HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY FARHAN HAQ,
DEPUTY SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES
THURSDAY, 15 MAY 2025
SECRETARY-GENERAL/TRAVELS
The Secretary-General left Germany in the morning and is now on his way to Iraq. Earlier today, in Berlin, he met with Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the Federal President of the Federal Republic of Germany. They discussed topics that included the situation in the Middle East and the partnership between the UN and Germany.
Yesterday, he met the German Chancellor, Friedrich Merz, and he told reporters later that they had discussed, among other topics, the situations in Gaza and Ukraine.
While in Iraq, Mr. Guterres will attend the Arab League Summit. He will address the Summit on Saturday. He is also scheduled to hold a number of meetings with leaders and officials attending the summit, including leaders of the host country. He is also going to meet with our UN team in Iraq.
LIBYA
The Secretary-General takes note of the truce reached in Tripoli yesterday and calls on all parties to take urgent steps to sustain and build upon it through dialogue.
The rapid nature of the escalation, which drew armed groups from outside the city and subjected heavily populated neighborhoods to heavy artillery fire, was alarming. The Secretary-General is deeply saddened to hear of the deaths of at least eight civilians in the recent clashes.
The Secretary-General reminds all parties of their obligation to protect civilians and calls on them to engage in serious dialogue in good faith to address the root causes of the conflict.
The United Nations stands ready to provide its good offices to facilitate agreement on a path towards lasting peace and stability in Libya.
OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY
Assistant Secretary-General Khaled Khiari told the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People that, since the atrocious terror attacks by Hamas on 7 October 2023 and continued holding of hostages, over 1.9 million Palestinians have been forcibly displaced, many repeatedly, some 10 times or more. As the Secretary-General had warned, Gaza has now become a “humanitarian hellscape.”
Mr. Khiari said that forced displacement must be rejected unequivocally. Unrestricted humanitarian access must be ensured, and the blockade on Gaza must be lifted to allow the flow of life-saving aid in order to prevent the deepening of an already grave humanitarian crisis.
Meanwhile, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that intensified hostilities continue, resulting in further death, displacement, and destruction of civilian infrastructure. In addition to ongoing bombardment, another three displacement orders were issued by the Israeli military yesterday and today, covering seven per cent of the total area of the Strip.
Yesterday’s order for six neighbourhoods in North Gaza governorate overlaps with parts of the zones covered under Tuesday’s displacement orders. According to preliminary estimates, this newly impacted area is home to approximately 100,000 people. The displacement order has affected 30 sites for internally displaced people, six temporary learning spaces serving approximately 700 students, and several water and sanitation facilities and assets.
The UN humanitarian partners report that several hundred families fled parts of the designated areas yesterday, but dozens of them returned today due to lack of space and shelter. Another displacement order yesterday was issued for parts of Rimal area of Gaza City.
Today’s displacement order affected thousands of residents in 10 neighbourhoods in Deir al Balah and Khan Younis. Initial assessment indicates that the affected area includes eight wells, five reservoirs, seven humanitarian warehouses, three health clinics and other critical facilities.
As of yesterday, about 71 per cent of the Gaza Strip was under displacement orders or in Israeli-militarized zones, where the Israeli authorities require humanitarian teams to coordinate their movements. These displacement orders come as populations across Gaza are at risk of famine and one in every five people faces starvation.
Yesterday, Israeli forces hit another school for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), this time in Nuseirat area of Deir al Balah. It served as shelter for internally displaced people and thankfully no one was reported injured.
The UN and its humanitarian partners on the ground are committed to stay and deliver despite the mounting challenges. Yesterday, the World Health Organization (WHO) evacuated 284 patients and their companions from the European Gaza Hospital in Khan Younis to Europe, and the United Arab Emirates, despite the very challenging conditions. Israeli forces hit the hospital premises twice one day prior to the scheduled evacuation.
Israel’s full blanket ban on the entry of cargo, including aid and other life-saving supplies, continues to drive hunger and deprivation across the Strip. OCHA reiterates that the UN and its partners has 9,000 truckloads of vital supplies ready to move into Gaza. More than half of these contain food assistance. Thousands more trucks worth of assistance are in the pipeline to follow.
OCHA reiterates that as long as the full blockade is not immediately lifted, the already limited assistance our partners are able to provide to the most vulnerable groups in Gaza will shrink even further. The UN has a solid and principled operational plan to deliver humanitarian aid and life-saving services at scale and immediately across the Gaza Strip. Time is of essence to prevent further death.
Turning to the West Bank, OCHA reports that the continued violence is resulting in further killing, displacement and destruction of property. In Tulkarm and Nur Shams refugee camps, in the northern West Bank, demolition of houses and displacement have continued since the issuance of two Israeli military orders in early May to demolish more than 100 structures in these two locations.
In Jenin in recent days, some 200 families are estimated to have gradually returned to the outskirts of Jenin refugee camp, which remains depopulated.
SECURITY COUNCIL
This afternoon, the Security Council will hold a meeting on the protection of civilians in armed conflict. Khaled Khiari, the Assistant Secretary-General for the Middle East, Asia and the Pacific, is expected to brief Council members.
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO
The UN welcomes the successful transfer of over 1,300 disarmed Congolese Armed Forces (FARDC) and National Police personnel (PNC), along with their dependents, from the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) premises in Goma to Kinshasa. This marks the conclusion of this operation, which, as we had mentioned, began on 30 April.
Over the course of 16 days, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), with MONUSCO’s logistical support facilitated eight rotations from Goma via Beni to Kinshasa.
You will recall that following the M23’s takeover of Goma at the end of January, the peacekeeping mission provided shelter and protection to Congolese Armed Forces and National Police personnel who had taken refuge in its bases and were disarmed in accordance with UN regulations.
The UN commends the efforts of all those involved and express our appreciation to the ICRC for facilitating this operation. The UN reaffirms its commitment to the full implementation of MONUSCO’s mandate and reiterate our readiness to support ongoing peace efforts aimed at achieving a sustainable ceasefire.
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO/HUMANITARIAN
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warns that attacks against civilians in Djugu Territory in Ituri province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo are again on the rise after a month of relative calm.
Yesterday, local humanitarian organizations reported that at least seven civilians were killed in simultaneous attacks across multiple villages, with many homes set on fire. Several injured survivors are currently receiving treatment at health facilities in the town of Jiba, about 40 kilometers away.
Local authorities warn that these attacks could increase tensions within the community and lead to new waves of displacement.
As of April 30th, around 1.5 million displaced people were residing in Ituri province, with nearly half of them located in Djugu Territory.
Meanwhile, in South Kivu province, heavy fighting between armed groups continued on May 13th across Kalehe Territory, forcing many people to flee the area. Local civil society partners report at least six civilian casualties. Displacement estimates are not yet available.
SUDAN
The Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Tom Fletcher, and the Humanitarian Coordinator for Sudan, Clementine Nkweta-Salami, have welcomed news that the crucial Adre crossing between eastern Chad and Darfur in Sudan will remain available for movement of humanitarian personnel and supplies. Mr. Fletcher noted that since it was reopened eight months ago, this crossing has been an essential lifeline for millions of people in need in the area.
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) pointed out that since August last year, nearly 1,600 trucks carrying 52,500 metric tons of humanitarian cargo have entered Sudan via Adre, transporting life-saving aid for some 2.3 million people. Nearly three quarters of those supplies were emergency food and livelihoods assistance, while the rest supported health, nutrition, shelter, water, sanitation and education services.
OCHA stresses that this extension is vital to sustain and expand that lifeline. However, bureaucratic impediments continue to hamper aid operations, while the ongoing conflict poses grave risks to humanitarians.
This includes North Darfur state, where yesterday, heavy shelling in El Fasher reportedly damaged an NGO compound. The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said that artillery fire in the city earlier this week destroyed a water truck that the agency was supporting in the Saudi Hospital compound. That truck had been delivering safe water to around 1,000 seriously ill patients, whose care has now been disrupted. OCHA reiterates that attacks on civilians, humanitarian assets and medical facilities must stop. All parties must respect their obligations under international humanitarian law.
The UN also remains alarmed at the ongoing deterioration of the security situation in El Fasher and North Darfur. Renewed clashes have displaced at least 1,700 people this week, with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) reporting that most are fleeing to already overwhelmed areas like Tawila town, where we have been telling you, the UN and partners on the ground have been scaling up support for new arrivals. This new displacement is in addition to the 2,000 people who fled Abu Shouk camp and El Fasher last week.
Despite insecurity and access constraints, we, along with our partners, are doing everything possible to reach people in these areas with life-saving support. Yesterday, a World Food Programme (WFP) convoy carrying food and nutrition supplies for nearly 100,000 people in El Fasher departed Dabbah in Northern state. The convoy is travelling more than 1,000 kilometres to deliver critical relief to people who have been facing famine for nearly a year. More convoys are being planned, but safe humanitarian access is essential.
OCHA once again urges unfettered access for humanitarian aid — via all necessary routes, both across borders and conflict lines — as well as the protection of civilians, and an immediate cessation of hostilities.
The conflict has also escalated in the east of the country, with repeated drone attacks in Port Sudan damaging critical infrastructure and displacing a growing number of people. IOM said that more than 2,600 have fled since last week, bringing the total number of new displacements reported in the city this month to more than 3,000.
HAITI
From Haiti, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that armed violence and escalating insecurity continue to severely impact the education system in several departments, particularly in the Centre, Ouest, Artibonite and Nord departments.
As of late April, more than 1,600 schools have been forced to close, disrupting access to learning for more than 243,000 children – that's according to our partners working to support education in Haiti.
This is a 60 per cent increase in school closures in just four months, up from 960 schools closed at the start of the year. Most closures are concentrated in the Ouest and Centre departments, where insecurity, displacement, and the use of schools by gangs and displaced people have intensified.
More than 80 schools are serving as collective shelters for internally displaced people, while 166 schools have been relocated, often under precarious conditions: Learning spaces often lack basic infrastructure, water, sanitation and essential supplies.
Meanwhile, children in Haiti face serious protection risks, including exploitation, sexual abuse and recruitment by gangs. When students see their education interrupted, they become even more vulnerable to these threats. Teachers have been displaced, and many communities face insecurity and damaged roads, making access to functioning schools unsafe.
This year’s Humanitarian Response Plan for Haiti calls for more than $61 million to support education in the country. Yet despite surging needs – including a sharp increase in school closures and the use of schools as shelters, as we just mentioned – the education response has received less than $6 million to date.
Additional support is urgently needed to sustain learning for Haiti’s most vulnerable children and prevent a generational education crisis in the country.
Immediate priorities include temporary learning spaces, school kits for at least 100,000 children, mental health and psychosocial support for students and teachers, improved access to water and sanitation, and measures to secure school environments.
OCHA continues to coordinate closely with partners working on education in Haiti – as well as national authorities – to ensure that children’s right to learning is preserved, even in crisis.
SYRIA
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, announced that the number of Syrians who have returned home since last December has now reached 500,000, many for the first time in 14 years. This is in addition to the 1.2 million internally displaced people who have returned home. There are now over 4.5 million Syrian refugees in the region.
The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and partners continued to address basic needs through the distribution of relief items. In the coastal region, between 27 April - 4 May, 11 partner-run community centresreached and assisted more than 10,000 people.
INTERNATIONAL DAY OF FAMILIES
Today is the International Day of Families. As the world prepares for the Second World Summit for Social Development in November 2025, the Day this year will spotlight the pivotal role of family-oriented policies in advancing sustainable development.
BRIEFINGS
Tomorrow, the noon briefing guests will be Arif Husain, the World Food Programme’s Chief Economist, along with Rein Paulsen, the Food and Agriculture Organization’s Director of the Office of Emergencies and Resilience, and Joan Matji, UNICEF’s Director of Nutrition and Child Development.
They will all join us virtually to brief on the 2025 Global Report on Food Crises.
FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTION
Mali has paid its dues in full to the Regular Budget brings the number of fully paid-up Member States to 106.
***The guests at the Noon Briefing were Shantanu Mukherjee, the Director of the Economic Analysis and Policy Division and Ingo Pitterle, the Senior Economic Affairs Officer in the Global Economic Monitoring Branch of that Division. They briefed journalists on the launch of the World Economic Situation and Prospects (WESP) mid-year report.
