Describing a health system that is on the verge of collapse, the head of the United Nations health agency urged the Security Council today to secure an immediate ceasefire and unfettered humanitarian access in Gaza where “nowhere and no one is safe” as the war between Israel and Hamas rages on.
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported that 65 trucks carrying food, medicines, water and health supplies entered Gaza yesterday through the Rafah crossing, but said the volume of aid entering Gaza remains wholly inadequate and more than one entry point is needed.
The United Nations has released $25 million to cope with the effects of once-in-a-century flooding in Somalia, including $10 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund and $15 million from the Somalia Humanitarian Fund, all which is supporting work to save lives, stem disease outbreaks and address food insecurity.
Following is the text of UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ video message to the International Humanitarian Conference for the Civilian Population in Gaza, in Paris today:
The Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) approved six draft resolutions today, all by recorded votes, relating to the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question, as well as a decision regarding its programme of work, thus completing its work for the main part of the General Assembly’s seventy eighth session.
The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for UN Secretary-General António Guterres:
In Sudan, the UN refugee agency reports that 4.5 million people have been internally displaced, while 1.2 million others have fled to Chad, Egypt and South Sudan, as well as Ethiopia and the Central African Republic. That is almost 6 million people who have been forced to move since the start of fighting in April.
Speakers today urged respect for international humanitarian law — and upheld the two-State solution as the only sure path to peace in the Middle East — as the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) concluded its general debate on Israeli practices affecting the human rights of the Palestinian people and other Arabs of the occupied territories.
The UN and partners are providing humanitarian aid to Nepal, including 6 metric tons of food from the World Food Programme (WFP), medicines and supplies from the World Health Organization (WHO), over 2,000 emergency shelter sets from United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and relief packages from UN-Women, which is also working with women’s groups on community kitchens.
The Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) today began its general debate on Israeli practices which impact the human rights of Palestinians and other Arabs in occupied territories and concluded its consideration of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), with speakers expressing alarm at the fast-rising death toll in Gaza and an upsurge in violence between settlers and Palestinians in the West Bank.
