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

#Ukraine

Dozens killed, hundreds injured in large-scale attacks

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that over the weekend, large-scale attacks on urban centres and front-line regions in Ukraine killed and injured many civilians and caused widespread damage to civilian infrastructure.

The Humanitarian Coordinator in Ukraine, ad interim, Auke Lootsma, warned of escalating risks to civilians as attacks on urban areas intensify.

According to the authorities, attacks between 31 July and the early hours of today killed nearly 30 civilians and left more than 280 others injured, including children. In the capital Kyiv, an attack on 1 August killed at least nine people and injured more than 30 others. Among those killed were a young female paramedic and a police officer assisting civilians affected by earlier strikes.

The regions of Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Dnipro, Donetsk, Mykolaiv, Odesa and Sumy were also heavily affected, with multiple homes destroyed and electricity temporarily cut for nearly 50,000 families.

Humanitarian facilities were not spared. An attack on 31 July in the city of Pavlohrad, in the Dnipro region, struck a warehouse and facilities belonging to the national NGO Mission Proliska. Emergency shelter materials, clothing and other humanitarian supplies were destroyed, including relief items supported by the UN Refugee Agency and the Ukraine Humanitarian Fund. In July alone, four humanitarian warehouses were hit across the country.

UN agencies and partners – along with local authorities and first responders – provided emergency shelter materials, psychosocial support and cash assistance.

#Occupied Palestinian Territory

Children among dozens reported killed in Gaza attacks

OCHA says that daily air strikes, shelling and shooting continued across Gaza over the weekend, reportedly killing dozens of people, including children and other civilians.

On Saturday, one strike hit the area of Al Aqsa hospital, damaging an adjacent medical storage facility. The World Health Organization reports that this caused the destruction of essential medical supplies, including some that the agency had delivered. Due to the proximity of the attack, the hospital building also sustained minor damage.

The Ministry of Health reported that more than 150 fatalities, including dozens of civilians, were documented in July – the highest reported monthly death toll since the beginning of the year.

Most strikes are being reported in western Gaza, within the less than half of the Strip where virtually all 2.1 million people are concentrated.

OCHA stresses that under international humanitarian law, civilians and civilian infrastructure must be protected and should not be targeted. Healthcare facilities must never be attacked or militarized.

On the occasion of World Breastfeeding Week, UNICEF said mothers in Gaza continue breastfeeding under extremely difficult conditions. Alongside partners, the agency is providing mothers with counselling and nutrition support. This year, more than 210,000 caregivers have joined group sessions, and more than 160,000 have received individual support. UNICEF said that in the past six months, nearly 570 mothers have restarted breastfeeding following counselling.

Meanwhile, humanitarian partners warn that funding constraints continue to drive shortages of essential medical supplies, including insulin for patients with Type 1 diabetes and medicines for cardiovascular diseases. Stocks of basic critical diagnostic and monitoring equipment – such as glucometers, blood glucose test strips, blood pressure monitors and monofilaments – are also low, affecting the quality of screening, follow-up and disease management services.

Hemodialysis services are short on key supplies, particularly vascular access supplies, while scarce quantities of cardiac catheterization materials are affecting cardiac services, squeezing treatments to a small number of priority cases.

More supplies required to prevent and control infections are pending Israeli approval to bring into Gaza. Alcohol-based disinfectants, which are essential for hand hygiene and routine infection prevention, are largely unavailable.

#Sudan

Drone strikes imperil civilians, aid response

OCHA is alarmed by the deadly risk that drone strikes are posing to civilians in Sudan.

In North Darfur State yesterday, a drone strike reportedly caused dozens of casualties in the village of Ghara al Zawiya, in the locality of Kabkabiya, according to information reported to the UN Human Rights Office by local sources. The number of civilian casualties could not be confirmed. This incident follows other reported drone strikes in northern parts of North Darfur in recent weeks.

In North Kordofan State, renewed drone attacks in recent days have reportedly struck areas around the state capital, El Obeid, including near the airport, imperiling civilians, critical infrastructure and humanitarian operations.

The Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Tom Fletcher, stressed that humanitarians are scaling up to reach families hit by conflict in North Kordofan and will seize every opening to expand life-saving aid in and around El Obeid. He called on the parties to deescalate, protect civilians and ensure humanitarian access.

In conflict-affected parts of Kordofan, Darfur and elsewhere in Sudan, the UN and its humanitarian partners continue to deliver vital assistance. Yet ongoing hostilities and funding gaps continue to hamper aid operations.

OCHA urges donors to increase their support for the humanitarian response.* This year’s appeal for Sudan is just over 40 per cent funded, with about US$1.2 billion received against the nearly $2.9 billion required.

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

#Democratic Republic of the Congo

Thousands flee clashes in South Kivu

OCHA reports that fighting in the highlands of the province of South Kivu, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, continues to drive people from their homes and disrupt their access to essential services.

According to humanitarian partners, since mid-July, clashes in the territories of Uvira, Fizi and Mwenga have displaced more than 48,000 people. Civilian casualties and damage to critical infrastructure were also reported.

OCHA says that insecurity, road closures, damaged infrastructure, and disruptions to telecommunications are hampering humanitarian access, medical evacuations, and the delivery of aid.

Access to healthcare has been particularly affected. Damage to health facilities and the departure of medical personnel have limited the availability of medical care in affected areas. Since January, more than 80 people injured by armed violence and explosive remnants of war have reportedly been unable to access the treatment they require.

These developments come as efforts to contain the Ebola outbreak continue in the province, including the monitoring of 55 people who have been identified as having been in contact with confirmed Ebola patients. As of 1 August, national health authorities have reported 3,748 confirmed Ebola cases across Ituri, North Kivu, South Kivu, Haut-Uele and Tshopo provinces.

OCHA calls once again on all parties to protect civilians, facilitate safe and sustained humanitarian access, and restore telecommunications, which remain critical for civilian protection, public health efforts and humanitarian operations.

#Rwanda

UN, partners bolster Ebola readiness efforts

OCHA says that the UN and its partners continue to support Government-led efforts in Rwanda to strengthen preparedness against Ebola. This includes surveillance at health facilities, in communities and at borders.

More than 100 personnel have been deployed to key land border crossings and airports.

Efforts to strengthen water and sanitation systems continue in health facilities and schools across high-risk districts, with a focus on improving water supply, sanitation and waste management.

At key points of entry, including the Rubavu and Kagitumba crossings, the UN and its partners are helping to improve handwashing facilities, access to safe water, sanitation systems and wastewater management.

The UN and its partners are also supporting training at 11 health centres in the locality of Mibilizi, near the border with the DRC. Nearly 400 front-line personnel are receiving training in early detection, triage, infection prevention and control, waste management, safe and dignified burials, and public health messaging.