MIDDLE EAST
The Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Tor Wennesland, as the Secretary-General mentioned, is in Cairo, Egypt, where he has met with Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and other Egyptian officials. He remains in close contact with other key international and regional partners to discuss the ongoing situation and he continues his outreach to the parties.
The priority remains to bring an end to the ongoing devastating violence so as to avoid further loss of civilian life and to prevent any expansion to the current conflict. The Special Coordinator’s Office continues to urge the international community to exert their good offices with the parties to this end. Mr. Wennesland also calls for an immediate and unconditional release of hostages in Gaza and for immediate humanitarian access and delivery of urgent humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip.  

GAZA
For its part, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says that the number of people displaced across Gaza has now topped 263,000 men, women and children – an increase of 40 per cent since yesterday.
More than 1,000 housing units in Gaza have been destroyed, and some 560 have been severely damaged and rendered uninhabitable. An additional 12,630 have sustained lesser damage.
All 13 hospitals and other health facilities in Gaza are only partially operational due to supply shortages and fuel rationing. The Beit Hanoun hospital is also inaccessible due to damage to the surrounding area.
With water supplies cut off from Israel into Gaza, there is a severe shortage of drinking water impacting 650,000 people.
Also Israeli airstrikes have damaged seven facilities that had been providing water and sanitation services to over a million people. In some areas, sewage and solid waste are now accumulating in the streets, posing an obvious severe health hazard.

UNRWA
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) is telling us that 220,000 internally displaced people are sheltering in 88 UNRWA schools across the Gaza Strip. The numbers continue to increase as airstrikes from the Israeli Air Forces are continuing.  
Eleven UNRWA staff, personnel, have been killed since Saturday, while three teachers have been injured. Meanwhile, 30 UNRWA students have been killed and another eight have been injured.  
UNRWA staff are working around the clock to respond to the needs of the displaced in the shelters. However, some are overcrowded and have limited availability of food and other basic items such as potable water.
Two UNRWA schools were affected by airstrikes, bringing the total number of installations affected by the conflict to 20 since 7 October. Sixteen internally displaced people sheltering at an UNRWA school were injured, including two critically, as a result of an airstrike nearby. 
In coordination with the World Food Programme, bread was distributed to the displaced people in the UN shelters. 

LEBANON
Looking north, our peacekeeping colleagues in Lebanon report that the situation in southern Lebanon along the Blue Line remains tense. The peacekeeping mission observed several instances of indirect fire from both sides of the Blue Line today and yesterday, including the firing of illumination rounds and artillery shells. 
The UN staff and UN peacekeepers are continuing to implement their mandate and the Head of the Mission and Force Commander, Aroldo Lázaro Sáenz, remains in constant contact with his counterparts in the Israeli Defence Forces and the Lebanese Armed Forces as part of the Mission’s liaison and coordination mechanism to help de-escalate this very volatile situation and to prevent anyloss of life. Earlier this morning, peacekeepers on patrol southwest of Marun Ar Ras were subjected to aggressive behaviour from a crowd, who tried to enter one of the vehicles. There were no injuries to UNIFIL personnel.
Despite this incident, UN peacekeepers are continuing to patrol and maintain their presence along the Blue Line to help maintain stability.

AFGHANISTAN
Turning to Afghanistan and the continuing work around the tragic earthquake, our humanitarian colleagues tell us that another earthquake struck parts of Herat Province just this morning, that’s just four days after the same province was hit by a major earthquake affecting 17,000 people. Initial reports from humanitarian partners indicate that 140 people were injured and transported to the Herat Regional Hospital and private facilities in the latest 6.3-magnitude quake. 
More than 110 new villages were affected by today’s earthquake across five districts, with houses reported to be severely damaged in Gulran and Injil districts. 
Our international UN colleagues, along with our local partners, are on the ground assessing the impact and the needs following these earthquakes and will continue to provide assistance. 
The Humanitarian Coordinator in Afghanistan, Daniel Andres, was yesterday in the affected areas to assess himself and on behalf of the UN, the damages and meet with affected communities.

UKRAINE
Quick update from Ukraine, where the UN team on the ground is working closely with the Government, local authorities, the private sector, and communities - including youth groups - to boost the country’s monumental recovery efforts. Our team has mobilized and is currently implementing more than $1 billion in recovery and development initiatives across the country.
The Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Ukraine, Denise Brown, this week visited some of our recovery initiatives in Invakiv, a town in the Kyiv Region. There, the UN Development Programme, the International Organization for Migration and the UN Refugee Agency are reconstructing and repairing homes, primary schools, and water systems, that were all destroyed at the start of the invasion.  
Our team is also supporting a centre where residents can access a wide range of essential services, including birth certificates. According to Denise Brown, the work is essential as it aligns with the aspirations of the war-affected communities.

GUATEMALA
Moving to Latin America, the Secretary-General is following closely the situation in Guatemala, where demonstrations continue over concerns about prosecutorial actions said to undermine confidence in the presidential transition process. He reiterates his call to all actors to uphold the rule of law and the democratic will expressed through the polls.
The Secretary-General appeals for restraint from all parties, for protests to be peaceful, and for the respect of human rights. He also calls on all national actors to respond to the current crisis through good faith dialogue. In this regard, he takes note of the mediation efforts by the Organization of American States.

COLOMBIA 
And I just want to flag that this afternoon, Carlos Ruiz Massieu, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the UN Verification Mission in Colombia, will be briefing Security Council members this afternoon. 
He will talk about the progress made ahead of the seventh anniversary of the signing of the Final Peace Agreement and as the halfway point nears in the 15-year timetable for its implementation. He will be speaking via videoconference.

YEMEN
Yesterday, our good friend Hans Grundberg, the Special Envoy for Yemen was in Washington DC to meet with the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, and other American officials. They discussed the progress of efforts to advance an agreement between the Yemeni parties on measures to improve living conditions in Yemen, and a sustainable nationwide ceasefire, the resumption of an inclusive intra-Yemeni political process under UN auspices. 
Mr. Grundberg stressed that the UN mediation requires concerted regional and international support. He pointed to the need to sustain consensus and unity among members of the Security Council and the broader international community throughout Yemen’s quest for peace, as well as recovery and development.

DAY OF THE GIRL CHILD
Today is the International Day of the Girl Child. 
In his message, the Secretary-General says that old forms of discrimination against girls continues, while new forms of bias and inequality are emerging. 
He underscores the importance of working together to build a world where every girl can lead and thrive.
 
BRIEFING TOMORROW
Tomorrow, at 1:30 p.m., there will be a press briefing by Alice Jill Edwards, the Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. Pam, then Edie.