Today’s top news: Nepal, Lebanon, Occupied Palestinian Territory, Syria, Ukraine, Colombia
#Nepal
UN, partners launch US$50m flash appeal for floods response
The United Nations and its humanitarian partners this morning launched a nearly $50 million flash appeal to support the emergency response in Nepal following the recent catastrophic flash floods and landslides.
The four-month appeal aims to help 84,000 people.
The floods claimed more than 1,250 lives – leaving thousands missing and displacing entire villages across the Rasuwa, Nuwakot and Dhading regions. Survivors face tragic losses of family members, homes and livelihoods. Widespread destruction of critical infrastructure has severed transport routes, disrupted power grids, and washed out local water supply and sanitation systems – leaving isolated populations without basic necessities.
The UN Resident Coordinator in Nepal, Lila Pieters Yahia, said that the appeal – under the leadership of the Government – will help get cash, shelter, healthcare, food, clean water and protection to some of the hardest-to-reach communities.
Meanwhile, the UN continues to support the response.* In the first week after the disaster, the World Food Programme (WFP) dispatched food for 8,000 people and procured a further 180 metric tonnes of food. WFP is also standing by with air support – including helicopters and unmanned aircraft – to deliver food and other supplies to people in the most isolated areas.
UNICEF reports that this morning, a flight carrying 84 metric tonnes of critical humanitarian supplies landed in Kathmandu, with the support of the European Union Humanitarian Aid. UNICEF is dispatching the supplies to some of the hardest-hit areas. The supplies will help families access safe water, strengthen disease prevention, support children’s learning, and ensure front-line health and nutrition workers have the tools to identify and assist vulnerable children and mothers.
*Donations made to UN Crisis Relief help UN agencies and humanitarian NGOs reach people in Nepal and beyond with urgent support.
#Lebanon
Needs, displacement persist amid constrained access, UN relief chief warns
The 2026 Flash Appeal for Lebanon, launched when escalation in the region began in March this year, wrapped up last month.
Despite being less than 52 per cent funded – with only $330 million received of the $640 million required – partners reached more than 1.2 million people with at least one form of life-saving assistance since the escalation began.
This includes more than 900,000 people reached with cash assistance, over 550,000 with food and agriculture support, and nearly 556,000 with health assistance.
However, as Tom Fletcher, the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, highlighted yesterday, needs persist, access remains constrained, and many families still cannot return home safely. “The crisis is not over,” he said.
Today, the Humanitarian Coordinator for Lebanon, Imran Riza, visited Nabatieh Governorate and met with authorities from communities receiving many returnees and displaced people. Authorities outlined the challenges that people returning to their homes face, including damage to vital infrastructure affecting basic services such as water and electricity.
Riza visited the village of Mayfadoun in Nabatieh Governorate, where damage to a water well station – including solar panels and pumping equipment – has affected the water supply in parts of the village. He stressed the importance of early recovery efforts to restore essential services, support municipalities and help communities recover.
To support people in need of critical humanitarian assistance, partners will update the Lebanon Response Plan to cover the period from this month through the end of the year.
OCHA reiterates the need for continued humanitarian access and support to people in need, including those returning home.
#Occupied Palestinian Territory
Gaza: civilians among 24 killed in five days
OCHA remains deeply concerned about the safety of civilians in both the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.
The UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) reported yesterday that in Gaza, 24 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks in the five days since last Friday. Among them were four children and one woman. The vast majority of fatalities were due to air strikes, and in one case, people were killed in an armed raid by Israeli forces accompanied by armed Palestinians.
OHCHR stressed that Israel’s stated pursuit of people it alleges to be lawful targets does not suspend its obligations under international humanitarian law or international human rights law.
Meanwhile, the UN and its humanitarian partners on the ground continue supporting people’s preparations for the rainy season, although more funding and access are urgently needed for that support to be anywhere near sufficient.
Yesterday, the Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said that public health risks are growing as winter approaches, with most people still displaced in overcrowded tented sites.
In a social media post, he warned that Gaza’s already overwhelmed health system cannot withstand additional surges in disease and illness. With the onset of rains, flooding is likely to spread sewage and contaminated water through densely populated areas, increasing the risk of disease.
Dr. Tedros called for increased access to lab and diagnostic supplies that remain restricted, as well as to essential medicines, rehabilitation equipment and public health supplies.
West Bank: over 2,500 Palestinians displaced by settler violence, access restrictions in 2026
Since 2023, more than 6,400 Palestinians in 130 communities across the West Bank have been displaced in the context of settler violence and related access restrictions. Of those displaced, more than 2,500 people were forced out this year alone, almost half of them children.
That has left 48 Palestinian communities fully displaced since 2023, including a dozen just this year.
Humanitarian partners warn that the cumulative impact of repeated displacement, recurrent settler attacks, damage to homes and infrastructure, and restrictions on access to land and essential services is deepening humanitarian needs.
#Syria
Explosive ordnance endangers children, communities
OCHA warns that the deadly threat posed by explosive ordnance contamination in Syria continues to affect not only where people live, but also how they move, work, and provide for their families.
Over the past week, a dozen explosive ordnance incidents were recorded across six Syrian governorates, killing nine people – six of them children – and injuring 13 others.
The deadliest incident occurred in Deir ez-Zor governorate on Monday when a landmine detonated on a civilian vehicle, killing five children and injuring three other civilians. Ar-Raqqa governorate recorded the highest number of incidents, underscoring the continued dangers of explosive remnants of war in northern Syria.
Since 8 December 2024, more than 1,400 explosive ordnance incidents have been documented across Syria, causing nearly 2,500 civilian casualties, including 880 deaths.
More than two thirds of those incidents have occurred in agricultural and grazing land, underscoring the urgent need for large-scale clearance operations to reduce the risks for farmers, herders, and people travelling between villages.
Partners working on mine action stress that explosive ordnance risk education, clearance operations, and assistance for those affected are essential to protect civilians and allow them to safely return home.
#Ukraine
UN, partners support civilians affected by recent attacks
OCHA says that residents of Ukraine’s largest cities, including Kyiv and Odesa, have faced repeated attacks over the past two days. The UN and its humanitarian partners continue to support the response, despite damage to their own assets.
According to authorities, between Wednesday and today, attacks across the country and front-line hostilities have killed more than a dozen people and injured more than 160 others.
Repeated attacks in Odesa City and across the Odesa region killed at least one civilian and injured more than 20 – damaging a hospital, several schools and energy facilities, and leaving parts of the region without electricity.
In the capital city of Kyiv, more than a dozen residents were injured in repeated drone and missile strikes. Several hours ago, a drone struck an area in central Kyiv near the St. Sophia Cathedral, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In the city of Kherson, an attack on a public bus today killed and injured several civilians.
The UN and its humanitarian partners responded rapidly to provide first aid, psychosocial support, and emergency supplies to repair damaged homes.
The UN and its partners also continue to support front-line areas. Today, a humanitarian convoy delivered vital aid to the hardest-hit communities in the Donetsk and Kherson regions. The supplies included hygiene and first-aid kits, along with essential medicines and medical supplies for local hospitals.
Humanitarian operations have also been impacted by recent attacks. Earlier this week, a UNICEF-contracted water truck carrying drinking water to children and families in the Kharkiv region was struck, seriously injuring the driver. On the same day, an office of the Ukrainian Red Cross Society in Kherson was destroyed. On Wednesday, a WHO warehouse holding humanitarian medical supplies was damaged in an attack in the Kyiv region.
The Humanitarian Coordinator for Ukraine, Matthias Schmale – who just returned from a field visit to the Sumy region, which borders the Russian Federation – called on the international community to continue supporting Ukraine, including in hard-to-reach areas.
#Colombia
Humanitarians reach almost 125,000 people with post-earthquake support
OCHA reports that humanitarian efforts continue alongside the national and local authorities following the recent earthquake in Colombia.
So far, 29 organizations have reached nearly 125,000 people across 49 municipalities in the departments of Valle del Cauca, Chocó, Risaralda and Caldas – providing water, sanitation and hygiene, health, shelter, food and protection support.
The UN Resident Coordinator, Maria Jose Torres Macho – together with the head of OCHA’s office and WFP’s Regional Director and Country Representative – visited Chocó and met with people affected by the earthquake, as well as with authorities to ensure the response is coordinated.
Meanwhile, the UN Development Programme and the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean are working with the Government and other partners on early recovery. This is taking place against a backdrop of violence involving non-State armed groups, which hinders humanitarian access and endangers civilians.
The UN and its partners appeal for urgent funding, as only $40 million of the $148 million needed for the post-earthquake response has been received so far.