Occupied Palestinian Territory
Civilians displaced by escalating hostilities and evacuation orders lack shelter, food, water and other essential supplies for their survival, OCHA says.
This comes amid reports of ongoing Israeli bombardment, as well as heavy fighting and ground incursions, particularly in eastern Rafah in the south and Jabalya in the north.
Since 6 May, nearly 815,000 people have been displaced from Rafah, with about 100,000 others displaced in the north.
Over the past 10 days, nearly 150,000 people have registered for the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) services in Khan Younis, with a 36 per cent increase in the number of people at UNRWA facilities there. The agency says families are living among rubble in damaged schools and lack tents, essential services and vital supplies.
Supply shortages and insecurity have forced UNRWA to suspend food distribution in Rafah.
Every effort is being made to establish additional kitchens in Khan Younis, Deir al Balah and Gaza city and scale up the distribution of hot meals. However, our partners working to get food to people in need warn that supplies for hot meals might soon be exhausted. Persistent shortages, including of cooking gas, are hindering efforts to keep community kitchens and bakeries running.
UNRWA says the agency is working with communities in Khan Younis to provide water, sanitation and waste collection support and guidance. However, the challenges are immense, including scarce water, fuel and sanitary resources.
Meanwhile, as hostilities continue in northern Gaza, the World Health Organization says Kamal Adwan hospital - the largest partially functional hospital in the north - was reportedly hit four times yesterday. In a social media post, WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus noted that efforts were underway to evacuate 20 health staff and more than a dozen patients who were still inside the facility.
In the West Bank, OCHA reports that 16 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces since 14 May, including nine in Jenin and four in Tulkarm governorate.
Israeli forces launched an operation in Jenin and the nearby refugee camp yesterday. Two children were among those killed, and several others were injured.
Haiti
In Haiti, violence continues to affect the health sector, further limiting people's access to life-saving care in and around the capital, Port-au-Prince.
According to health partners, only 20 per cent of health facilities in the capital are fully operational mainly due to attacks and looting by armed groups.
The reopening of the Port-au-Prince International Airport at the beginning of the week, on May 20, is a positive development. Currently, there is only one operational Haitian airline, Sunrise. It is critical that the airport be completely operational and the seaport be reopened. This is crucial to ensure the entry of medicine and medical supplies into the country to replenish dwindling stocks.
With the onset of the rainy season and potential floods, the risks of waterborne diseases such as cholera will increase, particularly in sites for displaced people.
Since late February, the International Organization for Migration and its partners have supported the delivery of healthcare services to more than 21,000 displaced people in Port-au-Prince through mobile clinics.
Meanwhile, UNICEF said yesterday that it facilitated the delivery of 38 tons of supplies, including health and cholera kits and other essential medical commodities, to Haiti. The delivery was made possible via an airbridge from Panama to Cap-Haitian, supported by the European Union Aid Office and operationalized by the World Food Programme.
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Burundi
In Burundi, the Emergency Relief Coordinator, Martin Griffiths, has allocated US$2.5 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund to support the response to the floods affecting the country.
With these new funds, the UN and its partners will provide life-saving assistance to more than 63,000 people, including water and hygiene kits, latrines, health support and cash assistance.
Since the beginning of the year, heavy rains have caused severe flooding and landslides across the country, particularly by Lake Tanganyika, in the country's southwest.
Nearly 300,000 people have been affected, with more than 47,000 people displaced. Thousands of homes and schools, as well as 10 per cent of Burundi's food crops, have been damaged. Humanitarian colleagues warn that the floods have also escalated the spread of vector-borne diseases.
