HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STÉPHANE DUJARRIC,
SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES
WEDNESDAY, 18 JUNE 2025
SECRETARY-GENERAL/MIDDLE EAST
In a statement issued today, the Secretary-General said that he remains profoundly alarmed by the ongoing military escalation in the Middle East between Israel and Iran. He reiterated his call for immediate de-escalation leading to a ceasefire. He strongly appealed to all to avoid any further internationalization of the conflict. Any additional military interventions could have enormous consequences, not only for those involved but for the whole region and for international peace and security at large.
The Secretary-General condemned the tragic and unnecessary loss of lives and injuries to civilians and damage to homes and critical civilian infrastructure.
Diplomacy remains the best and only way to address concerns regarding Iran’s nuclear programme and regional security issues.
The UN Charter remains our shared framework to save people from the scourge of war. The Secretary-General urged all Member States to comply fully with the Charter and international law, including international humanitarian law.
SECRETARY-GENERAL/G7
The Secretary-General is on his way back to New York, after attending yesterday’s outreach session of the G7 leaders’ summit in Canada. He took part in a discussion on energy security, with a focus on diversification, technology and investment to ensure access and affordability in a changing world. This session included G7 leaders, as well as other leaders invited by the G7 to attend the outreach session.
The session was closed, but the Spokesperson said that the Secretary-General emphasized that energy security is no longer about barrels and pipelines. It is about renewable energy and united action to support accessibility, to support affordability, and to support supercharge sustainable development.
Throughout the day, the Secretary-General had informal meetings with leaders attending the summit and discussed a broad range of topics, including, the current situation in the broader Middle East.
OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that amid ongoing hostilities across the Gaza Strip, attacks have continued, reportedly killing and injuring scores of people and damaging vital infrastructure.
Yesterday in Khan Younis, UN partners report that medical teams at the Nasser Medical Complex had to clear the maternity ward to make space for the injured and turn those rooms into emergency operating spaces. Many of the injured people had to undergo life-saving amputations. This follows the incident we mentioned yesterday, where people waiting for aid were killed or injured.
UN partners working on health in Gaza say that every day, scores of patients across the Gaza Strip desperately need blood transfusions. But as blood stocks are very low, our partners are relying on daily collections to meet the increasing demand.
In addition to shortages of medical stocks, partners working on health report that the lack of food supplies for emergency workers is causing many of them to faint, especially when they deal with mass casualty incidents.
This week, in Khan Younis, in-patient admissions at field hospitals have increased threefold, largely due to access challenges at the Nasser Medical Complex in the same area. You will recall that the facility borders a displacement area imposed by the Israeli authorities.
Despite the challenges, partners have established a new field hospital in Khan Younis, which will provide medical care to thousands of displaced families at the Al Mawasi camp.
UN partners report that the Internet blackout mentioned yesterday, which is affecting Deir al Balah, Khan Younis and Rafah, has continued. Today, Israeli authorities denied repair missions, depriving people in need and humanitarian workers of vital communications and of course, disrupting our aid operations.
In response to questions previously asked, OCHA warns that stocks have dwindled to dangerously low levels, jeopardizing critical lifelines for the population after more than 100 days with no new fuel supplies entering the Gaza Strip.
Humanitarian operations have been pushed to the brink of collapse. It is urgent that fuel is made available to run the backup generators needed to sustain a minimal level of life-sustaining activities.
UN partners at the Palestine Red Crescent Society reports that in view of fuel shortages; it is currently operating fewer than two dozen out of the remaining 58 ambulances it has in its fleet throughout the Gaza Strip.
Today, Israeli authorities did approve a request to collect fuel from Al Tahreer fuel station in Rafah. That mission is still ongoing, but we will have more information once it’s completed.
OCHA reminds us that the last successful mission to retrieve fuel from inside Gaza was completed one month ago, and that is because Israeli authorities have repeatedly denied attempts for us to organize missions to retrieve that fuel. The UN continues to call for immediate, unimpeded humanitarian access – to our fuel stocks, to our aid supplies, and to people in need. It is critical that the Israeli authorities meaningfully facilitate our attempts to retrieve the fuel needed to power aid operations and life-sustaining services.
Yesterday, the Israeli authorities issued another displacement order in Khan Younis and Deir al Balah. This has affected hundreds of families living in five neighborhoods. Five primary healthcare centres and three medical points are located within 1,000 metres of the displacement area.
This week, our partners are visiting the newly established displacement sites west of Gaza City to assess the urgent needs and priorities of the displaced population there.
Overall, in the past three months, UN humanitarian partners estimate that more than 680,000 people have been displaced once again across the Gaza Strip. This includes almost a quarter of a million people forced to flee just in the last 30 days alone.
LEBANON
The Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, is in Lebanon. Today he is holding a series of meetings with host authorities including the President Joseph Aoun, the Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, the Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri as well as the Foreign Minister Youssef Rajji. Discussions as you may imagine focus on the UN Interim Force in Lebanon – better known as UNIFIL - and the implementation of resolution 1701 (2006).
Yesterday, he met with UNIFIL leadership in Naqoura in southern Lebanon as well as with peacekeepers on the ground and at sea to discuss their vital work in promoting security and stability in the region.
SUDAN
In Sudan, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) noted that children account for half of the 30 million people in need of humanitarian assistance in Sudan and half of the 12 million human beings displaced by the conflict since April 2023.
OCHA warns that Sudan’s children are in urgent need of protection services. But due to severe funding shortfalls, less than 18 per cent have received that critical support so far this year. UN partners working on child protection warn that their work is just 3 per cent funded, with an estimated $88 million gap from what is needed.
Children who are separated from family or unaccompanied face heightened risks of abuse, exploitation and trauma.
Disease is also taking a heavy toll on children. Since cholera broke out in the country last July, the Federal Ministry of Health has reported more than 80,000 suspected cases and over 2,000 deaths. This includes almost 7,300 cases and more than 230 deaths affecting children under 5 alone.
On the cholera outbreak more broadly, just in the past month, approximately 15,000 suspected cases were recorded in Khartoum State, although recently we have seen a decline in new reports. However, partners warn that underreporting may be masking the true scale of the outbreak. Cases have also been confirmed in South Darfur, River Nile and other states. Partners working on health and water, sanitation and hygiene continue to support the response which is led by the Sudanese health authorities.
And just a reminder that a 10-day oral cholera vaccination campaign, supported by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), was launched in Khartoum State on June 10th, with the aim of reaching 2.6 million people aged one year and older.
Sudan is also coping with a measles outbreak – and since the start of this year, more than 2,200 suspected cases, including five deaths, have been reported in the country, with more than 60 per cent of cases impacting children under five. UN partners working on health are responding, but as with the ongoing cholera response, their efforts are hampered by gaps in data on disease cases, as well as severe shortages of vaccines, supplies and trained personnel.
Once again, the UN calls for unhindered humanitarian access so that we and our partners can scale up support for children and other civilians in desperate needs, as well as an immediate cessation of hostilities – in Sudan and all other conflict-impacted regions.
BURKINA FASO
The Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher has today allocated $5.9 million from the UN Central Emergency Response Fund to address the most urgent needs of displaced people in the regions of Boucle du Mouhoun, Centre-Est and Est areas of Burkina Faso.
This new funding will enable ourselves and our partners, in support of national efforts, to scale up life-saving assistance, which includes food and nutrition support, shelter and healthcare services, as well as water, sanitation, and hygiene. So far this year, only 14 per cent of the $793 million humanitarian appeal for Burkina Faso has been received. Humanitarians have had to prioritize 1.2 million of the most vulnerable people out of the 3.7 million they were targeting this year. An immediate mobilization of $280 million is required to meet their most critical needs.
NICARAGUA
In a statement issued yesterday afternoon, the Secretary-General lamented the passing of former President of Nicaragua, and the first woman to be democratically elected as president in the Americas, and that was Violeta Barrios de Chamorro. Her presidency in Nicaragua is remembered for bringing an end to the civil war and initiating a period of peace and democratization in Nicaragua.
INTERNATIONAL DAYS
Today is the International Day for Countering Hate Speech. In his message, the Secretary-General says that today hate speech travels faster and farther than ever, amplified by Artificial Intelligence.
He calls on all of us to commit to using AI not as a tool of hate, but as a force for good, and stand united in the pursuit of peace, mutual respect and understanding for all.
Today is also Sustainable Gastronomy Day. It’s a reminder that minimizing waste is something important to consider in the kitchen.
EVENT
The Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence and Conflict, and the Permanent Mission of Argentina to the United Nations are co-hosting an event to commemorate the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict, with the focus on “Breaking the Cycle, Healing the Scars: Addressing the Intergenerational Effects of Conflict-Related Sexual Violence (CRSV)”
The event will take place in the UN Headquarters, in Conference Room 5, tomorrow, Thursday, 19 June 2025, from 10:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Live webcast available at: https://tinyurl.com/54hvrvkr
