychosocial support and 25 per cent of rape victims receiving medical care within 72 hours following the incident. More than 1,300 dignity kits have been distributed to displaced people living in sites.

Despite the increasing number of gender-based violence cases, humanitarian organizations have only received 7 percent of the funding required to prevent these cases and support survivors. We urgently need additional resources to strengthen the response and provide legal assistance, medical care, psychosocial support, and livelihood means for survivors.

Chad

Chad continues to face a protracted humanitarian crisis, with 6 million out of 18.8 million people in need of humanitarian assistance across the country.

The food security and nutrition situation is being exacerbated by climate change, insecurity and the rise in food and fuel prices.

According to a UN-backed analysis, 2.4 million are currently food insecure in the country - 300,000 of whom are severely food insecure. This number could grow during the lean season to 3.3 million, if no substantive assistance is provided.  

Since March, the country is also facing torrential rains and floods in the south of the country.

The country has also welcomed more than half a million refugees since the start of the conflict in neighbouring Sudan last year. This has significantly strained the humanitarian situation in the east of the country, and attacks by non-state armed groups in the Lake Chad Basin area are driving further displacement.

The US$1.1 billion Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan is just 6.6 per cent funded with nearly $74 million received.

The Emergency Relief Coordinator, Martin Griffiths, allocated $15 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund as part of a larger allocation in February this year to support underfunded emergencies.

Zimbabwe

The UN and its partners launched a Flash Appeal yesterday seeking US$429 million to support 3.1 million people. This appeal comes following an El Niño-induced drought that has affected the country since December 2023. This appeal will complement the Government’s response to the national drought disaster.

In Zimbabwe, El Niño events have been associated with prolonged dry spells, reduced rainfall and increased temperatures.

An estimated 6 million people are expected to be food insecure during the lean season.

The drought is worsening water shortages, potentially affecting 2.6 million people.

In view of the worsening situation, the Emergency Relief Coordinator, Martin Griffiths, released $13.5 million last month from the UN’s Central Emergency Response Fund to address the El Niño-induced drought in Southern Africa. Of this amount, $3 million of this CERF allocation went to Zimbabwe.

Kuwait

The Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Joyce Msuya, will visit Kuwait this week, as the country hosts a humanitarian conference on Gaza.

The one-day event on Sunday, 12 May, will bring together UN agencies and international, regional and local aid organizations in Kuwait to explore urgent measures to stem the spiraling humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza.

Msuya will speak at the opening of the conference, which is being organized by the International Islamic Charitable Organization, in partnership with OCHA and under the patronage of the Prime Minister of Kuwait.

Syria

OCHA welcomes the Government of Syria's authorization today for the continued use of the Bab al-Salam and al-Rai crossing points from Türkiye, for the UN to continue delivering humanitarian assistance to people in need in north-west Syria, through 13 August.

The cross-border operation from Türkiye – which also utilizes the Bab al-Hawa crossing – is a lifeline for aid to north-west Syria, where millions of people are in need of humanitarian assistance – including food, nutrition, health, shelter, protection, education and other critical support.

This year, the UN and its partners are appealing for just over $4 billion to assist more than 10 million people throughout Syria. But our ability to respond continues to be constrained by reductions in funding, with only 6 per cent of the funding required – some $224 million – received to date.