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

#Ukraine

Large-scale attacks strike Kyiv

The Humanitarian Coordinator in Ukraine, Matthias Schmale, today condemned a new wave of large-scale attacks by the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation and called for the protection of civilians. Following the deadliest month for civilians in Ukraine since April 2022, August began with two consecutive nights of large-scale attacks that killed and injured civilians in the capital Kyiv and surrounding region, while intensified hostilities also affected other parts of the country.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that today’s large-scale missile attacks on Kyiv – combined with continued hostilities along the front line – caused dozens of civilian casualties and widespread damage to civilian infrastructure.

According to the authorities, attacks between yesterday and this morning killed at least 20 civilians and injured more than 120 others, including children. The Kyiv region was the hardest hit, with overnight attacks killing at least 14 people and injuring 22 others. In Kyiv City, one person was killed, and 26 others were injured. Search-and-rescue operations are ongoing. The attacks also damaged warehouses, a logistics enterprise and railway infrastructure.

Elsewhere, attacks killed and injured civilians across the regions of Donetsk, Dnipro, Kharkiv, Kherson, Odesa, Sumy and Zaporizhzhia. In Kramatorsk, in the Donetsk region, attacks caused numerous civilian casualties and damaged schools, residential buildings and a post office, according to the authorities.

OCHA is also concerned about the ongoing impact of the hostilities on humanitarian operations. Attacks damaged a mobile health vehicle in the Zaporizhzhia region on Monday and a warehouse holding essential supplies for children yesterday. No aid workers were injured in either incident.

Humanitarian partners quickly mobilized in response to the attacks in Kyiv City and the Kyiv region. National NGOs – supported by UN agencies – deployed mobile response teams to provide emergency shelter materials, psychological first aid, social support for affected families and humanitarian cash assistance.

#Lebanon

New displacement order underscores challenges for civilians

OCHA says that the new displacement order posted today by the Israeli Defence Forces on the social media platform X for the village of Mansouri, in Tyre district in South Governorate, is the first such order for a location in Lebanon since the latest ceasefire announcement on 19 June.

According to local authorities, some 1,500 people were in the village as of the end of July.

This new order comes as displaced families have been cautiously making their way back to their homes in southern Lebanon in recent weeks, underscoring how fragile the situation remains, as well as the uncertainty people continue to face.

Hostilities continue to affect civilians in southern Lebanon. Demolition operations, shelling and other military activity are damaging homes, agricultural land and civilian infrastructure. Many families are returning to severely damaged homes, limited access to essential services, economic hardship, and the threat posed by unexploded ordnance.

OCHA stresses that today’s development is another reminder that humanitarian needs remain high. The six-month Flash Appeal, which calls for US$639 million through the end of August, is currently less than half funded, with $295 million received.*

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

#Occupied Palestinian Territory

Strikes, military operations further imperil civilians in Gaza

In a social media post yesterday, the Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Dr. Ramiz Alakbarov – who also serves as the Deputy Special Coordinator and UN Resident Coordinator – expressed concern over the recent Israeli air strikes in Gaza, which reportedly resulted in civilian casualties and damage to critical medical supplies and civilian infrastructure.

The Humanitarian Coordinator reiterated that civilian and humanitarian facilities must be protected, humanitarian operations facilitated, and all parties must implement their commitments in full – in good faith, and in accordance with international law.

OCHA says that ongoing military operations near the so-called “Yellow Line” – coupled with strikes reported in other parts of the Strip – are disrupting civilian life, damaging shelters, driving renewed displacement, and restricting access to life-saving services.

Meanwhile, the UN and its partners are responding wherever and whenever they can. Just last week, humanitarians improved nearly 3,000 makeshift shelters in Gaza city and distributed emergency shelter and essential items to 9,000 households, including kitchen sets, tarpaulins, blankets, mattresses, solar lights and clothes.

However, to scale up assistance and carry out further upgrades of makeshift shelters, it is critical that timber, ropes, more solar lights and tools are allowed to enter Gaza in a timely manner.

Partners working on education continue to provide support. More than a quarter million pre-school and school-aged children are participating in summer learning activities, helping to provide a sense of routine and stability, while helping students recover some of the learning lost during the hostilities.

Yesterday, UNICEF brought into Gaza more than 600 pallets of recreational kits, school bags and soap. These supplies will be distributed ahead of the new school year, expected to begin in about two weeks.

#Democratic Republic of the Congo

New Ebola treatment centre opens in Ituri Province

OCHA reports that efforts to scale up the Ebola response continue as the outbreak expands in the eastern provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

Yesterday, a new 100-bed Ebola treatment centre opened in the town of Bunia in Ituri Province, to help address the growing number of patients.

The DRC Humanitarian Fund has recently allocated more than $38 million to support the Ebola response, sustain essential services, and address urgent humanitarian needs in affected areas.

As of 3 August, national health authorities had reported 3,874 confirmed Ebola cases across the provinces of Ituri, North Kivu, South Kivu, Haut-Uele and Tshopo, including more than 1,750 deaths. Ituri remains the epicentre of the outbreak, accounting for nearly 87 per cent of confirmed cases.

The Director-General of the World Health Organization, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, arrived in Kinshasa late yesterday. Today, he met with the humanitarian community – alongside Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention leadership – to review the Ebola response.

The scale-up comes amid persistent insecurity in the areas most affected by the outbreak. In Ituri Province, local sources report that dozens of civilians were killed and others abducted in the last two weeks of the month of July. Several thousand were also reportedly displaced.

In neighbouring North Kivu Province, local authorities report that at least three civilians were killed during an armed attack in Beni Territory on 2 August.

OCHA calls once again on all parties to protect civilians and ensure safe and sustained humanitarian access, which remains essential to containing the outbreak and delivering life-saving assistance to all people in need.

#Somalia

Humanitarians help prepare for El Niño ahead of rainy season

OCHA reports that humanitarian agencies and the Government in Somalia are stepping up preparedness efforts ahead of the anticipated impacts of El Niño during the upcoming rainy season between October and December. Forecasts indicate a high probability that El Niño will persist throughout the season, increasing the risk of widespread flooding.

Building on lessons from 2023 – when floods and drought displaced 2.3 million people and affected millions more – OCHA is supporting contingency planning, risk analysis and coordination at national and state levels to strengthen readiness for potential flooding and displacement.

These efforts come as Somalia continues to grapple with successive droughts, floods, conflict and shrinking humanitarian funding.

Today, 6.5 million people – or nearly one third of the population – face high levels of acute food insecurity (IPC Phase 3 or above), with one district in the South, Buurhakaba, at risk of famine. Some 1.9 million children suffer from acute malnutrition, including nearly 500,000 facing severe acute malnutrition.

Humanitarian assistance remains a lifeline for millions of people, but funding shortfalls have forced partners to scale back life-saving services even as needs remain exceptionally high. More than halfway through the year, this year’s $852 million Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan is only one third funded.

The ripple effects of the conflict in the Middle East are also impacting the humanitarian situation, with food prices surging by up to 20 per cent.