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 Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesman for the Secretary-General.

**Guest

Good afternoon.  We’re going to be starting with guest, Bruno Lemarquis, the Humanitarian Coordinator for the Democratic Republic of the Congo.  [response from audio room] There’s no one sitting there?  In that case, I will go first, but in a short while you will hear from Bruno Lemarquis the Humanitarian Coordinator for the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and he’ll join us virtually from Kinshasa to speak on the situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

**Artificial Intelligence

Earlier today, the Secretary-General delivered remarks at the AI Summit in Paris, which is co-hosted by President Emmanuel Macron [of France] and Prime Minister Narendra Modi [of India].  He told the leaders gathered there about the growing concentration of AI capabilities in the hands of a few companies.  “While some companies and countries are racing ahead with record investments, most developing nations find themselves left out in the cold,” he said.  “This growing concentration of AI capabilities risks deepening geopolitical divides.”  He underscored that the United Nations offers an inclusive, transparent and effective platform for AI solidarity.  Through the Global Dialogue that Member States agreed to establish last year, the Secretary-General said that we can align governance efforts around the world and reinforce their interoperability, uphold human rights in AI applications and prevent misuse.

The UN, Mr. [António] Guterres said,provides an inclusive forum for cooperation, complementing existing mechanisms such as the OECD [Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development] AI Principles, the G7 and the Global Partnership on AI — as well as regional efforts by the African Union, European Union, ASEAN [Association of Southeast Asian Nations] and the Council of Europe.

Prior to attending the Summit, the Secretary-General attended a working breakfast hosted by French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot.  They discussed a wide-ranging set of issues, including the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the work of the UN peacekeeping forces in southern Lebanon, the situation in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, the war in Ukraine, and of course, the Artificial Intelligence Summit.  The Secretary-General also had a bilateral meeting with Alain Berset, the Secretary-General of the Council of Europe.  They discussed the cooperation between their two organizations.  Last night, the Secretary-General attending a working dinner hosted by President Macron.

**Middle East

In a statement earlier today, the Secretary-General said that we must avoid at all costs the resumption of hostilities in Gaza that would lead to an immense tragedy.  He appeals to Hamas to proceed with the planned liberation of hostages next Saturday. Both sides must fully abide by their commitments in the ceasefire agreement and resume serious negotiations in Doha for the second phase.

**Occupied Palestinian Territory

Turning to the situation in Gaza, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that the UN and humanitarian partners continue to assess and respond to the impact of recent winter storms.  Dozens of families in Deir al-Balah and the Al-Mawasi area of Khan Younis have been affected, with makeshift shelters and tents reportedly damaged.  One of our partners has distributed tents and tarpaulins to affected families in Deir al-Balah.

Meanwhile, humanitarians continue to expand their presence in areas that were off-limits during the past 15 months of hostilities. Our partners supporting water, sanitation and hygiene services report that as of yesterday, 63 public water and sanitation facilities were operational in Northern Gaza, three times as many as at the start of the ceasefire.  Meanwhile, more than 540 water delivery points in the two northern governorates have been established, doubling capacity in just a week.

In Khan Younis, one of our partners launched an initiative to collect waste and clean bathrooms through a cash-for-work programme at six United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA)-managed collective centres for internally displaced people, benefiting more than 2,800 people.  Another partner has installed four latrines, as well as water taps, on the road crossing the Netzarim corridor to support people returning home.

Meanwhile, partners are scaling up the distribution of bread and cooked meals in different parts of Gaza.  Since yesterday, an additional 20 retail shops in Khan Younis and the Middle Area have been supplying bread.  Over the past two days, one of our partners successfully distributed 1,100 one-month food rations to returnees in Khuza’a in Khan Younis, an area that was inaccessible prior to the ceasefire.  Partners are also working to address urgent shelter needs.  Between 24 January and 7 February, they distributed 25,000 tarpaulins to 12,500 families who recently returned to northern Gaza.

Education partners report that between 4 February and yesterday, more than a dozen new temporary learning spaces have opened in Deir al-Balah, Rafah, Khan Younis and Gaza Governorates.  These sites are currently supporting more than 1,700 school-aged children who have returned or relocated.  Overall, there are more than 400 temporary learning spaces across the Gaza Strip, serving some 152,000 children, almost half of them girls.  This is still less than a quarter of school-aged children in the Gaza Strip.

And turning to the West Bank, OCHA reports that operations by Israeli forces continue in northern areas, causing further death, destruction and displacement among the civilian population.  Partners estimate that tens of thousands of people, particularly those living in refugee camps, have been displaced due to these ongoing operations, depriving them of access to basic shelter and other public services.

OCHA’s latest reporting also indicates that there has been a significant increase in the number of Palestinian children killed due to Israeli violence in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, over the past two years, compared with the preceding 18 years since OCHA began systematically documenting casualties in 2005.  Since January 2023, 224 children have been killed by Israeli forces or settlers — accounting for nearly half of the total 468 child fatalities in the West Bank documented by OCHA since 2005.  These include 11 children killed by Israeli forces since the beginning of 2025, including 6 killed in air strikes.

**Democratic Republic of the Congo

On the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs tells us that hundreds of thousands of people remain on the move in North Kivu and in South Kivu.  In North Kivu, partners report that more than 110,000 people have left displacement sites in Goma and started to move to villages in the Masisi, Rutshuru and Nyiragongo Territories.  We and our humanitarian partners are also alarmed about the ongoing looting of infrastructure in sites for internally displaced people.  This situation leads to the loss of humanitarian facilities at the sites, including water supply, health centres and cholera treatment centres, resulting in significant financial losses and reduced response capacities.

Partners also remain concerned by a 72-hour ultimatum given by M23 [23 March Movement] representatives on 9 February to displaced people living in sites and collective centres in Goma to leave and return to their villages.  Yesterday, the M23 issued a statement explaining that it fully supports and encourages voluntary returns, but does not compel anyone to return without firm security guarantees.  We reiterate that all returns must be voluntary and take place under safe, informed and dignified conditions in accordance with international humanitarian law.

Turning to South Kivu, OCHA says that ongoing violence continues to displace people in the province.  According to partners, more than 100,000 people have already arrived in Bukavu City, fleeing violence, putting additional strain on an already dire humanitarian situation, and of course, we will hear from Mr. Lemarquis in just a few minutes.

**Ukraine

Turning to Ukraine, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs tells us that between 7 February and today, hostilities in front-line areas killed civilians and injured scores, including children.  According to authorities, these attacks also damaged critical infrastructure, triggered emergency power cuts and disrupted gas supplies.  The State energy company — Ukrenergo — interrupted services to protect the grid. In Poltava region, in central Ukraine, nine towns and villages experienced outages of heating and electricity. And in Donetsk region, in the east, shelling damaged critical electricity lines leaving more than 170,000 people without electricity and heating for up to two days.  Still in the east, in Kharkiv region, a glide bomb strike disrupted power supply and damaged multiple residential buildings and a health facility.  Our humanitarian colleagues note that these strikes leave thousands of civilians without electricity, gas, and heating as the country continues to face cold winter conditions.

Today, OCHA facilitated an inter-agency humanitarian convoy — the eighth this year — to deliver humanitarian assistance to 800 residents of a front-line community in the Kharkiv Region, where mostly older people remain amid worsening security conditions.  Last year, we and our humanitarian partners organized 49 humanitarian convoys, delivering aid to 80,000 people in front-line communities.

**Women and Girls in Science

Today is the International Day for Women and Girls in Science.  In his message, the Secretary-General says that women today still represent just one third of the global scientific community.  The more that women are excluded from science, technology, engineering and math, he says, the more we limit our collective power to address urgent global challenges, from climate change and food security to public health and technological transformation.  Any questions before we turn to our guest?  Yes.  Sherwin?

**Questions and Answers

Question:  Farhan, some breaking news for you.  Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says now that if Hamas does not release all hostages by noon on Saturday, echoing what the US President said overnight, the ceasefire deal would be dead.  What’s your reaction?

Deputy Spokesman: Well, my reaction is what we said just earlier.  We want to make sure that the hostages are released, but certainly we also want to make sure that both sides fully abide by their commitments in the ceasefire agreement.  They need to do that, and they need to resume serious negotiations in Doha for the second phase.  And the Secretary-General today, in fact, was in touch with Qatari officials by phone, trying to see what support we can also provide on this.  But it’s essential that the ceasefire agreement, which has already brought so much relief to the long-suffering population, particularly in Gaza, be upheld.  Yes, please?

Question:  President [Donald J.] Trump yesterday has said that he will cut off aid to Egypt and Jordan if they do not take in Palestinians and it just started, a highly anticipated meeting between President Trump and the King of Jordan.  Does the Secretary-General have any comment on that, and how concerning are these threats for regional stability?  And also, what we’ve been asking when it comes to actually the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in Gaza.

Deputy Spokesman: Well, you heard what the Secretary-General said just a week ago about the need to avoid any ethnic cleansing.  There must be no forcible transfer of the population from Gaza.  And so, we stick to that, and of course our concerns in that respect are in line with what you’ve been hearing from some of the officials in the region themselves.  Yes.  Michelle?

Question:  Thanks, Farhan.  When you say, he was in touch with Qatari officials, who was he in touch with, and what kind of support could the UN offer?

Deputy Spokesman:  I believe he was in touch with the Prime Minister of Qatar.  And of course, we are trying to provide the necessary diplomatic support for the sort of efforts that they’ve been making.

Question:  Will the Secretary-General reach out to any other leaders today, President Trump, Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu?

Deputy Spokesman: He’s going to continue to reach out to leaders.  I believe among them by the way, he’s also been in touch with his own staff, including the security, the Special Coordinator, Sigrid Kaaq.  Abdelhamid?

Correspondent:  Thank you.  I can’t open the camera, by the way.  Anyhow, I have few questions.  First…

Deputy Spokesman: It’s okay.  I know what you look like.

Question:  Thank you.  Sundus Shalabi, a pregnant woman, was shot and killed in Tulkarem.  How such a heinous crime passes without mentioning in your briefing or condemnation?

Deputy Spokesman: We’ve actually been talking about the violence in Tulkarem and Tubas and throughout the West Bank over the past days. I haven’t spoken about specific individuals, but, obviously, we’re concerned about all of those who have been killed in these attacks.

Question:  And in Al Farah Refugee Camp yesterday, 200  families were evicted from their homes.  Are you aware of that?  Huge number, 200 families.  It’s ethnic cleansing in the West Bank now.

Deputy Spokesman: Yes.  In fact, I don’t know whether you heard me say this, but one of the things I was saying just now is that we believe that tens of thousands of people have been displaced due to the ongoing operations, and that has deprived them of access to basic shelter and public services.  Obviously, we want that to stop.  And yes, Dulcie?

Question:  Yeah.  What is the Secretary-General’s reaction to the AI conference?  Does he have a visceral response?  Does he have a general take on the results?

Deputy Spokesman: Well, I’d refer you to the remarks that he put out.  So, certainly they capture what he believes that this conference can accomplish.  But he’s been pleased with the results so far. He will also be in Paris through tomorrow, and we’ll have further updates at that point, as well.

Question:  And over on Israel-Hamas stalemate.  So, [Mr.] Guterres’s statement just referred to what Hamas needed to do to keep the ceasefire from folding.  He didn’t say what Israel needed to do in terms of at least conditions in the ceasefire, such as getting aid in?

Deputy Spokesman: Well, he wants both sides… as he said in the statement, he wants both sides to fully implement the ceasefire and abide by their commitments, and he wants both sides to negotiate on the second phase.  Yes.  Yvonne?

Question:  Thanks, Farhan.  How worried is the Secretary-General that these efforts may not work and the ceasefire will fail?

Deputy Spokesman: It’s a tremendous concern if the ceasefire does not last.  You saw the suffering that had happened from October 2023 up until just a few weeks ago, and we do not want to return to that.  We do not want to return to the continued [number] of killings, the threat of famine, the threat of the outbreak of disease.  So, all efforts need to be made to make sure that this ceasefire, which has been precious to the people of the region and indeed of the wider Middle East, that ceasefire is maintained.  And with that, let me turn to our guest.  What?  Oh, sorry. Yes.  One more.

Question:  Yes.  Thank you, Farhan.  Do we know who went to Doha, who was represented at the Gaza meeting in Doha?

Deputy Spokesman: You mean the negotiations among the parties?

Correspondent:  Yeah.

Deputy Spokesman: That’s really for the authorities in Doha to comment on.  We are not running that.

Question:  And remind me, when was the SG going to have a real press conference?

Deputy Spokesman: We’ll let you know as soon as we can get that.  He’s traveling… 

Correspondent:  Okay, I didn’t know this.

Deputy Spokesman: As you know, he’s on the road, and we’ll probably have some more travel to announce next week, as well.

Question:  Right and on Ukraine, maybe I misunderstood you.  You talked about all the aid that the United Nations gave last year.  What was there, was it not repeated this year, or what?

Deputy Spokesman: We’re continuing with our aid efforts. I mean, we were summarizing what we provided last year, but obviously the aid efforts in Ukraine continue.  All right.