HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY FARHAN HAQ,
DEPUTY SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES
TUESDAY, 22 OCTOBER 2024
BRICS
I can confirm that the Secretary-General is once again attending the BRICS summit, which this year takes place in Kazan, in the Russian Federation.
Iraq
In a statement issued today, the Secretary-General congratulates the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and its people on the holding of parliamentary elections on 20 October, which took place in a calm and peaceful manner. He further commends the efforts of the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC), supported by the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), in the preparations and conduct of these elections.
As the Kurdistan Region of Iraq awaits the final results, the Secretary-General encourages all political leaders and segments of society to continue to maintain a peaceful atmosphere and urges political actors to resolve any electoral disputes through established legal channels and to complete the electoral process by forming an inclusive government as soon as possible. He reiterates the commitment of the United Nations to support Iraq’s efforts to consolidate democratic gains and build a prosperous future for the people of Iraq.
Gaza/UNSCO
Tor Wennesland, the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, visited Gaza today, where he saw firsthand the continued immense destruction and profound suffering of the people.
He said he met with UN staff and Palestinian NGOs in Gaza, whose tireless efforts are admirable. He heard directly from them about the alarming security and humanitarian situation across the Strip, particularly in northern Gaza. The challenges faced by the people of Gaza, including serious violations of international humanitarian law, are enormous, with urgent needs for food, medical supplies, and protection.
Mr. Wennesland said that a significant increase in the entry of humanitarian assistance and an improvement in security is urgently required. He reiterated the Secretary-General’s repeated call for an immediate ceasefire and the unconditional release of all hostages held by Hamas. He calls on all relevant parties to urgently pursue these goals.
Occupied Palestinian Territory
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warns that people suffering under the ongoing Israeli siege in North Gaza governorate are rapidly exhausting all available means for their survival. OCHA stresses that civilians must be protected whether they move or stay, and they must be able to receive the humanitarian assistance they need. This is what international humanitarian law requires.
Israeli authorities continue to deny OCHA’s requests to help rescue civilians under rubble. We are still waiting for the green light to help dozens of people trapped under their collapsed homes in the Falouja area of Jabalya.
OCHA says our requests to bring desperately needed humanitarian assistance to northern Gaza have also been denied. This includes planned missions by UN agencies and our partners to deliver life-saving supplies – including blood, essential medications, food parcels, and fuel to hospitals and water facilities.
The director of Kamal Adwan, one of the last functioning hospitals in North Gaza, reported yesterday that blood units have run out, and medical crews have been working nonstop with no food. The emergency department is seeing a constant influx of casualties.
Yesterday, OCHA supported a complex mission led by the World Health Organization (WHO) – alongside the UN Mine Action Service and the Palestine Red Crescent Society – to evacuate 14 critical patients from Kamal Adwan southward to Al Shifa hospital. That mission, which departed Deir al Balah on Sunday, had to spend the night at Kamal Adwan due to intense fighting in the area. The team was only able to proceed the following day.
Meanwhile, our health partners say that communications challenges are hampering efforts to gather information on conditions at the other medical facilities in North Gaza – the Indonesian and Al Awda hospitals.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) reports that none of the agency’s medical points in North Gaza are operational. UNRWA says its medical teams are ready but urgently need medical supplies to be able to provide care.
As the Israeli siege continues, the UN and our partners estimate that more than 60,000 people have been displaced from North Gaza to Gaza City. Within North Gaza, about 4,000 people have fled from Jabalya to Beit Hanoun and Beit Lahya, with others fleeing to Beit Lahya or displaced within Jabalya itself.
OCHA reports that the health situation in central and southern Gaza also remains difficult. A team of health monitors in Gaza say that as of late last month, more than three quarters of hospitals still functioning across Gaza lack enough water, and 94 per cent have insufficient sanitation facilities.
Gaza/UN Development Programme
The UN Development Programme (UNDP) says that one year into the Gaza war, the humanitarian crisis has reached a catastrophic level - with unprecedented casualties, widespread destruction and severe food insecurity.
The war has had a severe impact on critical sectors such as education, healthcare, social services, the economy and the environment, UNDP says in a new report. Educational institutions have suffered significant losses, with numerous casualties among students and educators and the widespread destruction of schools. The healthcare system is nearing collapse, facing critical shortages in medical supplies and widespread malnutrition, particularly among children.
Economic projections indicate that the gross domestic product (GDP) of the State of Palestine contracted by 35.1 per cent in 2024 compared with a no-war scenario, with unemployment potentially rising to 49.9 per cent. By the end of 2024, the Human Development Index (HDI) in the State of Palestine may fall to 0.643, a level not seen since human development calculations began in 2004.
Poverty in the State of Palestine is projected to rise to 74.3 per cent in 2024, affecting 4.1 million people, including 2.61 million people who are newly impoverished. The full report is online.
The UN Interim Force in Lebanon
The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) notes that intense strikes by Hizbullah into Israel and by the Israel Defence Forces into Lebanon have continued over the last 24 hours.
The IDF struck various locations in Beirut as well as Bekaa, Sidon, Nabatiyeh, and in the UNIFIL area of operations.
Hizbullah reportedly targeted IDF military bases near Tel Aviv last night and this morning, as well as an IDF naval base northwest of Haifa.
We condemn the ever-increasing toll on civilians and civilian infrastructure and civilian loss of lives. We remind all actors on the ground of their obligations under international law to respect and protect civilians and civilian infrastructure.
Over the past 24 hours, UNIFIL detected 1,417 projectiles, with the majority being launched from south of the Blue Line, striking Al Matmurah, Al Qawzah, Aytarun, Ett Taibe, Majdal Silim, and Khiam, while 169 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 impact the safety and security of peacekeepers and their ability to implement UNIFIL’s mandate.
Yesterday, one of its positions in Sector West sustained minor infrastructure damage due to a nearby air strike, with no injuries reported.
Additionally, logistics convoys belonging to the Mission also faced restrictions by IDF personnel in both Sector East and Sector West.
Once more, we remind 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.
As we noted yesterday, peacekeepers remain in their positions despite the very challenging situation.
Yesterday, they facilitated the movement of Lebanese Armed Forces personnel by helping to reopen blocked roads. The Head of Mission and Force Commander of UNIFIL, Aroldo Lázaro, visited peacekeepers in two Irish positions, which have seen intense fighting nearby. He said he is deeply proud of their high morale and commitment to UNIFIL’s mandate.
Support was also provided to the Lebanese Red Cross, with the coordination of over two dozen activities, primarily focused on evacuating casualties.
In addition, peacekeepers donated essential medicines to the Lebanese Red Cross and Tyre municipality to be distributed to displaced civilians.
Lebanon/Humanitarian
Today, an inter-agency convoy by the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), the World Food Programme (WFP), the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) reached Nabatieh Governorate in south Lebanon.
The team delivered essential supplies to Hasbaya town to support some 31,000 people across 20 villages. This assistance included food, mattresses, blankets, hygiene supplies, and items for the coming winter.
And in the southern city of Tyre, the UN Relief and Works Agency reopened its health centre in the Burj Shemali camp. The team there is providing primary health-care services to almost 380 patients.
As hostilities continue in areas across the country, more people are being displaced from their homes. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) says that more than 809,000 people have been displaced inside Lebanon over the past year. Hundreds of thousands more have crossed into neighbouring countries.
WFP is working in Syria to provide food assistance to people - both Lebanese and Syrians - who have fled Lebanon. WFP has already reached nearly 150,000 individuals but is appealing for additional funds to scale up its efforts.
For its part, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs is alarmed at the toll that escalating hostilities are having on civilians and civilian infrastructure.
Across Lebanon, the number of people killed and injured – including health workers on duty – continues to rise, amid ongoing strikes in different parts of the country. In Nabatieh, three paramedics with the Lebanese Red Cross were wounded by shrapnel today during an operation to rescue people injured by an airstrike.
Yesterday, an airstrike in the vicinity of Rafik Hariri University Hospital in Beirut killed more than a dozen people – including a child – and injured more than 50 others, according to the Lebanese health authorities.
The strike also caused significant damage to the facility. You will have seen that Volker Türk, the Human Rights Chief, also commented on this incident, saying that any incidents which affect hospitals must be subject to a prompt and thorough investigation.
Meanwhile, administrators at the Sahel Hospital in Beirut’s southern suburbs reported that the facility was evacuated following warnings issued by Israeli forces, impacting access to the hospital.
OCHA underscores that under international humanitarian law, civilians and civilian infrastructure must be protected.
Yemen
The Special Envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, today concluded a two-day visit to Cairo where he met with Egypt's Foreign Minister Badr Abdel-Atty and the Secretary-General of the League of Arab States, Ahmed Aboul Gheit.
The Special Envoy expressed growing concern over the impact of the regional escalation on Yemen’s prospects of peace. Discussions also covered the importance of preserving the progress made through the parties' commitments to a nationwide ceasefire, economic improvements, and the resumption of a comprehensive political process, and ways that Egypt could support those efforts.
Furthermore, the Special Envoy raised the issue of arbitrary detentions by Ansar Allah, which have affected dozens of personnel from the UN, NGOs, civil society organizations, and diplomatic missions.
Sudan
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is gravely concerned by the impact that ongoing armed conflict is having on civilians in many parts of Sudan. Fighting continues to rage in the states of North Darfur, West Darfur, Khartoum, North Kordofan and Aj Jazirah, despite repeated calls for the parties to de-escalate, ensure the protection of civilians, and facilitate humanitarian access.
In North Darfur alone, the International Organization for Migration reports that in just six months, some 410,000 people have been displaced in the locality of El Fasher. Many of them had already been displaced at least once over the course of this conflict.
We continue to receive reports of civilian casualties and indiscriminate attacks impacting public infrastructure and residential areas – both in North Darfur and elsewhere – with many areas effectively cut off from humanitarian assistance.
Once again, OCHA calls on the parties to stop the fighting and allow humanitarian organizations to reach people in need of assistance wherever they are.
Meanwhile, our humanitarian partners and Sudanese health authorities continue to scale up the response to the ongoing cholera outbreak. Late last week, the latest phase of the cholera vaccination campaign got underway, with the goal of reaching some 1.4 million people in the states of Kassala, Gedaref and River Nile.
Since July, Sudan’s cholera outbreak has spread to 11 states, with nearly 26,000 cases reported and 722 related deaths.
Ukraine
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) today said that attacks in eastern and southern Ukraine today and yesterday caused 45 civilian casualties, including children and medical workers. Scores of homes were also damaged in the Donetsk, Kherson, Odesa, Zaporizhzhia and Sumy regions. This is according to local authorities.
OCHA also noted that in the Kharkiv Region, intense hostilities have displaced nearly 1,000 civilians from the city of Kupiansk over the last four days. The UN, along with its humanitarian partners, is assisting residents arriving at the transit centre in Kharkiv, offering food, psychological support, legal assistance, and winter items, such as blankets and warm clothes.
Security Council/Ukraine
Yesterday afternoon, the Security Council held a meeting on Ukraine.
Briefing Council members, Miroslav Jenča, the Assistant Secretary-General for Europe, Central Asia and the Americas, said that Russia’s relentless, systematic attacks have continued to bring immense suffering to the people of Ukraine. He noted that civilian casualties and extensive damage to critical civilian infrastructure are reported daily, with the Donetsk, Kharkiv, Kherson, Mykolaiv and Sumy regions of Ukraine bearing the brunt.
Mr. Jenča added that the UN is also concerned about the impact of continuing fighting across the Russian-Ukrainian border, particularly in the Kursk region of the Russian Federation, following Ukraine’s August incursion. He reiterated that all attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure are prohibited under international law, wherever they occur.
Cuba
Turning to Cuba, we have an update on Hurricane Oscar, which struck the east of the country over the weekend, amid an ongoing power outage.
The UN team there remains in close contact with the government and stands ready to rapidly provide support to national authorities if needed.
Hurricane Oscar has brought as much as 300 millimeters of rain – that's almost a foot of rain - and has caused flooding, damaged infrastructure, and blocked roads.
Haiti
In Haiti, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warns that repeated attacks by armed groups targeting the neighbourhoods of Solino, Fort National, and Delmas 24 in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area are having a devastating impact on civilians. Since 17 October, several people have reportedly been killed in these areas, including a child who was shot. Others have been injured in the attacks, but limited access means that it is extremely difficult to evacuate those who need medical care. In addition, houses have been looted or set on fire and the violence has forced more than 4,200 people to flee in search of safety.
Aid organizations are assessing the situation and coordinating efforts to respond once access allows. Humanitarian partners say that in addition to medical care, people affected by the attacks urgently need food, infant formula, water, blankets, clothes and hygiene kits.
OCHA is deeply concerned about the risk of violence spreading to other neighbourhoods in the capital, including the Petionville residential area, which would only deepen the humanitarian crisis in Port-au-Prince.
And, as a reminder, this afternoon we expect that Security Council members will be briefed on the situation in Haiti by the Secretary-General's Special Representative, María Isabel Salvador, and UNICEF’s Executive Director, Catherine Russell.
Democratic Republic of the Congo
The United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) continues their engagements with political figures, civil society leaders, and business representatives in Goma to garner support for the Luanda process and the ceasefire. In addition, the Mission continues to focus on protecting civilians despite the volatile and challenging environment in Ituri and North Kivu.
In Sake, North Kivu, the Mission provided a week-long training for 100 Congolese army soldiers to improve their capabilities in conducting urban operations. And in Ituri, the Mission facilitated a workshop in Bunia to support the government's efforts toward the disarmament of armed groups.
