GAZA
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) today said that intense ground operations and fighting between Israeli forces and Palestinian armed groups continue in most areas of Gaza, as the scale of attacks and devastation impedes the delivery of aid. Operational challenges due to insecurity, blocked roads and a scarcity of fuel are also hampering the humanitarian response.
OCHA also warned of the impact of telecommunications blackouts on relief efforts, as access to communication and internet service remains unreliable. Yesterday and overnight, the primary telecommunications provider in the Gaza Strip reported another halt those services, citing damage to its infrastructure.
Even in the face of these challenges, the humanitarian community in Gaza is seizing every opportunity to deliver life-saving assistance wherever and whenever possible.
Between 23 December and 26 December, the World Food Programme reached about half a million people internally displaced in UN shelters south of Wadi Gaza with food parcels, wheat flour, high-energy biscuits and nutrition supplements. WFP is also assisting thousands of people outside shelters via partner distribution points and community kitchens, and the agency is working to deliver 50 tons of wheat flour to more than a dozen bakeries in Gaza.
Meanwhile, it is critical that the commercial and public sectors resume so that supermarket shelves can be replenished.
CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC
Our peacekeeping colleagues report that the security situation has been relatively tense over the past week, particularly in the western region, following the deadly attack on 21 December allegedly by the 3R armed group on Nzakoundou village in Lim-Pende prefecture. Twenty-three civilians were killed by the armed group, who reportedly also set fire to the village. The peacekeeping mission strongly condemned the attack and called for a thorough investigation to bring the perpetrators to justice. Peacekeepers are expected to arrive today in the village to strengthen security and facilitate humanitarian aid access.
Earlier in the week, Force Commander Lieutenant General Humphrey Nyone visited the Bocaranga-Nzakoundou region, which has been the scene of several attacks over the past months and exchanged views with the local population and peacekeepers on measures to restore peace and security in the region.
NIGERIA
The World Food Programme (WFP) today said that conflict and insecurity, rising inflation and the impact of the climate crisis continue to drive hunger in Nigeria – with some 26.5 million people across the country projected to face acute hunger in the June-August 2024 lean season. This is a staggering increase from the 18.6 million people food insecure at the end of this year.
In 2024, WFP is prioritizing its assistance to reach 1.1 million vulnerable people in Nigeria every month within the first half of the year.
In the June–August lean season, when hunger is most acute, WFP will increase its support to reach 1.6 million people monthly – dependent on available resources.
Unless immediate action is taken, WFP will run out of funds from February 2024 – and this may have dire consequences for those affected. WFP urgently requires US$271 million to sustain its operations in Nigeria for the next six months.
INDONESIA
The UN Refugee Agency said it is deeply disturbed by the mob attack on a site sheltering vulnerable refugee families, majority being children and women, in Indonesia Banda Aceh city. Hundreds of youngsters stormed a building basement on 27 December where refugees were sheltered. The mob broke a police cordon and forcibly put 137 refugees on two trucks and moved them to another location in Banda Aceh. The incident has left refugees shocked and traumatized.
UNHCR reminds everyone that desperate refugee children, women and men seeking shelter in Indonesia are victims of persecution and conflict and are survivors of deadly sea journeys.
The UN Refugee Agency is also alerting the general public to be aware of the coordinated and well-choreographed online campaign on social media platforms, attacking authorities, local communities, refugees and humanitarian workers alike, inciting hate and putting lives in danger.
EPIDEMIC PREPAREDNESS
Today is the International Day of Epidemic Preparedness. In a message, the Secretary-General says many healthcare systems are struggling. Millions of children are threatened by disease after missing out on routine childhood vaccinations. He urges countries to build on this momentum by delivering a strong, comprehensive accord, focused on equity, by next year’s World Health Assembly in May.
