Noon briefing of 23 October 2024

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY FARHAN HAQ,
DEPUTY SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES
WEDNESDAY, 23 OCTOBER 2024

TÜRKIYE
In a statement issued today, the Secretary-General strongly condemned the terrorist attack on Turkish Aerospace Industries’ facilities in Ankara. He expressed his deepest condolences to the victims and their families and wished a speedy and full recovery to those injured.
The United Nations stands in solidarity with the people and Government of the Republic of Türkiye.

OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warns that Palestinians in North Gaza Governorate are experiencing extreme suffering as the Israeli siege there continues. OCHA says there are harrowing levels of death, injury and destruction in the north.
Civilians are trapped under rubble. The sick and wounded are going without life-saving health care. Families lack food. Their homes have been destroyed. They have no shelter. And nowhere is safe.
International humanitarian law demands that civilians have the essentials they need to survive – that’s food, shelter, medical care, and other critical assistance. OCHA appeals once again for rapid, unimpeded humanitarian relief – which must reach civilians in need.
Our partners on the ground report that two water stations in North Gaza have stopped operating due to the lack of fuel. The suspension of service is affecting large areas, including the neighbourhoods of Al-Daraj, Al-Tuffah, Al-Zarga and Sheikh Radwan. A request earlier this week to deliver 23,000 litres of fuel to North Gaza Governorate was denied by Israeli authorities.
From 6 October through yesterday, several attempts to get fuel to Gaza Governorate were also denied. Another mission was impeded and therefore unable to be accomplished.
The UN and our partners have also been compelled to postpone the polio vaccination campaign in northern Gaza due to the escalating violence, intense bombardment, mass displacement orders, and the lack of assured humanitarian pauses across most of the north.
This final phase of the vaccination effort was supposed to begin today, with the aim of reaching more than 119,000 children across northern Gaza.
The current conditions – including ongoing attacks on civilian infrastructure – continue to jeopardize people’s safety and movement in northern Gaza, making it impossible for families to safely bring their children for vaccination, and for health workers to operate.
It is imperative to stop the polio outbreak in Gaza, before more children are paralyzed and the virus spreads. To interrupt transmission, at least 90 per cent of all children in every community and neighbourhood must be vaccinated. The vaccination campaign must be facilitated in the north through the implementation of humanitarian pauses.
UN humanitarian partners say that all logistics, supplies and trained personnel were prepared to vaccinate children across the north with their second dose of the polio vaccine. However, given that the area currently approved for temporary humanitarian pauses was substantially reduced in geographic size from the previous round of the vaccination campaign – and is now limited only to Gaza City – many children in northern Gaza would have missed out on a second dose.
The UN and its humanitarian partners continue their efforts to get assistance to people in northern Gaza. On 15 October, the World Food Programme (WFP) was able to deliver one convoy into Gaza City. However, the Israeli siege on North Gaza Governorate has prevented the agency from reaching people there for the past three weeks.
WFP warns that September and October saw some of the lowest levels of humanitarian aid entering Gaza since late 2023, alongside a drastic reduction in commercial cargo.
In October, to date, only 20 per cent of the agency’s operational food needs have entered Gaza. A drastic shortage of supplies across Gaza has almost halted general food distribution.
WFP says very limited aid supplies have entered the south due to insecurity at the Kerem Shalom crossing point. There is a critical need for a safe and enabling environment for humanitarian operations and convoy movements into and within Gaza.

LEBANON/ISRAEL
Intense strikes by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) into Lebanon and by Hizbullah into Israel continued over the last 24 hours.
The IDF struck various locations in Beirut as well as Bekaa, Jezzine, Mount Lebanon, Nabatiyeh, Sidon, and in the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) area of operations. Today, the IDF issued a displacement notice designating a large area within the city of Tyre, inside UNIFIL’s area of operations, which was then subsequently hit by numerous airstrikes. Hizbullah continued to fire rockets into northern and central Israel, including towards sites near the Blue Line.
Yesterday, UNIFIL detected 1,028 trajectories of projectiles across the Blue Line, the majority originating from south of the Blue Line, targeting areas including Al Qawzah, Aytarun, Markaba, Tallusah, Ett Taibe, El Khiam, Kfar Kela. 82 trajectories of projectiles were recorded from north of the Blue Line. The Mission also continued to record a high level of violations of Lebanese airspace.
The Mission reports that the ongoing hostilities in its area of operations are continuing to affect the safety and security of peacekeepers and their ability to implement UNIFIL’s mandate.
Yesterday evening, UNIFIL observed the impacts of airstrikes near its headquarters and the Greenhill area close to Al Naquora, causing some damage.
After midnight, two UNIFIL vehicles, engaged in a medical evacuation, encountered a roadblock during their operation near Yarin. The convoy was then subject to small arms fire, resulting in damage to one of the vehicles which had to be left at the location. The team managed to safely extricate themselves from the scene without any casualties.
Yesterday, Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health announced that at least 63 individuals were killed and 234 were injured in Israeli attacks across Lebanon in the preceding 24 hours.
The UN condemns the rising toll on civilians and civilian infrastructure and civilian loss of lives. The UN reminds all parties on the ground of their obligations under international law to respect and protect civilians and civilian infrastructure.
The UN again reminds the parties of their obligations to ensure the safety and security of UN personnel and to respect the inviolability of UN premises at all times.
UN Peacekeepers continue to remain in their positions despite the very challenging situation. UNIFIL continued supporting the Lebanese Red Cross and assistance was also extended to the Lebanese Civil Defence.

LEBANON/HUMANITARIAN
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) today said that the ongoing attacks across Lebanon continue to cause death and destruction – with civilians killed, injured or forced to flee to safer areas. Since the escalation of hostilities a year ago, more than 2,500 people in Lebanon have been killed and nearly 12,000 injured, according to official figures.
And today, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) released a rapid appraisal warning that Lebanon’s economy could shrink by as much as 9.2 per cent if these hostilities continue through the end of the year.
UNDP estimates that rising unemployment will affect approximately 1.2 million workers across the country. The unemployment rate may increase to a staggering 32.6 per cent by the end of this year.
Meanwhile, the country’s health-care system has come under severe pressure. The World Health Organization (WHO) has documented 47 attacks on medical facilities since October 8^th, 2023 – with 95 health workers killed and 77 injured while on duty. Nearly half of the more than 200 primary health posts and clinics in the areas impacted by the hostilities have closed. Six hospitals are no longer operational, and four are only partially functioning.
Meanwhile, our partners supporting health, water, sanitation and hygiene are working to contain the risk of cholera, after the first case in Lebanon was reported since the end of the outbreak that happened between 2022 and 2023. They report that insecurity and restricted access in northern parts of Bekaa and Baalbek are constraining their efforts.
For its part, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has warned that the ongoing bombardment is also impacting water infrastructure, with at least 28 water facilities damaged, affecting supplies for more than 360,000 people, primarily in southern Lebanon.
Across the country, nearly 1,100 shelters for people displaced within Lebanon have been opened and now host more than 191,000 people – approximately one quarter of people displaced inside the country. Over 900 of these shelters – that’s 82 per cent – are already full. The highest concentration of collective shelters is in Beirut and Mount Lebanon Governorate.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) is operating nearly a dozen emergency shelters across Lebanon, with more than 3,700 displaced people registered there to date.
As hostilities continue, we and our partners are doing everything possible to support people in need across the country.
The World Food Programme (WFP) is providing hot meals, food parcels, fresh bread, sandwiches, ready-to-eat parcels, and emergency cash assistance.
WFP is also setting up kitchens and hot meal operations in northern and central Lebanon to prepare light meals for people seeking safety in shelters.
In Syria, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) is supporting the transport of the most vulnerable families arriving in Syria from the borders to their destinations inside Syria.
More than 32,000 individuals were able to reach their intended destinations inside Syria as a result of this service. UNHCR and its partners are distributing core relief and winter items for them.

YEMEN
A quick update from the Office of the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen (OSESGY), Hans Grundberg. A series of political dialogues with Yemeni actors were held in Amman, Jordan as part of the ongoing efforts to build momentum towards a peaceful and inclusive resolution to the conflict in Yemen. These meetings have so far included discussions with representatives of the Rashad Party, the Nasserite Party, and the Yemeni Socialist Party as well as civil society groups.
Regarding the political process, there was a strong call to address the root causes of Yemen’s conflict through a phased approach to the transition process, focusing on restoring state institutions and ensuring the withdrawal of armed groups.
More discussions will follow in the coming weeks and into 2025 with Yemeni political parties and entities, and Yemeni civil society groups, including youth, women, and marginalized people.

BRICS
The Secretary-General is in Kazan, in the Russian Federation, where he is attending the BRICS summit. He will address the summit tomorrow and will discuss how September’s Summit of the Future offered a roadmap for strengthening multilateralism, and advancing peace, sustainable development and human rights.

DEPUTY SECRETARY-GENERAL/TRAVEL
The Deputy Secretary-General, Amina J. Mohammed, arrived in Washington, DC, this morning to participate in the IMF/World Bank Annual Meetings. She spoke alongside Prime Minister Mia Mottley of Barbados at the Rockefeller Foundation event on Driving Innovation in the International Financial Architecture.
Later this afternoon, the Deputy Secretary-General will deliver remarks at the 12th Ministerial Meeting of the Coalition of Finance Ministers for Climate Action.
Throughout her engagements, the Deputy Secretary-General will relay the agreement forged by Heads of States in the "Pact for the Future", including its call for reforms to the International Financial Architecture to lift the Sustainable Development Goals. These reforms aim to enhance the voice and representation of developing countries, dramatically expand development finance, make borrowing more sustainable, and strengthen the global safety net.
The Deputy Secretary-General will invite the International Financial Institutions to work with the UN in implementing the Pact's commitments. The Deputy Secretary-General will also advocate for a robust replenishment to the International Development Association (IDA), the World Bank's facility for supporting the world's poorest and most vulnerable countries, to enable it to continue its vital work.
She will return to New York on Friday.

CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC
This morning, Valentine Rugwabiza, the Head of the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA), briefed Security Council members.
She said there is positive momentum and opportunities stemming from the dialogue between the Government and active armed groups, as well as the progress made in the implementation of the Political Agreement.
She called on regional and sub-regional organizations, in particular the guarantors of the Political Agreement, to further support the ongoing political momentum by facilitating engagement between the Government and armed groups leaders who expressed willingness to renounce violence.
Ms. Rugwabiza also said that preparations for local elections have continued to progress, with momentum driven by the Government’s sustained commitment to the elections, and MINUSCA’s support and technical assistance.

SECURITY COUNCIL/SYRIA
And this afternoon, the Security Council will hold a briefing on the situation in Syria. Special Envoy Geir Pedersen, will brief, as well as Edem Wosornu, OCHA’s Director of Operations and Advocacy.

WOMEN, PEACE AND SECURITY
The latest report of the Secretary-General on Women, Peace and Security was released yesterday evening.
The report says that the effects of war and conflict on women and girls are worsening. Last year, the proportion of women killed in armed conflicts doubled compared to 2022 and four out of every ten people who died because of conflict in 2023 were women. The report also says that UN-verified cases of conflict-related sexual violence increased by 50 per cent.
These increases in deaths and violence against women are taking place against a backdrop of increasingly blatant disregard of international law designed to protect women and children during war.
The report, which was led by UN Women, says that every day, 500 women and girls in conflict-affected countries die from complications related to pregnancy and childbirth. By the end of 2023, 180 women were giving birth every day in Gaza—most without necessities or medical care.