State of Palestine

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) today released its annual Adaptation Gap Report, which finds that progress on climate adaptation is slowing on all fronts. The adaptation finance needs of developing countries are 10 to 18 times as big as international public finance flows.

As the General Assembly concluded its emergency session on the situation in the Middle East, many Member States, condemning Israel’s bombardments of Gaza, demanded a humanitarian ceasefire to deliver aid to Palestinians in need, while others continued to express regret that the 193-member body was unable to condemn Hamas’ terrorist attacks on Israel and echoed calls for the release of hostages.

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:

During a continued emergency session in the General Assembly this afternoon on the situation in the Middle East, many Member States mourned the thousands of children killed in Gaza, calling for a humanitarian ceasefire and for more humanitarian aid to reach civilians there.

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

The General Assembly today continued its emergency session on the situation in the Middle East, with many Member States echoing urgent calls for a humanitarian ceasefire and the provision of adequate aid to civilians in Gaza.

In Ukraine, an Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs official, briefing the Security Council today, said that more than 9,900 civilians have been killed since the start of the invasion and damage to infrastructure continues to impact civilians’ access to electricity, heating, water and telecommunications.

Civilians in Gaza must not be the target of collective punishment, speakers told the Security Council today, as calls for a ceasefire gained greater urgency amid the intensification of Israel’s lethal military offensive into the besieged enclave, following the 7 October attacks by the armed group Hamas against that country.

In Haiti, the World Food Programme (WFP) reports that since mid-August, violence in Port-au-Prince has forced about 40,000 people to flee from their homes. These recent movements bring the total number of displaced people across the country to 200,000.

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