State of Palestine

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) reported that 220,000 internally displaced people are sheltering in 88 UNRWA schools across the Gaza Strip, also noting that numerous personnel, teachers and students have been killed. Agency staff are working around the clock, caring for the people in the shelters.

In Afghanistan, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports that aftershocks continue three days after the earthquake which struck Herat Province and affected over 12,000 people. The UN and its partners are on the ground providing emergency food, shelter, health care and household aid.

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

The World Food Programme (WFP) has begun rolling out food distributions to nearly 900,000 refugees in Ethiopia following a full revamp of the safeguards and controls at its refugee operations, with refugee camps across five regions receiving food parcels for the first time since WFP paused food distributions in June.

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

The UN Conference on Trade and Development’s newly released Trade and Development Report 2023 warns of a stalling global economy this year, with growth slowing in most regions and only a few countries bucking the trend. The agency calls for a change in policy direction and institutional reforms to avert a lost decade.

Pointing to ongoing expansion of Israeli settlements, demolition of Palestinian structures, daily violence and continued inflammatory rhetoric by their Government representatives, a senior United Nations official reiterated to the Security Council the Secretary-General’s appeal for an end to the occupation and a resolution of the conflict in pursuit of the two-State solution, as members echoed those calls and underlined a need to return to peace negotiations.

Highlighting the international community’ paralysis and lack of progress to hold Israel accountable for its actions, the Permanent Observer reported on preparations for the case being brought before the International Court of Justice that exposes Israel’s prolonged illegal practices and policies that deny the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination, as the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People approved its annual report today.

In West Darfur, the UN Population Fund has sent health and social workers to support thousands of displaced and vulnerable women and girls with reproductive health care and protection services, and in eastern Sudan has delivered reproductive health supplies for 150,000 women and girls at the Port Sudan Maternity Hospital.

For the first time in six years since 700,000 Rohingya women, men and children fled Myanmar to Bangladesh, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has reported that decreasing funds have resulted in a reduction of refugees’ food assistance and is appealing for financial support to sustain the humanitarian response.