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

#Ukraine

UN relief chief says Kyiv attack underscores war’s continued toll on civilians

The Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Tom Fletcher, who was in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv today, said he was struck by what he saw: the aftermath of another deadly night for civilians, with homes, a hospital and a school hit. The continued toll on civilians, he said, should outrage us all.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says that the large-scale overnight attack on Kyiv City and the surrounding region caused scores of civilian casualties, with the authorities reporting at least 12 people killed and over 30 others injured. More than a dozen residential buildings, warehouses, a gas station and civilian vehicles were damaged.

Meanwhile, in the Zhytomyr region, a missile attack on a regional police office on Wednesday killed several police officers and injured more than 50 people, including many police officers. Elsewhere, attacks and hostilities killed almost a dozen civilians in the Kherson and Donetsk regions and injured scores of others across the Kherson, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Dnipro and Mykolaiv regions.

The UN and its humanitarian partners provided an immediate emergency response following the attacks in Kyiv City and the surrounding region, complementing the efforts of emergency services and municipal workers. They provided first aid and psychological first aid, hot meals and construction materials, protection and legal support, and humanitarian cash assistance.*

Today in Kyiv, Under-Secretary-General Fletcher met with senior officials, including Andrii Sybiha, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and shared his condolences on the deaths from the heavy overnight strikes. Mr. Fletcher also met Denys Shmyal, the First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Energy, and Denys Uliutin, the Minister of Social Policy, Family and Unity.

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

#Democratic Republic of the Congo

UN supports scaled-up response to Ebola outbreak

OCHA warns that the Ebola outbreak continues to expand in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with national authorities recording more than 5,200 confirmed cases and nearly 2,500 deaths as of 18 August.

The Senior Ebola Coordinator, Julien Harneis, said that the Government and partners are scaling up the response, with five operational priorities: tripling safe care capacity, strengthening community engagement, doubling the number of safe and dignified burial teams, expanding disease surveillance, and increasing support to the most vulnerable.

As part of this broader effort, this morning, the Government launched the “Congo River Without Ebola” initiative, with support from the UN and its partners.

This initiative aims to strengthen disease surveillance and preparedness along the Congo River, a major route stretching over 1,700 kilometres that connects communities, markets and several provinces.

With funding from the UN Central Emergency Response Fund, the International Organization for Migration, the World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF, the World Food Programme and their partners will support the initiative alongside national authorities. Together, they will strengthen disease surveillance at priority ports and transit points, improving early warning and referral systems, and reinforce preparedness among riverine communities and people travelling by boat.

Today, WHO announced that 70,000 doses of the Ebola Zaire vaccine have been allocated to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The doses will support front-line health workers and a clinical trial to assess the vaccine’s potential against the Bundibugyo virus.

#Occupied Palestinian Territory

Air strikes, other threats imperil civilians in Gaza

OCHA continues to receive reports of civilians in Gaza being killed, injured or otherwise affected by air strikes, shelling and gunfire. Yesterday, a 13-year-old girl was reportedly among those killed in air strikes.

Today, the bodies of 50 people, including 19 children, killed over two years ago were finally laid to rest after being recovered from under the rubble in Gaza city in recent days.

Efforts to remove rubble and retrieve bodies in Gaza remain limited by restrictions on entry of heavy machinery, spare parts, lubricants and other critical supplies, as well as by restrictions on access to vast areas within the Strip.

The UN continues to call for the protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure. Civilians should never be targeted or used for military purposes.

Meanwhile, humanitarian partners working on shelter reported today that 94 per cent of Gaza’s 2.1 million people need shelter and basic household assistance.

More than four out of five families face critical or catastrophic living conditions in their current shelters which lack fuel, energy and essential household items. These constraints affect people’s ability to sleep, cook, wash, store food and water, have adequate lighting, and coping with heat and cold.

Nearly two in every three families live in tents or makeshift shelters that rapidly deteriorate in harsh weather, as they are designed only for short-term use. 

Last winter, more than 70 per cent of families experienced flooding. Ahead of the cold and rainy season, humanitarian partners are working to ensure adequate shelter for families. However, restrictions on the entry of materials and equipment, combined with funding shortfalls, have kept assistance far below the level of need.

Shelter partners estimate that US$562 million is needed for the emergency response. Of this amount, they have requested $165 million to address the most acute cases, but just over a quarter of this funding has been secured so far.

Meanwhile, the UN Development Programme said this week that since May – with the help of humanitarian partners – it has expanded pest control activities to more than 3,000 displacement sites, markets and hospitals across Gaza.

Humanitarians stress that sustained access to rodenticides remains critical. It is also urgent that heavy machinery, lubricants and essential equipment are allowed into Gaza to facilitate trash removal.