Noon Briefings

In Central and Southern Gaza, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports that humanitarian partners had exhausted all supplies at their warehouses, at a time when Israeli authorities continue to deny most requests to bring food assistance from the Erez West crossing to areas south of Wadi Gaza.

In Sudan, the World Food Programme announced today that despite enormous challenges and security risks to aid workers, food distributions in South Khartoum that began in late December to help over 70,000 people in Mayo and Aligaz — districts at risk of famine — are now complete.

In Ukraine, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports that, according to authorities and partners, hostilities in the first week of January resulted in hundreds of casualties. Over the past three days, homes, gas facilities and electricity infrastructure have been damaged in front-line regions.

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs is deeply concerned by reports that a one-month-old baby in Gaza has died of hypothermia – the eighth child death due to the cold and lack of aid access in less than three weeks. Of 37 UN-led humanitarian missions planned over the weekend, 15 were denied outright.

In Myanmar, where conflict has driven over 3.5 million people from their homes, humanitarian needs are expected to reach unprecedented levels, with nearly 20 million people requiring assistance. The 2025 Humanitarian Response Plan aims to reach 5.5 million people with aid, requiring $1.1 billion in funding.

Overall, 39 per cent of UN attempts to move aid workers anywhere in Gaza were denied by the Israeli authorities, with another 18 per cent disrupted on the ground or hindered. For the besieged areas in North Gaza governorate, the access has been denied for 88 consecutive days; that is since 6 October 2024.

Since the cessation of hostilities in Lebanon was announced on 27 November, over 800,000 people have returned to their areas of origin, according to the International Organization for Migration. More than 160,000 people remain displaced, while the situation remains fluid.

As of today, some 664,000 people remain newly displaced across Syria, mostly in Idlib and Aleppo, marking a decrease of about 64,000 people compared to a week ago. UN reports say that returnee movements remain fluid, with nearly 486,000 people having returned to their areas of origin over the past month.

Israeli air strikes hit Yemen’s Sana’a International Airport, Red Sea ports and power stations today, reportedly killing at least three and injuring dozens more. A UN Humanitarian Air Service crew member was also injured when the airport was hit, and a high-level UN delegation was at the airport when the strikes occurred.

Ongoing conflict in Rakhine has driven an estimated 360,000 people out of their homes, bringing the total number of displaced there to nearly 570,000. This is part of a broader crisis unfolding across Myanmar, displacing more than 3.5 million people — an increase of 1.5 million people compared to a year ago.