Daily Press Briefing by the Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General
The following is a near-verbatim transcript of today’s briefing by Florencia Soto Niño-Martinez, Associate Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.
**Secretary-General’s Message for New Year
Good afternoon everybody. I will start off with the Secretary-General’s message for the New Year, which was released this morning.
The Secretary-General said that throughout 2024, hope has been hard to find.
Wars are causing enormous pain, suffering and displacement. Inequalities and divisions are rife — fuelling tensions and mistrust. The Secretary-General also reported that we have just endured a decade of deadly heat, with the top ten 10 hottest years on record.
The Secretary-General said this is climate breakdown — in real time.
We must exit this road to ruin — and we have no time to lose, he stressed, adding that even in the darkest days, he has seen hope power change.
There are no guarantees for what’s ahead in 2025, he said, but also pledged to stand with all those who are working to forge a more peaceful, equal, stable and healthy future for all people.
And you will have seen that this online and there is the video as well.
**Yemen/Israel
And then back here at the Security Council, you saw that this morning, the Assistant Secretary-General for the Middle East, Asia and the Pacific, Khaled Khiari, briefed Security Council members about the hostilities between Israel and the Houthis which have taken an escalatory turn over the past weeks.
Mr. Khiari reiterated the Secretary-General’s grave concern about the intensified escalation and echoed his calls that international law, including humanitarian law as applicable, must be respected by all parties. He also appealed to all to respect and protect civilians and civilian infrastructure.
Mr. Khiari warned that further military escalation could jeopardize regional stability, with adverse political, security, economic and humanitarian repercussions.
**Occupied Palestinian Territory
Turning to the occupied Palestinian Territory, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs today warned that the very means of people’s survival are being dismantled. This includes an onslaught on healthcare, emergency services and humanitarian access alongside relentless attacks that kill and maim civilians by the hour.
And you will have seen that the Director-General of the World Health Organization, Dr. Tedros [Ghebreyesus], said that Kamal Adwan Hospital of North Gaza is now out of service. He said that this follows the raid, forced patient and staff evacuation and the detention of the facility’s director on Friday.
And yesterday, several of our agencies, including OCHA, WHO, the World Food Programme, as well as partners like the Palestine Red Crescent Society, delivered basic medical and hygiene supplies, food and water to critical patients, caregivers and staff who were evacuated from Kamal Adwan hospital [to the Indonesian hospital in North Gaza] that is now non-functional.
And our colleagues also tell us that ten patients were evacuated from the hospital, four of whom were arrested by Israeli forces at the checkpoint leaving the area. Seven patients along with 15 caregivers and health workers remain at the facility, which is severely damaged and has no ability now to provide medical care. The team reported also that the hospital has no water, electricity or sanitation.
Yesterday’s mission to North Gaza was exceptional because most of our attempts — over 150 attempts since October — have been denied by the Israeli authorities. Even the few that were initially agreed have faced heavy impediments as we’ve been reporting.
Between Friday and Sunday, three of our four attempts to access the area were denied by Israeli authorities. Only this one was let through but faced impediments. OCHA emphasizes that it should not require breaking a siege to help survivors in critical need. Aid workers must be granted safe and unhindered access to assist people wherever they are.
Armed looting also continues in the area. Two incidents recorded over the past three days in southern Gaza have affected dozens of truckloads of supplies and further exposed drivers to serious risks.
Meanwhile, fighting and Israeli restrictions on commercial and other imports also persist. And these continue to paralyse the humanitarian operation at a time when families urgently need more food, shelter, clothing, especially as the winter is hitting them hard.
**Syria
Turning to Syria, our Special Envoy there, Geir Pedersen, is continuing his engagements.
He has been meeting with French, German and [Russian] authorities.
Over the weekend, he engaged with Russian Deputy Minister [for Foreign Affairs, Sergey Vershinin].
During all of these discussions, Mr. Pedersen reiterated the relevance of the core principles of Security Council resolution 2254. His message remains consistent: The principles include: a Syrian-led and Syrian-owned transition; establishing credible, inclusive, and non-sectarian governance; undertaking constitutional reform; and holding free and fair elections.
Mr. Pedersen hopes to visit Syria early in the New Year, and we will continue to update you on his activities.
**Syria/Humanitarian
And on the humanitarian front in Syria, over the past week, hostilities and insecurity continued to persist across the country, including in Aleppo, Homs, Hama, Latakia, Tartous, Rural Damascus, Deir-ez-Zor and Quneitra governorates.
Due to the tense security situation, humanitarian operations remain suspended in several areas. On 27 December, hostilities were reported in Deir-ez-Zor, approximately one kilometre from our UN offices there.
From our part, and our response OCHA reports across Syria over 1.7 million received bread assistance in one month, and that is as of 29 December. A total of 265,109 people were provided with other food assistance.
And while schools have reopened across most governorates, the volatile security situation continues to affect children’s school attendance in rural Hama, rural Quneitra, Latakia, and Tartous.
Meanwhile partners are conducting rapid needs assessments across various governorates, including pretty much the same areas I just mentioned.
**Lebanon
And now turning to Lebanon, our colleagues at OCHA say that we and our partners continue to provide support across the country as displaced people are returning to their homes.
Since the cessation of hostilities 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 however, while the situation remains fluid.
Severe challenges persist due to devastated infrastructure, disrupted essential services, and ongoing security concerns. In many cases, families attempting to return remain internally displaced within or near their communities as their homes have been destroyed or severely damaged.
More than 60 villages in southern Lebanon remain in areas where the Israeli Army is warning residents not to return. Restrictions on free and safe movement exacerbate the hardships faced by displaced families, limiting their access to essential services.
And just a reminder, of the $426 million requested for the Lebanon Flash Appeal, we are now at 78 per cent funded and the needs still remain increasingly high.
**Mozambique
A few more notes for you. On Mozambique, our humanitarian colleagues said that yesterday we had to put its emergency response activities on hold for 72 hours. This was due to the deteriorating security situation following incidents of increased violence in the Nampula Province and the southern districts of Cabo Delgado. Our humanitarian colleagues warn that this could leave communities severely affected by Cyclone Chido without immediate and necessary humanitarian aid.
And as you know, more than 272,000 people were impacted by this cyclone Chido and urgently require assistance.
**Republic of Korea
And then just flagging and reading for the record two statements that we issued over the weekend.
You will have seen that yesterday the Secretary-General said he is deeply saddened by the news of a plane crash in Muan county in the Republic of Korea, which claimed the lives of 179 people.
He extended his heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims and expressed his solidarity with the people and Government of the Republic of Korea, and he wished a swift and full recovery to those injured in this tragic event.
**James Earl “Jimmy” Carter, Jr.
And we also issued a statement on the passing of former US President Jimmy Carter. The Secretary-General said that he is deeply saddened to learn of the passing of the 39th President of the United States of America, James Earl “Jimmy” Carter, Jr. He extended his deepest condolences to the Carter family and the Government and people of the United States.
The Secretary-General noted that President Carter's leadership contributed significantly to international peace and security, including the landmark Camp David Accords, the SALT II Treaty and the Panama Canal Treaties. After he left the presidency, he played a key role in conflict mediation, election monitoring, the promotion of democracy, and disease prevention and eradication. These and other efforts earned him the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 and helped advance the work of the United Nations.
**Financial Contribution
And finally, we have received one more payment. And I think Dezhi will be interested in this payment.
That’s right. We say Xièxiè to China for becoming the 151st Member State to pay its dues. And with that, that’s it for me. I will take your questions. Let’s start with Edie.
**Questions and Answers
Question: Thank you very much, and thanks for not having a briefing tomorrow, and happy New Year to everybody a day in advance. First, has anybody heard anything about the director of Kamal Adwan? Is anybody trying to secure his release?
Associate Spokesperson: I know that there have been contacts on the ground, but we have nothing to report at the moment. And I know you probably saw that Dr. Tedros called for his release.
Question: And secondly, does the Secretary-General have any comment on the announcement by the Taliban in Afghanistan that they are banning all Afghan women from working for NGOs in the country?
Associate Spokesperson: You know, I think that we have seen this… I mean, since two years ago, we have just been seeing the space for women shrink dramatically in Afghanistan. I can tell you that our Mission there is actively engaging with the de facto authorities there on this and other areas of concern because this really impacts how we can provide lifesaving humanitarian assistance to all the people in Afghanistan. And, obviously, we are very concerned by the fact that we are talking about a country where half the population's rights are being denied and are living in poverty, and many of them, not just women, are facing a humanitarian crisis. So we have consistently called on the de facto authorities to reverse these restrictions that have impacted the ability of women and girls to access education, work, medical treatment, and humanitarian assistance, and this is no exception.
Yes, Ephrem.
Question: Thanks, Florencia. On the patients who have been evacuated from Kamal Adwan Hospital, and, you said you were… the UN has been able to see some of them and, you know, where are they exactly?
Associate Spokesperson: I am not entirely sure, so I will have to get back to you on that.
Yes. Gabriel.
Question: Thank you, Florencia, and happy holidays and soon to be New Year.
Associate Spokesperson: Happy holidays.
Question: I wanted to follow-up on those questions as well. Does the Secretary-General condemn Israel's taking of Dr. Hussam Abu Safia, the director general or the director, I should say, of Kamal Adwan Hospital?
Associate Spokesperson: I think we've been very clear in the fact that we condemn any action that targets civilians and civilian infrastructure. And hospitals, we've called repeatedly for them to be respected, as this safe space areas where people go to seek medical assistance. And this is the case as well for this. [cross-talk].
Question: Does the Secretary-General call on Israel to release him immediately?
Associate Spokesperson: I mean, what I would say is that, yes, anyone that is innocent, an innocent civilian who is trying to help others should not be detained.
Question: And is there any justification ever for a director of a hospital to be taken by a military during a conflict?
Associate Spokesperson: Again, I think when we're talking about people who are seeking to provide assistance and innocent civilians who are seeking to provide medical attention to others, they should not be detained. And especially when we're talking about attacking a place where many civilians were seeking for help, were seeking help and instead this place became an unsafe space. But I think we have been talking about this for a long time. There is no safe space in Gaza, and this is further proof that this is the case.
Question: And last follow-up, if I may. His exact whereabouts are not known according to his family.
Associate Spokesperson: Correct.
Question: His family is calling on all international organizations, including the United Nations, to do whatever they can to leverage Israel to reveal where he's at and to release him. Is the UN doing this specifically, or will they do that?
Associate Spokesperson: I know that we have been having contacts on the ground to see what the situation is in the hospital and to, obviously, everyone that needs to be brought to safety and needs assistance, including the director. We will work with whoever needs to be worked with to ensure that that's the case.
Dezhi.
Question: Yes. Couple of questions. Just now when answering my question, the Israeli Ambassador Danon suggested that both Port Hodeidah as well as Sanaa International Airport are included in sort of military activity. That's why they bombed both locations, which is contradictory to what Julien last week told us, which is UN missions secured these two facilities as civilian use. Any response from the UN Secretariat to what the Ambassador Danon said?
Associate Spokesperson: I think Julien said it quite clearly, so I won't repeat it. But also, we… and even, ASG Khiari mentioned it today, this airport is regularly used by our on-house colleagues, and it's regularly used to bring in and out humanitarian assistance. So I will leave it at that.
Question: Okay. So my next question, since you just mentioned that China paid the contribution for this year, which means the second biggest contributor as well as the third biggest contributor, Japan, both pay in full, which leaves the first biggest contributor, which is US. How much has the US paid for this year?
Associate Spokesperson: I don't have the exact figure, but I know that they have been making partial payments throughout the year. Obviously, it's not complete yet.
Question: Then how much does the US owe for the US regular budget [cross-talk]
Associate Spokesperson: I will need to give you the exact figure after.
Question: But it's not as big as $789,000,000, right? That's basically their, this year's budget. So according to UN Charter, if the arrear exceeds this number, the voting rights will be suspended. Right?
Associate Spokesperson: I will need to get back to you on the exact figure that they've given.
Question: But there's a lot. Right?
Associate Spokesperson: That they've given?
Question: They are owing. Both are in large quantity I guess.
Associate Spokesperson: Yes. Up to debate. But, yes. I will get back to you on the exact figure as to how much they have or how much they still owe. But thank you for to China.
Question: So do you worry that next year when President Trump, President-elect Trump, became the President Trump, would there be even bigger problem with the country, the budget?
Associate Spokesperson: I mean, I think, we won't speculate for now what will happen with the next Administration. But I think, you know, the financial situation of the Organization, we've been very transparent about that. The Secretary-General has taken several measures to ensure that we have liquidity and that we can keep operating. So we're taking all necessary precautionary measures as we see our balance sheet today.
Question: Good luck, and happy New Year.
Associate Spokesperson: Thank you. Happy New Year, too.
Back there. I don't think I… Can you please tell me your name?
Question: My name is Massimo.
Associate Spokesperson: Massimo… I think, can you put your… I think your mic is not on. There we go.
Question: Can you hear me now?
Associate Spokesperson: Yeah. I can hear you now.
Question: My name is Massimo, from the AGI Italian News Agency. Just a question, a quick question. Tehran confirmed today that the Italian Journalist Cecilia Sala has been arrested on charges of violating the laws of the Islamic Republic of Iran, actually without giving any details about that. So, Ms. Sala, you know, was in Iran on a regular visa. So does the Secretary-General have any comment on that? And secondly, are the United Nations thinking about doing something to unlock the situation? Thank you.
Associate Spokesperson: I think, what I can say and what we have been saying is that we always call on all countries to respect journalists' rights, that they should be able to perform their essential professional functions and their work in a safe environment without fear of reprisals.
And I think I have a few questions online. Iftikhar. Iftikhar? Oh, hey. I can't hear you. There we go.
Question: Hello. Following up on Edie’s question about Afghanistan, the new Taliban order not only bans women from working in NGOs, but the order also contains instructions to municipal authorities to close down windows of all buildings, all high-rise buildings from where they can, women working in their houses can be seen. Would you also comment on that?
Associate Spokesperson: We saw these reports and I think it just, everything put together into context just reiterates what I just said, which is that the space where women feel safe and they can safely have activities like education, work, and all these things have just been chipped away little by little. And we continue to call on the de facto authorities to reverse that.
I think I have another question. Mike?
Question: Hi, Florencia. I hope you're doing well. I got a question for you here. Vanessa Frazier, the Ambassador from Malta, they're departing the Security Council, and Malta was one of the leading forces among the E10 in developing Security Council resolutions related to the Israel-Hamas conflict. She posted today, on X/Twitter in response to information from COGAT, regarding the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza. She posted “don't be fooled by these numbers. Prior to the war on Gaza, over 500 aid trucks entered Gaza daily”, and she capitalized daily for emphasis. This 500 daily number has been floated by UN officials almost since the beginning of the war and had apparently seeped its way into the Security Council among the leading figures there. That 500 daily figure has been wrong from the get go according to OCHA's own statements. They have on their website that the pre-crisis average per working day was 500 truckloads, but there's only 240 working days at those crossings per OCHA's own information. And per OCHAS's own information, only about 73 or so trucks per day pre-crisis, pre-war, actually carried food and about 80 or so carried medical aid. The rest were construction materials, appliances, animal feed, not really aid for any standard definition of that. So my question is, why has the UN and its officials never corrected this glaring inaccuracy in the information that it's been saying from the beginning of the war? It has skewed so much of the picture of this war. Why has it never issued a correction on this?
Associate Spokesperson: I would have to look clearly at, because I have not seen this tweet or this report, and I would have to look clearly at what our colleagues at OCHA said, and I would refer you directly to them. What I will say is that the situation has dramatically changed, and what we know now and what we want to emphasize now is that aid is not getting there, and aid is significantly being impeded, and the number of trucks going there post conflict is visible to everyone. It's less than what it was before, and the result is that people are dying. So I think this is what we want to focus on. And as for the numbers, I would, I will check with OCHA.
Question: I'll actually send you the link so I can get a direct response from the Secretary-General's office. But if you were to find that the number of aid trucks that are carrying food and medical aid are the same, if not more, post October 7th than they were pre-October 7th. Don't you think that would change a lot of views?
Associate Spokesperson: I don't think that the aid that is getting there now is the aid that needs to get there now, and the needs have dramatically increased since then.
Question: Okay. I'll send you those links. We'll talk later. Thank you.
Associate Spokesperson: Okay. Thank you. And then finally, I think I have Stefano.
Question: Thank you Florencia. This is a follow-up on, my colleague Massimo’s question before about the journalist Cecilia Sala, that has been imprisoned in Tehran. My question at this point is if the Secretary-General has informed of this arrest, has been informed?
Associate Spokesperson: He gets briefed daily on everything that happens world news wise, so I can tell you that he is following the news very closely, and that this has been in the news.
Question: And just another question. And, I asked this actually on Friday. Did the Italian Government ask the UN help in this situation or not?
Associate Spokesperson: As far as I know, but I may be wrong. But as far as we know, this has not been the case yet. But I will keep you informed, posted on that, But I have not been informed. But it might just be that I haven't been informed. [cross-talk]
Question: And these… I'm sorry. In these cases, when a Government doesn't ask help from the… is the UN will any way, will try to do something to help the situation?
Associate Spokesperson: I think…
Question: Or just let, you know, this be a kind of a bilateral… [cross-talk]
Associate Spokesperson: We will need to see how the situation evolves for now. I know that she's been arrested and the reason. I mean, I'm not super familiar with that case, but I know that they haven't given a reason. We will be following up closely and see what is there to be done, what can be dealt with bilaterally, and if there is any role for us to play.
Any other questions? No! Okay. Let's hope for real this time that we see you in the New Year. Thank you, everybody. Bye.