Today’s top news: Occupied Palestinian Territory, Ukraine, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti
A health worker provides care inside an Ebola treatment unit in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, where insecurity continues to complicate response efforts. Photo: UNOCHA/Francis Mweze
#Occupied Palestinian Territory
UN, partners call for restrictions to be lifted as deadly rains expose Gaza’s shelter crisis
The Humanitarian Country Team, which brings together UN agencies and humanitarian organizations operating in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, today issued a statement on the devastating impact of the rainstorms battering Gaza.
Children and adults have been killed, critical services suspended, and thousands of families’ shelters flooded or destroyed.
The team stressed that this devastation was preventable. Humanitarian partners presented a winter preparedness plan months ago, but restrictions on supplies and access, alongside funding shortfalls, have hampered its implementation.
More than 150,000 tents remain outside Gaza, ready for dispatch, while each rainstorm leaves more families without shelter.
The appeal follows a statement earlier this week by Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher, who warned that delays, restrictions and funding cuts were putting lives at risk.
The Humanitarian Country Team called on the Israeli authorities to allow winter supplies into Gaza in sufficient quantities, every day and through every available crossing. It also urged them to lift restrictions, enable repairs to water and wastewater networks, and allow all humanitarian partners to operate.
The team also urged Member States to use their influence to remove these obstacles and provide urgently needed funding.
It stressed that access to longer-lasting shelter must not be conditional on political progress – families need protection now.
Fresh attacks kill 10 civilians, disrupt power in 13 regions
OCHA says that another wave of attacks have killed and injured more civilians, damaged civilian infrastructure and disrupted power supplies across Ukraine.
According to local authorities, between yesterday and this morning, some 10 civilians were killed and 60 others injured, including several children.
In the capital, Kyiv, an overnight strike damaged a hospital, forcing staff to evacuate 30 people while emergency responders rescued others.
As of this morning, authorities reported power disruptions reported in 13 regions.
Humanitarian operations continue to be come under threat. On Wednesday, a drone struck an armored humanitarian vehicle – funded by the Ukraine Humanitarian Fund – during an evacuation in the city of Komyshuvakha, in the Zaporizhzhia region. Everyone on board survived, and nine civilians were evacuated that day.
Humanitarian partners, supported by UN agencies, have provided first aid and shelter supplies to people impacted by the hostilities in the regions of Odesa and Zaporizhzhia.
#Democratic Republic of the Congo
Despite progress in tackling Ebola, senior UN official warns of continued spread
The Senior Ebola Coordinator, Julien Harneis, said that significant progress has been made in the fight against the Ebola virus over the past six months, but he cautioned that significant transmission continues, including into new areas.
Speaking to reporters in Geneva today, Harneis outlined three operational priorities.
First, he stressed the need to ensure safe and unhindered access. Violence in parts of eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) continues to hamper the response and contact tracing. He noted that in recent days, there have been more people killed by Allied Democratic Forces violence than by Ebola.
Second, Harneis underscored the importance of strengthening our engagement with the private sector, as many patients, particularly in urban areas, first seek care from private health providers.
And lastly, he called for improving preparedness where transmission has yet to occur, inside DRC and in neighbouring countries.
Stepped-up violence puts Port-au-Prince residents at growing risk
OCHA warns that intensified clashes are putting people at growing risk, particularly in densely populated neighbourhoods of Haiti’s Port-au-Prince.
The increased use of heavy weapons, attack helicopters and armed drones in urban areas has heightened the danger for residents, threatening more deaths, injuries and displacement, as well as damage to homes and vital infrastructure.
Since mid-October, violence in the commune of Croix-des-Bouquets, in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area, has displaced around 2,000 people, according to the International Organization for Migration. Nealy 90 per cent of them are staying with host families, while the rest have sought shelter at five spontaneous sites.
Heavy clashes and blocked roads are cutting families off from life-saving healthcare and other essential services. Médecins Sans Frontières reports treating women and children wounded by gunfire and drone explosions, with some patients taking several hours just to reach its hospitals.
This escalation is compounding an already severe humanitarian crisis. Between January and September 2026, some 4,200 people were killed in violence according to the Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights. Some 1.5 million people remain displaced across the country.
The violence is hindering our ability to coordinate safe humanitarian operations and curtailing our access, making it harder to reach people in need.
The UN calls for communities to be protected and to be able to access health facilities, schools and other essential services.
