Occupied Palestinian Territory, Abyei, Sudan

Occupied Palestinian Territory

The Deputy Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Thomas White, said in a social media post this morning that an aid convoy waiting to move into northern Gaza was hit by gunfire, adding that no one was injured.

Meanwhile, heavy fighting continued throughout Gaza over the weekend. It cited reports of significant destruction to residential areas across Gaza, particularly in Khan Younis, by Israeli forces. On 2 February, the destruction of residential blocks were reported in Al Sabra neighbourhood, Gaza City, as well as in southern and eastern Khan Younis. On 3 February, a residential block was reportedly destroyed in central Khan Younis.

The health sector remains extremely precarious, with only 13 out of 36 hospitals being functional in Gaza, but only partially, as of last week, according to the World Health Organization.

Heavy fighting continues to be reported near Nasser and Al Amal hospitals in Khan Younis, jeopardizing the safety of medical staff, the wounded and the sick, as well as thousands of displaced seeking refuge at the hospitals. Some 6,000 patients are still on the waiting list to be evacuated outside of Gaza for tertiary medical care.

For the month of January as a whole, only ten of the 61 humanitarian aid missions planned for the north of Wadi Gaza (16 per cent) were facilitated by the Israeli authorities, and two were partially facilitated. Thirty-four missions (56 per cent) were denied access, and six (10 per cent) were postponed by aid organizations due to internal operational constraints.

Facilitated missions primarily involved food distribution. Largely denied where missions to support hospitals and facilities providing water, sanitation and hygiene services.

Abyei

Dozens of civilians have been killed in a series of attacks in southern Abyei since 27 January. Four off-duty staff of local non-governmental organizations were also killed. The fighting has displaced more than 2,200 people, most of them women and children seeking refuge in a UNISFA – that is the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei – compound in Rumajak, about 7 kilometres north of Abyei town. Abyei is the disputed region along South Sudan’s border with Sudan.

Over the past three days, the UN and its humanitarian partners have provided food and shelter materials to the displaced, despite major access and logistical challenges. A health team also carried out medical consultations.

Humanitarian teams continue to carry out assessments in villages affected by the conflict.

Sudan

The UN will launch this year’s humanitarian and refugee response plans for Sudan on 7 February.

Both the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Martin Griffiths, and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, will participate.

After nearly 10 months of conflict, more than half of Sudan’s population – some 25 million people – needs humanitarian assistance and protection. The war has also forced more than 1.5 million people to flee across Sudan’s borders to countries already hosting large refugee populations.

The UN-coordinated Humanitarian Response Plan for Sudan aims to reach nearly 15 million people inside the country this year.

The Regional Refugee Response Plan looks to support nearly 2.7 million people in five neighbouring countries: the Central African Republic, Chad, Egypt, Ethiopia and South Sudan.