Lebanon

The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for UN Secretary-General António Guterres:

The Special Coordinator for Lebanon is in Israel where she is meeting with Israeli authorities to discuss the latest situation and the Head of the UN Peacekeeping Mission is in contact with both Lebanese and Israeli parties, stressing the urgent need for de-escalation. Efforts are ongoing to reduce tensions and halt shelling.

In Somalia, the Acting Emergency Relief Coordinator has allocated $3 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund for an urgent response to displacement in the country.

The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) issued a statement today — jointly with the African Union and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) — noting the presidency’s decision to extend the country’s transitional period by 24 months until February 2027.

The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for UN Secretary-General António Guterres:

The World Health Organization (WHO) just announced the first prequalification approval of a vaccine against mpox, stating that the MVA-BN vaccine is an important step to fight the disease in both current and future outbreaks. Now, urgent scale-up of procurement, donations and rollout are needed.

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said today that they are stepping up their support to the Government to protect the lives of children under 15, who account for about 60 per cent of the suspected cases of mpox and 80 per cent of the deaths in the country this year.

In Gaza, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs led an assessment team to Al Mawasi camp today to identify the most urgent needs of the population and to mobilize to meet those needs.

In Syria, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports in the north-east of the country the UN carried out a cross-line inter-agency assessment mission to Al-Kisrah district in Deir-ez-Zor, and that is the first such mission since 2018.

In the Occupied Palestinian Territory, and most particularly in the West Bank, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs is warning that people there are increasingly exposed to deadly warfare tactics that seem to exceed international standards for law enforcement.