HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY FARHAN HAQ,
DEPUTY SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES
TUESDAY, 29 JULY 2025
IPC REPORT
The World Food Programme (WFP) and UNICEF warned today that Gaza faces the grave risk of famine, as food consumption and nutrition indicators have reached their worst levels since the conflict began. That’s according to data shared in the latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) Alert.
The IPC Alert highlights that two out of the three famine thresholds have now been breached in parts of the territory.
Food consumption – the first core famine indicator - has plummeted in Gaza since the last IPC Update in May 2025. Data shows that more than one in three people (39 per cent) are now going days at a time without eating. More than 500,000 people – nearly a quarter of Gaza’s population – are enduring famine-like conditions, while the remaining population is facing emergency levels of hunger.
Acute malnutrition, the second core famine indicator, has risen in Gaza at an unprecedented rate. In Gaza City, malnutrition levels among children under five have quadrupled in two months, reaching 16.5 per cent. This signals a critical deterioration in nutritional status and a sharp rise in the risk of death from hunger and malnutrition.
Acute malnutrition and reports of starvation-related deaths, the third core famine indicator, are increasingly common, but collecting strong data under current circumstances in Gaza remains very difficult as health systems, already decimated by nearly three years of conflict, are collapsing.
IPC/SECRETARY-GENERAL
In response to the IPC alert, the Secretary-General said the following:
“The latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification Alert confirms what we have feared: Gaza is on the brink of famine.
The facts are in — and they are undeniable.
Palestinians in Gaza are enduring a humanitarian catastrophe of epic proportions. This is not a warning. It is a reality unfolding before our eyes.
The trickle of aid must become an ocean. Food, water, medicine, and fuel must flow in waves and without obstruction.
This nightmare must end.
Ending this worst-case scenario will take the best efforts of all parties -- now.
We need an immediate and permanent humanitarian ceasefire; the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages; and full, unfettered humanitarian access across Gaza.
This is a test of our shared humanity – a test we cannot afford to fail.”
OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY
Turning to Gaza, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs warns that we are making the most of the steps announced by the Israeli authorities to ease the delivery of aid into and across Gaza. We are collecting more supplies at the crossings and bringing more in from outside to restock.
Our colleagues in the ground say the Israeli-declared tactical pauses have reduced the intensity of hostilities, but not significantly enough, in times and areas where these are meant to apply. On Sunday and Monday – the two first days of the pauses – the UN and our partners were able to bring into Gaza more food, mainly wheat flour, alongside ready-to-use infant formula, high-energy biscuits, diapers, vaccines and much needed fuel. But OCHA says the volume of goods coming in is still far from enough.
Our colleagues say that most aid is still being offloaded by crowds before reaching where it’s supposed to go. But market monitoring shows prices for basic goods are starting to drop, which could point to better operating conditions if aid flows further increase and supplies saturate the area.
OCHA reminds us that commercial imports need to resume, sooner rather than later. No humanitarian operation can fully support 2.1 million people on its own. And for people to feel reassured that aid is flowing regularly, tactical pauses won’t cut it. What’s desperately needed is a full, permanent ceasefire.
Meanwhile, throughout most of the Gaza Strip, the UN and our partners are still required to coordinate humanitarian movements with the Israeli authorities. We’re seeing fewer outright denials by the Israeli authorities, but teams are still facing impediments on the ground.
Yesterday, all attempts were initially approved, but only half of them were fully facilitated. That’s five out of ten. This facilitation allowed our teams to collect cargo from Kerem Shalom and Zikim – the only crossings currently available to us – alongside other critical operations. The remaining five movements faced impediments on the ground; two of them could nevertheless be accomplished and three could not be accomplished fully or at all.
Our colleagues from the World Health Organization say that they remain committed to staying and delivering in Gaza despite the destruction of their main warehouse and damage to staff residences last week.
WHO calls for the release of their detained colleague. And they reiterated their call for protection of health care and sustained entry of food, fuel, and health aid at scale through all possible routes.
LEBANON
Lebanon’s Permanent Military Court found guilty six of the individuals charged in the killing of Irish peacekeeper Private Seán Rooney in Al-Aqbieh in December 2022. One individual was acquitted.
The UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) in welcoming the conclusion of this trial process and the Government of Lebanon’s commitment to bring the perpetrators to justice.
Since the attack, UNIFIL has extended its full support to both Lebanese and Irish authorities with their respective judicial proceedings.
Once again, we offer our deepest condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of Private Rooney and the Government of Ireland.
DEPUTY SECRETARY-GENERAL
The Deputy Secretary-General continued her engagements at the Second UN Food Systems Summit Stocktaking Moment (UNFSS+4), taking place in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Today, she participated in high-level events with public and private stakeholders, focusing on the role of African women and youth entrepreneurs in food systems transformation, as well as the challenge of improving food systems in complex settings.
She also met with Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, the Chairperson of the African Union Commission. They discussed advancing the UN 2030 Agenda and the AU Agenda 2063, as well as accelerating food systems transformation on the continent. They also addressed the interlinkages between climate, peace and security in Africa.
This evening, the Deputy Secretary-General will travel to Amman, Jordan, to co-chair the Regional Retreat with the UN Resident Coordinators in the Arab States region.
SECURITY COUNCIL
This morning, the Head of our Peace Operations Department, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, briefed the Security Council in a session on adapting peace operations for the pursuit of political solutions.
He said peacekeeping operations have proven to be critical instruments in advancing peace processes and supporting lasting political solutions. But for these operations to be effective in their efforts to pursue political solutions, Mr. Lacroix highlighted three critical areas where we should optimize collective leverage:
First and foremost, he said, the role of this Council is indispensable, not only by mandating missions, but by ensuring that mission political strategies receive sustained political support on the ground.
Second, Mr. Lacroix said it is vital that UN missions, and leadership, act as constant and unwavering ambassadors for peace. And third, it is equally important for our efforts to be closely coordinated and aligned with regional and sub-regional actors, whose political leverage and proximity to crises can be decisive in shaping positive political outcomes.
Martha Pobee, the Assistant Secretary-General for Africa at the Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, also briefed the Council. She said that in light of the challenges facing peace operations, there is a clear need to reflect on their future, adding that the review on the future of all forms of UN peace operations is a chance for reflection, self-awareness and honesty.
GUATEMALA
Turning to Guatemala, our colleagues at the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs tell us that $4 million has been allocated from the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), ahead of the upcoming drought forecasted during the crops season, running from September to November.
This marks the first time funds have been released from the CERF before a disaster in Latin America and the Caribbean region, as part of what we call anticipatory action efforts, so that communities can be prepared ahead of a drought.
Under the leadership of the UN Resident Coordinator, Miguel Barreto, the UN, Government and our partners will use the funds to reach more than 50,000 people with cash, assistance in protecting livestock, water, hygiene and sanitation services, food and medical care.
Our humanitarian colleagues noted that families in the Chiquimula Department in Southern Guatemala are already facing crisis levels of food insecurity due to previous droughts, economic shocks and systemic poverty. OCHA is also closely monitoring the situation across the so-called “Dry Corridor” in Central America, which also includes Honduras and El Salvador, and is susceptible to droughts.
CAMBODIA/THAILAND
In a statement we issued yesterday afternoon, the Secretary-General welcomed the ceasefire agreement between Cambodia and Thailand as a positive step towards ending current hostilities and easing tensions. He urges both countries to respect the agreement fully and to create an environment conducive to addressing long-standing issues and achieving lasting peace.
DR. DAVID NABARRO
The Secretary-General is saddened by the passing of Dr. David Nabarro, who had been the World Health Organization’s special envoy dealing with the COVID-19 crisis.
Dr. Nabarro was a tireless advocate for global health -- a leader who brought clarity, compassion, and conviction to some of the world’s most complex health emergencies, from AIDS and malaria to avian influenza and the COVID-19 pandemic.He dedicated his life to the conviction that health is a human right – and worked to help make that right a reality for all people, everywhere.
For Dr. Nabarro, a healthier world meant equitable access to vaccines, nutrition, and essential care -- especially for the most vulnerable.
The Secretary-General pays tribute to Dr. Nabarro’s extraordinary legacy of service and reaffirms his commitment to advancing the principles he championed: solidarity, science, and health for all.
**Noon briefing guests
Ross Smith, WFP Director of Emergencies, and Jean Martin Bauer, WFP Director of Food Security and Nutrition Assessments, briefed journalists virtually on the IPC report on Gaza.
