Israel

Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks to the press, in New York today:

A staggering 85 per cent of the total population of Gaza — 1.9 million civilians — have been forcibly displaced amid Israel’s military operations, the United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator told the Security Council today, as delegates categorically rejected any statements proposing that Palestinians should be resettled outside of Gaza, including from members of the Israeli Government.

In Syria, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs today expressed concern about the impact on civilians of escalating hostilities in the north-west of the country — as well as the potential for the violence to jeopardize cross-border missions by United Nations staff.

The risk of regional spillover of the Israeli-Palestine conflict remains high, a top United Nations official told the Security Council today, as delegates underscored that a full-blown conflict between Israel and Hizbullah would be catastrophic for Lebanon and the wider region.

The Security Council today requested the Secretary-General to appoint a Senior Humanitarian and Reconstruction Coordinator for the Gaza Strip as it demanded the parties to the conflict to allow, facilitate and enable the immediate, safe and unhindered delivery of humanitarian assistance at scale directly to Palestinian civilians throughout that territory.

In Gaza, over 500,000 people are facing unprecedented catastrophic hunger and starvation, according to an analysis by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, which includes data from the World Food Programme (WFP) and other UN agencies. WFP warns that Gaza now risks famine.

In Sudan, the World Food Programme (WFP) announced today that it is temporarily suspending food assistance in some parts of Al Jazirah state, as fighting has spread south and east of the capital, Khartoum

The Arab-Israeli conflict will know no end unless a solution to the Palestinian question is found, otherwise the war will be passed down from generation to generation, the General Assembly heard today, as several delegates also underscored Israel’s right to self-defence within the parameters of international law.

Even with war raging in Gaza, it is critical at this important juncture to enable parties to re-engage on the long-delayed political path to a two-State solution, the United Nations’ point man for Middle East peace told the Security Council today, as he urged Israelis, Palestinians, States in the region and the broader international community to work together towards that goal.

In Myanmar, the UN and humanitarian partners today published the 2024 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan which indicates that nearly three years after the military takeover a third of the population — about 18.6 million people — needs humanitarian aid, up 1 million from last year.