A full-scale Israeli military operation in the densely populated Rafah area — where 1.4 million Palestinians are sheltering near the only point of entry for goods — would be devastating, the head of United Nations peace efforts in the Middle East told the Security Council today, as he appealed for additional access points to northern Gaza to increase the flow of aid and reduce congestion in the south.
The UN team in Costa Rica is presenting a “Preparedness and Response Plan for People in Transit” to partners this week, which aims to boost assistance to vulnerable refugees and migrants. Over 500,000 people entered Costa Rica from Panama in 2023 — more than double the number of those who did so in 2022.
The Security Council today failed to adopt a resolution that would have demanded an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza owing to a negative vote of the United States — a permanent member of the Council — marking the second time Washington, D.C., has blocked such a text since early December 2023.
Following a surge of hostilities in Ukraine over the weekend, humanitarian organizations have provided materials for emergency repairs to houses. Meanwhile, the UN and its partners are addressing the impact of oil spillage on water sources in Kharkiv after a strike on an oil storage facility in that area on 9 February.
In Gaza, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports that as intensified air strikes on Rafah continue, people are reportedly moving out of Gaza’s southern-most governorate towards Deir al Balah.
The following statement was issued today by the Bureau of the General Assembly’s Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People:
In war-torn Sudan, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) estimates that 3.5 million children are projected to suffer from acute malnutrition this year. The Agency and its partners have secured ready-to-use therapeutic foods through July and are scaling up their response to prevent a massive loss of lives.
In Abyei, located along South Sudan’s border with Sudan and which has been the site of violence recently, the United Nations and its humanitarian partners have been providing food and shelter materials to displaced men, women and children, despite major access and logistical challenges.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) is the beating heart of all humanitarian efforts in Gaza, and decisions to withhold funds from the Agency must be revoked, the United Nations humanitarian chief told the Security Council today, underscoring that an investigation into the alleged involvement of some UNRWA employees in the 7 October attack on Israel are under way.
Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks to the opening of the 2024 session of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, in New York today:
