There are only three active field hospitals in Rafah in southern Gaza, one of which is only partially functioning, and all of these facilities are overwhelmed and under-supplied. OCHA said, with the seven-month war having serious consequences for civilians and the infrastructure they depend on for healthcare.
The UN humanitarian agency said the malnutrition stabilization center in the Tal as-Sultan area is currently not functioning and teams are working on relocation to the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis.
OCHA also reported that the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) had documented about 32,000 people fleeing Rafah between Wednesday and Thursday.
‘Families seek safety’
OCHA said families are seeking safety, but nowhere in the enclave is safe.
In central Gaza, humanitarian partners who have been working to improve access to water, sanitation and hygiene noted that “internally displaced people who have sought shelter in locations in Khan Younis still do not have sufficient safe drinking water.”
These partners have constructed ten new water points in Khan Younis, but stressed that water production in Gaza is about a fifth of what it was in October.
“Across Gaza, civilians face increased health and environmental risks due to limited access to clean water and sewage overflow, infrastructure damage, lack of hygiene items and fuel shortages,” OHCA said.
Aid partners report that Khan Younis has no functioning sewing pump stations, forcing displaced families to create makeshift toilets.
Escalating violence in South Sudan
UN peacekeepers in South Sudan are concerned about an outbreak of violence in Malakal in Upper Nile state, UN spokesman Stéphane Dujarric told journalists at UN headquarters on Friday.
The escalating violence had led to the deaths of several civilians on Thursday and raised tensions in the UN Civil Protection Area, adjacent to the UN peacekeeping mission’s base. UNMISSin the state and among communities in Malakal town.
“The mission urged state and local authorities as well as government security forces to maintain calm and stability in the area,” Dujarric said.
Violence causes ‘lasting damage’
“Such violence causes lasting damage to communities and also prevents UNMISS from continuing our vital protection and peacebuilding work,” warned Nicholas Haysom, Head of Mission.
UNMISS is continuously working with local and community authorities to calm the situation and has increased their patrols in the peace protection area.
Amid the outbreaks of violence, UNMISS called on warring parties to show restraint and use dialogue to resolve outstanding issues peacefully.
Clashes break out in DR Congo
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, humanitarian colleagues have expressed deep concern about the alarming deterioration of the humanitarian situation in North Kivu, in the east of the country, the UN spokesman said.
According to OCHA, clashes have resumed in several parts of the towns of Masisi, Rutshuru and Sake. New fighting moved closer to the town of Kanyabanyonga, displacing civilians, many of whom had sought safety in nearby towns.
The city is home to more than 100,000 men, women and children who have fled violence in Rutshuru and Masisi, but current insecurity in the area has suspended humanitarian efforts there, with at least 48,000 people cut off from assistance in the region. last week.
Warring parties must protect civilians: OCHA
The escalating violence threatens to worsen the already precarious humanitarian situation in North Kivu, where more than 2.7 million displaced people resided, the UN spokesperson said.
On Friday, the UN emergency response agency OCHA called on all parties to the conflict to adhere to international humanitarian law and take immediate steps to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure.
The UN spokesperson said additional resources to address humanitarian needs in Congo are urgently and urgently needed. Five months into the year, the annual response plan is only 23 percent funded, with $591 million in the bank of the $2.6 billion needed.
Humanitarian actors have reached more than 3.1 million people in the country with essential assistance in the first three months of 2024, nearly a quarter of the population they had aimed to serve, he said.
