Over 1,000 attacks on healthcare in Occupied Palestinian Territory since October

The World Health Organization (WHO) has registered more than 1,000 attacks on healthcare facilities in the Occupied Palestinian Territory since the October 7 terror attacks in Israel sparked the on-going war in Gaza, the agency’s top official in the region said on Wednesday.

In a press briefing, Dr. Rik Peeperkorn, WHO representative for the West Bank and Gaza, told journalists there are currently no functional hospitals in the enclave’s southernmost city of Rafah, following Israel’s recent offensive there.

The availability of hospital beds has drastically declined, dropping from 3,500 before the conflict erupted, to just 1,400 today:

"But 600 of these 1,400 are actually provided by field hospitals, so currently from the Ministry of Health and NGO fixed hospitals, there's only 800 hospital beds in service from the 3,500, plus 600 field hospital beds, for a population of 2.2 million people in war."

The WHO official also highlighted the urgency of getting critically-ill patients out of Gaza, stating that around 10,000 still require urgent evacuation, half of whom are suffering from severe trauma - including spinal injuries and amputations.

Despite the readiness of hospitals in the West Bank and East Jerusalem to accept patients – along with neighbouring countries - safe corridors for evacuation are essential.

“Don’t let politics stand in the way of life-saving care for patients who are in critical condition,” he pleaded.

Haiti: Displaced women lack basic safety and services

Instability in Haiti is fuelling a rise in sexual violence against women and girls, the UN agency championing gender equality said on Wednesday.

A new report by UN Women reveals the dire living conditions and lack of security faced by some 300,000 displaced women and girls, amid ongoing political instability, escalating gang violence, and the threat of the hurricane season.

Women and girls account for more than half of the 580,000 displaced in Haiti, and the report highlights how overcrowded makeshift camps - which lack basics such as lighting and locks on bedrooms and toilets - are putting them at risk of sexual and gender-based violence.

UN Women further noted that aggression against women and girls, specifically rape, is also being used in most camps as a deliberate tactic to control their access to the scarce humanitarian assistance available.

Additionally, nearly 90 per cent of women interviewed have no source of income in the camps. More than 10 per cent said they had resorted to or considered the possibility of sex work to meet their needs at least once, and a further 20 per cent knew someone who had done so.

UN chief marks 10 years since MH17 tragedy, urges accountability

The UN Secretary-General, António Guterres on Wednesday, remembered the 298 victims who lost their lives on Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine, exactly a decade ago.

The Boeing 777 flight was headed to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from the Dutch capital Amsterdam when it was shot down near the Russian border in a pro-Russian rebel-controlled area.

There were no survivors.

Mr. Guterres expressed full solidarity with the families of the victims, and in honour of their memory, renewed his call on all States to extend their full cooperation “to ensure that those responsible are held to account, following the important work of the independent Joint Investigation Team”.

This resolution called for a thorough and independent investigation into the incident.