The UN Security Council met in New York on Tuesday on the Middle East crisis, exactly two months since the start of the fragile Gaza ceasefire and hostages deal came into effect. That’s been shattered by deadly Israeli airstrikes overnight following a two-week aid blockade which has strained critical supplies....
“The past six weeks have provided a fragile but vital reprieve, offering a measure of relief to both Palestinians and Israelis,” said the UN chief in a statement issued by his Spokesperson. During the period of the truce, thousands of trucks carrying life-saving assistance entered Gaza, reaching nearly every person...
Since the ceasefire on 19 January, some 138,000 Palestinians have benefited from cash assistance, including people with disabilities and pregnant and breastfeeding women. The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reported that market conditions across Gaza have improved since the ceasefire took effect. Goods are reportedly less expensive, and more commodities are...
Since the ceasefire on 19 January, some 138,000 Palestinians have benefited from cash assistance, including people with disabilities and pregnant and breastfeeding women. The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reported that market conditions across Gaza have improved since the ceasefire took effect. Goods are reportedly less expensive, and more commodities are...
The UN is racing against time to expand humanitarian relief and prepare for the monumental task of rebuilding Gaza, as a fragile ceasefire holds but tensions loom over a potential resumption of fighting. “There is no time to lose,” said the head of the office responsible for UN reconstruction efforts...
A note to media correspondents was released by the UN on Sunday, a day after the release of three Israeli hostages from Gaza, in exchange for 369 Palestinians held in Israel’s jails. The exchange forms part of the first phase of a ceasefire deal between the two sides which came...
Announcing the development, the UN’s top aid official, Tom Fletcher, said that the trucks contained lifesaving food, medicine, and tents – all desperately needed by Gazans after more than 15 months of constant Israeli bombardment. The UN emergency relief chief’s comments came as he prepared to join an aid convoy...
The temporary agreement to stop the fighting and release hostages brought an end to some 15 months of conflict and destruction in the Strip, following the brutal Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel of 7 October 2023. The truce came into force on 19 January and OCHA said the surge in...
It comes a day after Israeli Security Forces (ISF) carried out a series of controlled detonations at the Jenin refugee camp, located in the northern West Bank, destroying large areas there “in a split second”. UNRWA said it received no prior warning of the explosions “as contact between staff and...
Briefing ambassadors in New York on Tuesday, UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini warned that the laws passed in October last year in the Knesset jeopardize the lives of millions of Palestinians and risks undermining the fragile ceasefire in Gaza. They require that UNRWA cease its activities in the territory of the...
The timelines envisaged in the November ceasefire agreement “have not been met”, according to a joint statement by UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert and head of the UN peacekeeping mission, UNIFIL, and force commander Aroldo Lázaro. The agreement between Israel and armed group Hezbollah had been reached after...
Following the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners on Sunday, the UN Security Council is meeting in New York to hear from the Secretary-General and foreign ministers from the Middle East and beyond. UN chief António Guterres told the meeting there must be “irreversible action” to realise the two-State...