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

#Ukraine

Aid space shrinking as attacks mount in Ukraine, OCHA warns at Security Council

Briefing the Security Council yesterday, Edem Wosornu, Director of the Crisis Response Division for OCHA, warned that civilians in Ukraine continue to bear the brunt of escalating violence, stressing that “the human cost of this war reveals a pattern that defies international humanitarian law.”

Wosornu highlighted the mounting human toll, with nearly 16,000 civilians killed and more than 44,000 injured since February 2022, stressing that the real figures are likely higher. She also underscored increasing attacks on humanitarian operations, including strikes on aid facilities and personnel, warning that such incidents are becoming more frequent and severe.

Against this backdrop, Wosornu called on the Security Council to take two key actions: first, to ensure respect for international humanitarian law and accountability for violations, including the protection of civilians, humanitarian workers and civilian infrastructure; and second, to guarantee rapid and unimpeded humanitarian access to all those in need so life-saving assistance can reach people wherever they are. She stressed that civilians require more than statements of concern, emphasising the need for concrete action to protect lives and sustain life-saving assistance wherever it is needed most.

Wosornu underscored to Council members that “the choices we make here can mean the difference between aid delivered or aid denied, and the choices made here can mean lives saved or lives lost.”

#UN Central Emergency Fund allocation

UN emergency fund targets urgent needs for women and girls

The Emergency Relief Coordinator, Tom Fletcher, announced this morning a US$10 million funding package from the UN Central Emergency Response Fund to support women and girls in some of the world’s most severe humanitarian crises, stressing that women and girls must be at the heart of the humanitarian response.

The allocation will be channelled through UN Women and the UN Population Fund, in close partnership with local women-led organisations. It will span eight underfunded emergencies in Ethiopia, Syria, Burkina Faso, Haiti, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Myanmar, Mozambique and Mali and will help women and girls access protection, healthcare and other vital services.

#Lebanon

Hazards, damage continue to prevent families from returning to their homes

OCHA says the humanitarian situation in Lebanon remains fragile and uncertain for families seeking to return to their homes, even after the latest ceasefire.

It was reported that around 19,000 people left collective shelters overnight, reducing the total from 109,000 yesterday to more than 90,000 today.

A new UN Development Program assessment, conducted with the Lebanese National Council for Scientific Research, highlights the scale of the damage in southern Lebanon. More than 11,000 residential buildings were found to be completely destroyed and another 2,200 partially damaged. For many families, this means there is simply no home to return to.

Continued uncertainty, widespread destruction and the threat posed by unexploded ordnance continue to prevent safe and sustainable returns. Earlier this week, one person was reportedly injured when unexploded ordnance detonated in Mansouri municipality, in the South Governorate.

The UN and partners continue to call for the protection of civilians and for conditions that allow displaced families to return home voluntarily, safely and with dignity.

*Donations made to UN Crisis Relief help UN agencies and humanitarian NGOs reach people in Lebanon with urgent support.

#Occupied Palestinian Territory

UN urges civilians be protected as UNICEF Youth Champion killed

OCHA reports that shelling, gunfire, bombing and airstrikes continue to impact civilians across the Gaza Strip.

Today, in a social media post, UNICEF said that a 17-year-old girl was killed on her way to sit for her high school exam. She was one of UNICEF’s Youth Champions.

The UN reiterates that civilians, including children, must always be protected.

Meanwhile, partners leading on the management of displacement sites yesterday released the findings of an assessment covering nearly 1,600 displacement sites hosting about 1.7 million people, which is roughly 80 per cent of Gaza’s population.

The findings confirm that displaced people remain in extremely poor conditions, with limited access to essential humanitarian supplies, inadequate lighting and energy, weakened health services, disrupted water supply and exposure to insecurity.

At least 59,000 individual shelters accommodate more than eight people, while about 38,500 people are estimated to be sleeping in the open. An estimated 600,000 people in the assessed sites lack sufficient access to drinking water. And half of the sites lack visible drainage, and nearly half reported fire hazards near shelters.

Rodent infestations are reported in 80 per cent of the sites, and open sewage as well as accumulated waste are in more than half of them.

In almost 250 sites – hosting nearly 250,000 people – there were reported incidents with explosive ordnance.

#Sudan 

UN, partners rush aid into beleaguered city of El Obeid

The UN and its partners continue to provide life-saving assistance to people affected by conflict in Sudan’s El Obeid city in the North Kordofan state.

The World Food Programme and its partners plan to provide food assistance to more than 72,000 internally displaced people this month and next, with some 12,600 people having been reached so far.

UNICEF and its partners reached more than 95,000 children under the age of five between last Friday and Sunday as part of a nutrition campaign. Health partners have also pre-positioned cholera supplies and essential medicines to strengthen outbreak preparedness.

Insecurity persists in El Obeid. On 22 June, drones reportedly struck two displacement sites in El Obeid, and partners tell us that at least three civilians were killed and 14 were injured. Several shelters were also reportedly damaged at both sites.

Humanitarian partners continue to report fuel shortages, as well as the limited availability of bread, safe drinking water and other essential food items in El Obeid.

OCHA remains alarmed that fighting continues to force people from their homes in El Obeid.

In North Darfur, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported yesterday that 2,200 people were displaced last Friday by insecurity in the villages of Orschi and Dou in the Um Baru locality.

OCHA once again calls for urgent additional funding to scale up life-saving assistance across Sudan. The 2026 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan, which requires $2.9 billion to reach more than 20 million people, is only 39 per cent funded.

*Donations made to UN Crisis Relief help UN agencies and humanitarian NGOs reach people in Sudan with urgent support.

#Democratic Republic of the Congo

Ebola response scales up as insecurity threatens access

OCHA reports that the UN and its partners continue to respond to the Ebola outbreak across the eastern provinces of Ituri, North Kivu and South Kivu in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The UN and its partners are supporting surveillance, contact tracing, laboratory testing, infection prevention and case management.

In Ituri province, UNICEF delivered 30 tons of medical supplies to Bunia last week, bringing its total deliveries since the start of the outbreak to 180 tons.

IOM has deployed technical experts to Aru and Mahagi territories and trained frontline personnel in the towns of Bunia and Rwampara, as well as at key entry points in the capital Kinshasa, including N’djili International Airport.

Meanwhile, OCHA says it is concerned by renewed fighting in the province of South Kivu. Although no new Ebola cases have been reported there since 26 May, escalating clashes in the territories of Fizi and Mwenga have triggered new displacement. Local sources say that families are fleeing to the area of Minembwe Centre and surrounding areas, although limited access makes it difficult to assess the full scale of displacement.

Partners warn of growing needs for shelter, food, water, healthcare and protection, while insecurity continues to hamper assessments and our efforts to respond.

The UN reiterates its call on all parties to protect civilians and ensure safe, sustained humanitarian access, which is critical to containing the Ebola outbreak and for delivering life-saving assistance.