Noon briefing of 15 May 2026

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY FARHAN HAQ,

DEPUTY SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES

FRIDAY, 15 MAY 2026

SENIOR APPOINTMENT  

The United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced today the appointment of Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert of the Netherlands as his new Under-Secretary-General for Safety and Security. She will succeed Gilles Michaud of Canada, to whom the Secretary-General expressed his utmost gratitude for his leadership and tireless service to the Organization amidst the challenges posed by the increasing complexity of crises. 

Ms. Hennis-Plasschaert brings to the position more than 30 years of experience in diplomacy, mediation and international security. She has served since 2024 as the United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon, working with national, regional and international actors to advance stability in the face of compounding domestic and regional crises.  She also served as Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Iraq and Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) from 2018 to 2024. She was also Minister of Defence of the Netherlands.    

SECURITY COUNCIL/SYRIA 

This morning, the Security Council members held an open session on Syria. Briefing via VTC, Deputy Special Envoy for Syria, Claudio Cordone, said that he hopes to soon reach an understanding with the Government on broad areas for cooperation, building on proposals made in March and the valuable discussions held since then, as well as on the relocation of the Geneva-based staff to Damascus. Mr. Cordone said that he will return to Damascus next week to advance discussions on the transition and his Office’s role in supporting it.   

For his part, Under Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Tom Fletcher, warned that humanitarian needs in Syria remain significant. About two-thirds of the population – that’s about 15.6 million people – and most of them are women and children, require help this year.  

He added that current funding levels mean we will reach only about half of them. Almost halfway through the year, the humanitarian appeal is still barely more than 16 per cent funded, with some $480 million received towards the $2.9 billion needed. 

He underscored that predictable and flexible humanitarian financing is essential to reach more people and make full use of improved access that we now have to many areas in Syria.  

YEMEN 

In a statement issued last night, the Secretary-General welcomed the deal reached between the parties to the conflict in Yemen to release more than 1,600 conflict-related detainees, the largest such release agreed upon since the start of the conflict in Yemen. This achievement is the result of weeks of direct negotiations in Amman, Jordan, under the auspices of the United Nations. 

The Secretary-General calls on the parties to move swiftly toward implementing the deal in cooperation with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), so that families can be reunited as soon as possible. He also calls on them to work toward further releases, in line with their obligations under the 2018 Stockholm Agreement to release all conflict-related detainees for all. 

He calls on the Government of Yemen and the Houthis to build on the positive momentum generated by Thursday’s deal and engage constructively with his Special Envoy on Yemen towards an inclusive political process for a just and lasting peace in Yemen. 

The Secretary-General further urges the Houthis to immediately and unconditionally release all arbitrarily detained personnel from the United Nations, NGOs, civil society and diplomatic missions. He reaffirms that the United Nations system is determined to work through all possible channels to secure their safe release. The full statement is online.  

NAKBA 

Assistant Secretary-General for the Middle East, Europe, the Americas, Asia and the Pacific Khaled Khiari spoke this morning at the commemoration of the 78th anniversary of the Nakba, in which more than 750,000 Palestinians were uprooted from their homes. 

Mr. Khiari said that the situation in Gaza today is a catastrophe of grave proportions. Since the horrific terror attacks by Hamas on 7 October 2023, devastation from the subsequent war is staggering, he said, adding that more than 85 per cent of Gaza’s population has been displaced, many repeatedly so.   

He said that in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, the UN continues to document systematic displacement of Palestinians, home demolitions, settlement expansion, and the proliferation of outposts, adding that more than 40,000 Palestine refugees have been forcibly displaced from camps in the northern West Bank since early 2025. 

The Secretary-General has been clear, Mr. Khiari said: all Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, have no legal validity and are in flagrant violation of international law and relevant UN resolutions.  

OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY 

In Gaza, OCHA reports that on Wednesday, hundreds of families were forcibly displaced from areas in eastern Deir al Balah to other parts of Gaza. 

Palestinian militia forces reportedly went to people’s shelters and ordered them out. Newly displaced families say they also received phone calls from people who identified themselves as Israeli forces, instructing them to leave within a short span of time. 

Humanitarian partners supported families in identifying spaces to stay in and obtaining basic services. 

OCHA reminds us that most of Gaza’s 2.1 million people are already displaced. Many are staying in overcrowded and underserviced sites exposed to serious health and environmental risks. 

On the public health front, yesterday, the UN brought pesticides into Gaza to help address the growing risks related to insects and other hazards. So far, teams in Gaza have relied largely on small quantities of locally procured agents. A pest control campaign is now set to start next week, prioritizing areas where waste has accumulated within or near residential areas, as well as around food storage facilities and public markets. 

Humanitarian partners say that to provide a more complete response to risks linked to rodents and pests, the Israeli authorities must let in critical rubble removal and explosive ordnance clearance equipment; and facilitate access to Gaza’s two sanitary landfills near the Strip’s perimeter. 

To give you a sense of how restrictive access still is, during the first 11 days of May, only half of the aid trucks from Egypt could offload at Israeli-controlled crossings along Gaza’s perimeter. This doesn’t include bilateral donations or commercial imports.                                      

Meanwhile in the West Bank, yesterday, Israeli forces killed a 15-year-old boy in Nablus, reportedly for throwing stones.   

UKRAINE

The Secretary-General is alarmed that a United Nations vehicle was struck twice in Kherson city in Ukraine on 14 May.

The clearly marked vehicle was part of an inter-agency humanitarian mission, led by the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, that had been notified to the parties well in advance.

The United Nations is working to establish the full facts surrounding this incident.

The Secretary-General reiterates that international law, including international humanitarian law, must be respected at all times. Civilians and civilian objects, including humanitarian relief personnel and objects used for humanitarian relief operations, must be respected and protected at all times.

UNIFIL 

Peacekeepers of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon continue to observe significant air and ground activity across the area of operations, including multiple Israeli airstrikes in both Sectors East and West. Airstrikes were also reported north of the Litani River and in Western Bekaa. Peacekeepers reported 377 firing incidents attributed to the Israel Defense Forces and 15 trajectories of projectiles attributed to Lebanese non-state actors, including Hizbullah. Activity across UNIFIL's area of operations was characterized by sustained Israel Defense Forces operations, including high-density armoured movements, large-scale engineering and demolition works, logistical traffic, and persistent artillery, mortar, and rocket fire. 

Yesterday, three mortar shells fired by the Israel Defense Forces impacted approximately 70 meters southwest of a UNIFIL position near Rumaysh in Sector West. Earlier this morning, UNIFIL peacekeepers reported one impact inside, and another near a UN position in Al Bayyadah in Sector West, resulting in material damage to buildings within the position. We reiterate our call on all to uphold the inviolability of United Nations premises and ensure the safety and security of UN personnel at all times. 

Yesterday, the movement of UNIFIL peacekeepers was obstructed twice by the Israel Defense Forces in Sector West. Southwest of Al Bayyadah, a tank halted peacekeepers escorting the Lebanese Red Cross, pointing its main gun toward the convoy, and instructed them to leave the area; the convoy was later able to proceed. Additionally, near Naqoura, a tank briefly blocked a UNIFIL patrol. Such restrictions are inconsistent with the obligation to respect UNIFIL’s freedom of movement in accordance with its mandate and relevant Security Council resolutions. We call on all actors to fully respect this obligation.

Despite the volatile security environment, UNIFIL continues to support humanitarian deconfliction efforts in coordination with the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Yesterday, three humanitarian organizations conducted missions in the Tyre area (Sector West).   

LEBANON 

Today, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator and Resident Coordinator for Lebanon, Imran Riza, made a statement on the rising civilian toll from Israeli airstrikes despite the ceasefire announced on April 17. 

He said that the violence has also taken an unacceptable toll on those working to save lives, underscoring the continued risks faced by first responders and medical teams operating in extremely dangerous conditions. Attacks affecting ambulances and frontline responders continue to raise serious concerns for the safety of civilians and humanitarian personnel. Since the announcement of the ceasefire, 15 attacks on healthcare have been recorded, resulting in the deaths of 12 healthcare workers and the injuries of 21 others. 

He underscored that international humanitarian law is clear: civilians – including humanitarian workers, medical teams, and first responders – must be protected at all times, and the vital infrastructure civilians rely on must be spared. All parties must facilitate rapid and unimpeded humanitarian passage to civilians in need. 

Displacement orders were also issued yesterday for five villages located in hard-to-reach areas in the Bekaa governorate, as well as for three villages in the South Governorate, some of them for the first time since the escalation began. Additional displacement orders were issued today in Tyre district, reportedly forcing at least 2,800 Lebanese and 2,560 Palestinian refugees to flee. 

Despite insecurity and access constraints, humanitarian partners, in close coordination with the Government of Lebanon, continue to scale up assistance. Since March 2, partners have distributed more than 9.5 million hot and cold meals to conflict-affected people, alongside more than 166,000 blankets and 127,000 mattresses to support displaced families across the country.                

SOMALIA 

Today, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, UNICEF, and the World Food Programme are warning that a rapidly intensifying hunger emergency is pushing 6 million people – almost a third of the population – into critical levels of food insecurity between April and June. This information is based on the latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report. 

Somalia now includes one of the worst malnutrition crises in the world, impacting 1.9 million children, including 493,000 boys and girls who face severe malnutrition.  

This is also the first time since 2022 that Somalia is at risk of famine - in Burhakaba district, in Southwest State.  

You will recall that in 2022, famine was averted through massively scaled up and sustained humanitarian interventions in the aftermath of the longest drought on record.  

The current and worsening crisis is driven by multiple shocks, including severe drought, insecurity, extremely limited humanitarian assistance, and the ripple effects of conflict in the Middle East.  

Humanitarian assistance in the most at-risk areas is being scaled up, but this is happening within severely constrained resources. Coverage remains limited nationwide, with nearly 90 percent of people receiving little or no support.  

FAO, OCHA, UNICEF, and WFP are calling for an urgent scale-up of lifesaving assistance.  

The Humanitarian Coordinator in Somalia, George Conway, also said earlier today that there is a narrow but critical window of opportunity in the coming weeks to prevent famine through rapid and expanded humanitarian action, improved access to food, and sustained monitoring and response capacity in hotspot areas. 

SUDAN 

Turning to Sudan, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the World Food Programme (WFP) and UNICEF warned today that nearly 19.5 million people – that’s two out of every five people in Sudan - are currently facing crisis levels of acute food insecurity (IPC Phase 3 or above) across Sudan, according to the latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) analysis. Fourteen areas are at risk of famine across Greater Darfur and Greater Kordofan. 

Conditions are expected to deteriorate further during the lean season between June and September. Meanwhile, humanitarian assistance remains critically inadequate compared to the scale of needs.  

Between February and May, humanitarian partners aimed to reach 4.8 million people per month. However, only an estimated 3.13 million people received assistance in February.  

FAO, WFP, and UNICEF call for an immediate cessation of hostilities. The agencies also urge the international community to urgently scale up funding for food, emergency food production, nutrition, health, and water and sanitation services, as well as support for actions to rebuild livelihoods.   

SOUTH SUDAN 

Turning to South Sudan, where peacekeepers serving with the United Nations Mission in South Sudan, UNMISS, are providing a protective presence for humanitarian partners and displaced communities returning to Akobo, in Jonglei state. The return follows an outbreak of conflict in early March that caused widespread devastation and displacement. 

Through intensive engagement by UNMISS and partners, a fragile calm has taken hold, enabling the Mission to facilitate the urgent delivery of much-needed humanitarian assistance.  

With the rainy season fast approaching and with many roads soon expected to become impassable, UNMISS is also supporting the pre-positioning of critical supplies so aid can continue reaching vulnerable communities in the months ahead. 

INTERNATIONAL DAYS 

Today is the International Day of Families. This year’s theme “Families, Inequalities and Child Wellbeing,” underscores the need for stronger investment in integrated, family-oriented policies to reduce disparities and support healthy child development. 

Tomorrow is the International Day of Living Together in Peace - a reminder that fostering dialogue, solidarity and mutual understanding is both an urgent necessity and a shared responsibility.   

Tomorrow is also the International Day of Light, celebrated on the anniversary of the first successful laser operation in 1960 by physicist and engineer, Theodore Maiman.  

And Sunday is World Telecommunication and Information Society Day. In a message, the Secretary-General calls for greater investment in connectivity – from seabed cables to satellites, from local access to open standards and digital skills.  

Sunday is also the International Day against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia. The Secretary-General says that, on this Day, “we affirm a simple truth: being who you are should never be a crime.” 

**Guests  

The guests at the Noon Briefing were Edem Wosornu, Director of OCHA’s Crisis Response Division, and Altaf Musani, Director of Emergency Health Interventions at the World Health Organization (WHO).   

They briefed reporters from Panama about their recent mission to Cuba.