Urgent action is needed to address the abject conditions and intolerable suffering in Gaza, a senior humanitarian UN official told the Security Council today, as delegates expressed horror at the recent strike on a hospital that killed displaced persons sheltering there, amidst Israel’s intensifying operations in northern Gaza.
Briefing the Security Council on the heels of the firing of Israeli forces on UN peacekeepers in Lebanon earlier in the day, senior UN officials warned of a dangerous uptick in violence in the Middle East, as delegates echoed their calls for a ceasefire, de-escalation and diplomacy.
In Myanmar, amid an expanding conflict, an estimated 1 million people are also suffering from the impacts of deadly flooding. To bolster emergency relief efforts, the Acting Emergency Relief Coordinator, Joyce Msuya, allocated $4 million from the UN Central Emergency Response Fund at the end of September.
One year after Hamas’ attack on Israel and the resulting military response — now extending to Lebanon — senior UN officials warned the Security Council today that efforts to dismantle the United Nations’ presence in Gaza and its surrounds would be disastrous for the people in need there, as speakers urged the Council to act.
Marking one year since Hamas attacked Israel and killed over 1,250 Israelis and foreign nationals, the Secretary-General urged the global community to condemn “in the loudest voice” Hamas’s acts, demanded the immediate release of all hostages and called for the Red Cross to be allowed to visit the hostages.
Following is UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ message to mark one year since the 7 October 2023 attacks, in New York today:
New estimates indicate that nearly 67 million people in Eastern Africa are now in need of humanitarian assistance, accounting for more than 20 per cent of the total number of people in need globally. Humanitarians continue to provide assistance to millions of people.
Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks at the Security Council meeting on the situation in the Middle East, in New York today:
Amid growing fears of an all out war in the Middle East following recent days’ escalation and exchange of hostilities, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres today reiterated his appeals for a ceasefire in Gaza, a cessation of hostilities in Lebanon and an end to the violence in the region during another Security Council emergency meeting.
In Gaza, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports that Israeli bombardments are continuing from the air, land and sea, which has resulted in civilian casualties, displacement and destruction of civilian infrastructure.
