Action by UN System and Intergovernmental Organizations Relevant to the Question of Palestine (June 2025 Monthly Bulletin)

 

 

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The Bulletin can be found in the United Nations Information System on the Question of Palestine (UNISPAL) at

https://www.un.org/unispal/data-collection/monthly-bulletin/

Disclaimer: The texts cited in this Monthly Bulletin have been reproduced in their original form. The Division for Palestinian Rights is consequently not responsible for the views, positions or discrepancies contained in these texts.

June 2025

Volume XLVIII, Bulletin No. VI


Contents

  1. UNRWA Commissioner-General: Aid distribution has become a death trap
  2. OHCHR: Israeli military kills 32 Palestinians seeking food aid as ‘militarized humanitarian mechanism’ deepens crisis
  3. UN Register of Damage Caused by the Construction of the Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory issues a new report
  4. OCHA: Mass casualties reported in Gaza as hostilities continue
  5. UN Secretary-General appalled by reports of Palestinians killed and injured while seeking aid in Gaza
  6. UN Relief Chief: “No one should have to risk their life to feed their children” in Gaza
  7. Security Council fails to adopt resolution calling for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, as a result of a veto by the United States
  8. WHO calls for urgent protection of Nasser Medical Complex and Al-Amal Hospital in the Gaza Strip
  9. UN Human Rights Office condemns targeting journalists and attacks on hospitals
  10. UNDP staff member and his family killed in Gaza
  11. OCHA: Hostilities, hunger deepen civilians’ suffering in Gaza
  12. Israeli attacks on educational, religious and cultural sites in the Occupied Palestinian Territory amount to war crimes and the crime against humanity of extermination, UN Commission says
  13. WFP warns of starvation risk in Gaza amid aid delays and insecurity
  14. General Assembly adopts resolution demanding an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire, to be respected by all parties
  15. “Hunger must never be met with bullets,” says UN Relief Chief on Gaza aid attacks
  16. Appointment of the new Deputy UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process
  17. UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese issues a new report titled “From economy of occupation to economy of genocide”
  18. FAO and WFP early warning report reveals worsening hunger in 13 hotspots, including Gaza
  19. UN Secretary-General’s report highlights grave violations against children in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory
  20. OHCHR: Desperate Palestinians seeking food killed in Gaza
  21. UN Palestinian Rights Committee Chair addresses the OIC conference
  22. UNRWA and Türkiye sign Host Country Agreement
  23. UN Human Rights Office: Over 400 Palestinians have been killed at Gaza aid distribution points
  24. UN Secretary-General calls for ceasefire and end the suffering in Gaza
  25. Israel continues to kill entire displaced families in area it designated as “humanitarian zones” in Gaza
  26. UN Assistant Secretary-General updates Security Council on Gaza crisis, urges ceasefire and respect for international law

I. UNRWA Commissioner-General: Aid distribution has become a death trap

On 1 June, UNRWA Commissioner-General issued the following statement.

Gaza: aid distribution has become a death trap. Mass casualties including scores of injured and killed among starving civilians due to gunshots this morning. This is according to reports from international medics on ground. A distribution point by the Israeli- American plan was put far south in Rafah. This humiliating system has forced thousands of hungry and desperate people to walk for tens of miles to an area that’s all but pulverized due to heavy bombardment by the Israeli Army.

Aid deliveries and distribution must be at scale and safe. In Gaza, this can be done only through the United Nations including UNRWA. The State of Israel must lift the siege and allow the UN safe and unhindered access to bring in aid and distribute it safely. This is the only way to avert mass starvation including among 1 million children. With competing narratives and disinformation campaigns in full gear, international media must be allowed into Gaza to independently report on the ongoing atrocities including this morning’s heinous crime.


II. OHCHR: Israeli military kills 32 Palestinians seeking food aid as ‘militarized humanitarian mechanism’ deepens crisis

On 1 June, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights issued the following statement.

It is reported today that the Israeli military killed at least 32 Palestinians trying to access food today at distribution points set up in northwestern Rafah and Middle Gaza by the so-called ‘Gaza Humanitarian Foundation’ (GHF) and Safe Research Solutions (SRS), an American security company tasked by Israel with distributing food.

In the early morning of 1 June, the Israeli military reportedly shot at Palestinians trying to reach the aid distribution points in northwestern Rafah. According to the Gaza Ministry of Health, there were over 200 Palestinian casualties, including 31 killed and dozens seriously injured. Around the same time, in a similar incident close to another distribution point south of the Netzarim corridor in Middle Gaza, at least 1 person was shot and killed, and 42 were injured. While more information is being gathered, in both locations, the casualties reportedly include children and women.

The killings today follow numerous reports of the lethal use of firearms against Palestinians approaching GHF distribution points in Rafah and Middle Gaza since this new mechanism was established late last month. Between 27 and 31 May, the UN Human Rights Office in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) had already recorded daily violence connected with the mechanism, including reports of at least 19 Palestinians killed and 80 injured in total. At least 2 Palestinians were reportedly missing.

The UN Human Rights Office OPT stresses once more that Israel’s militarised humanitarian assistance mechanism violates international standards on aid distribution, endangers civilians, and is contributing to the catastrophic situation in Gaza. The 20 months of hostilities, Israel’s destruction of civilian infrastructure across Gaza, the almost 3 months of complete siege and blockade of Gaza, attacks on community kitchens, as well as the unlawful targeting of civilians including the police force, have led to a break down in civil order and is forcing on Palestinians the stark choice of dying from starvation or risk being killed while trying to access the meagre food that is being made available through the GHF.

The weaponisation of food for civilians and restricting or preventing their access to other life sustaining services constitute a war crime and may constitute elements of other international crimes, including genocide.

Israel, as the occupying power, has the duty, to the fullest extent of the means available to it, to ensure the provision of food and medical care for the population commensurate with their needs. They have further obligations to facilitate access by international humanitarian service providers and to facilitate the access of the civilian population to that assistance. The Office recalls that in 2024 the International Court of Justice, having found that there was a real and imminent risk of irreparable prejudice to the plausible rights of Palestinians in Gaza under the Genocide Convention, issued binding orders on Israel to take all measures to ensure, without delay, and in cooperation with the UN, the unhindered provision at scale of aid and assistance to Gaza.

As a matter of urgency, Israel must immediately comply if further unnecessary deaths of Palestinian civilians are to be prevented.


III. UN Register of Damage Caused by the Construction of the Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory issues a new report

On 2 June, the new progress report of the United Nations Register of Damage Caused by the Construction of the Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory was presented to the UN General Assembly. The full text of the report is provided below.

Progress report of the Board of the United Nations Register of Damage Caused by the Construction of the Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory

  1. The Board of the United Nations Register of Damage Caused by the Construction of the Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory provides the present progress report in accordance with paragraph 6 (h) of General Assembly resolution ES-10/17, covering the period from 1 June 2024 to 16 May 2025. The 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2023 and 2024 progress reports of the Board are contained in documents A/ES-10/455A/ES-10/498A/ES-10/522A/ES-10/598A/ES-10/599A/ES-10/658A/ES-10/683A/ES-10/730A/ES-10/756A/ES-10/801A/ES-10/821A/ES-10/839A/ES-10/949and A/ES-10/1004, respectively. Board progress reports, as well as other basic documents pertinent to the work of the Register of Damage, are posted on the Register’s website (unrod.org).
  2. In accordance with the provisions of General Assembly resolution ES-10/17and the Register’s Rules and Regulations Governing the Registration of Claims, the Office of the Register of Damage is required to undertake outreach and claim intake activities in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, securely deliver claim forms and supporting documents to the Register’s office in Vienna and undertake translation and legal processing of the claims for consideration by the Board. The Board then reviews those claims and takes a decision, which is final, on which claims should be included in the Register of Damage on the basis of the established objective criteria defined in the Rules and Regulations.
  3. During the reporting period, the Office of the Register of Damage continued to undertake outreach activities and collect claims in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and to process them for review by the Board. Since its launch in 2008, the Office’s community outreach and claim intake campaign has been conducted in all nine affected governorates: Janin, Tubas, Tulkarm, Qalqilyah, Salfit, Ramallah, Hebron, Bethlehem and Jerusalem, which comprise a population of more than 1.3 million inhabitants. During the reporting period, outreach activities were conducted for 40 public entities from Janin, Tulkarm, Qalqilyah, Salfit, Ramallah and Hebron Governorates, including ministries, municipalities and local public authorities, through in-person meetings, telephone calls and videoconferences.
  4. Despite the deteriorated security situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, the Office of the Register of Damage continued claims collection and related work in accessible areas.
  5. As at 16 May 2025, a total of 74,200 claims had been collected in 269 affected communities where the construction of the wall either had been completed or was ongoing. During the reporting period, 415 claims were collected on the ground by the team of the Register of Damage, including 12 category F claims from: the city of Qalqilyah, Qalqilyah Governorate; the Ti‘innik and Arabbunah communities of Janin Governorate; the Ni‘lin community of Ramallah Governorate; the city of Salfit, Salfit Governorate; the Zayta community of Tulkarm Governorate; and the Sikkah, Tawas, Dayr al-Asal-al-Tahta, Imnizil, Hittah and Ar Ramadin communities of Hebron Governorate. In addition, more than 100 claims from several locations were rectified.
  6. The Office of the Register of Damage ordinarily conducts one or two training sessions a year for local mayors and other officials of affected communities to inform them about requirements for completing claim forms and preparing them for claim intake in their communities. In view of the ongoing security situation and lack of funding, the Office of the Register of Damage shifted in 2022 from in-person training sessions, which had been the practice before the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, to virtual and hybrid training sessions. During the reporting period, two capacity-building workshops were conducted, both of which were focused on the legal and organizational aspects of claim intake for category F (public resources and other) losses. The first workshop, held over two days in July 2024, was attended by 22 mayors and local council officials from Janin, Jerusalem, Qalqilyah, Ramallah, Salfit and Tulkarm Governorates, as well as directors of local government departments and representatives from Al-Quds University. The second workshop, held on 13 May 2025, involved 15 officials from public entities from all nine affected governorates.
  7. During the reporting period, the Office of the Register of Damage processed 2,229 claims. Technical adjustments were made to 6,546 claims in view of further development of the eligibility criteria. The gap between the number of claims collected and the number processed by the Office has therefore been narrowed, although there is still a substantial backlog of 26,333 unprocessed claims. The Board has requested the Office to develop specific and practical proposals for dramatically expediting claims processing, including through the use of new technologies, while ensuring the quality of the process and the integrity of the Register.
  8. From the inception of the Register of Damage to the time of writing, the Board had decided to include in the Register the losses set out in 46,262 claims and not to include those set out in 1,593 claims that did not meet the eligibility criteria, bringing the total number of decided claims to 47,855.
  9. During the reporting period, the members of the Board held four meetings in Vienna and reviewed and decided on a total of 3,225 claims that had been processed by the Office, comprising: (a) 505 claims at its meeting held from 4 to 8 November 2024; (b) 1,097 claims at its meeting held from 11 to 15 November 2024; (c) 679 claims at its meeting held from 24 to 28 February 2025; and (d) 944 claims at its meeting held from 12 to 16 May 2025. In total, during the reporting period, the Board decided to include in the Register 3,073 claims and not to include 152 claims that did not meet the eligibility criteria set out in the Rules and Regulations.
  10. Of the claims reviewed and decided by the Board during the reporting period, 2,801 contained claims for category A (agriculture) losses; 210 for category B (commercial) losses; 210 for category D (employment) losses; 9 for category E (access to services) losses; and 1 for category F (public resources and other) losses.
  11. In its review of claims, the Board continued to apply the eligibility criteria in accordance with article 11 of the Rules and Regulations. In view of the limited time available and the large number of claims, the Board continued to employ sampling techniques, as provided for in article 12 (3) of the Rules and Regulations. During the four meetings covered by the present report, Board members reviewed in detail approximately 10 per cent of the claims submitted for review. This level of sampling is within the statistical parameters of reliability determined by the statistician previously consulted by the Executive Director of the Office of the Register of Damage, as indicated in the Board report of 2012. Claims that did not meet the eligibility criteria were either excluded from the Register or returned to the claimants for clarification.
  12. In its review of claims during the reporting period, the Board developed and adjusted the eligibility criteria for claims, as needed and in accordance with its mandate. These decisions concerned losses in relation to the creation of an alternate road to compensate for the loss of a road no longer usable due to the construction of the wall, overlapping employment claims, consideration of average annual income in commercial claims, and recalculation of shares, among others.
  13. Claim intake and outreach activities in the Occupied Palestinian Territory are funded by extrabudgetary contributions. More than $9.01 million has been donated since the establishment of the Office of the Register of Damage. Such voluntary contributions have been received from the Governments of Algeria, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Brunei Darussalam, Finland, France, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Malta, Morocco, Netherlands (Kingdom of the), Norway, the Philippines, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Switzerland and Türkiye, as well as the European Commission, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries Fund for International Development and the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development. Some of these donors have donated to the Register of Damage on several occasions. During the reporting period, the Office of the Register of Damage received voluntary contributions from the Governments of Türkiye and Malta amounting to $115,512. The Board would like to express its deep appreciation to those donors for providing funding and political support to enable the implementation of the provisions of resolution ES-10/17.
  14. Regrettably, the extrabudgetary funds are almost depleted, which jeopardizes the fundamentally important activities of the Office of the Register of Damage on the ground. The Board appeals once again to previous and potential donors to urgently provide funding to the Office to ensure uninterrupted outreach and claim intake activities in order to finalize its mandated work.
  15. During the reporting period, the Executive Director of the Office of the Register of Damage continued to maintain constructive contacts with relevant Palestinian officials. As before, the Board would like to express its appreciation for the indispensable cooperation extended by the Palestinian National Committee for the Register of Damage and for the support provided by local governors, mayors and members of village councils on many practical aspects, without which outreach and claim intake activities could not be conducted successfully.
  16. During the reporting period, the Executive Director of the Office of the Register of Damage also continued to maintain constructive contacts with relevant Israeli representatives. The Office did not experience any problems with access or the delivery of needed materials.
  17. The Board of the Register of Damage notes with satisfaction the good cooperation with United Nations agencies and offices present on the ground in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, as called for in paragraph 14 of resolution ES-10/17. The Board particularly appreciates the efficient and tangible contribution provided by the United Nations Office for Project Services in the areas of logistics, procurement, and human and financial resources management in support of the Register of Damage. During the reporting period, the Register of Damage also continued to benefit from the advice and assistance of the Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, including its Under-Secretary-General and the Assistant Secretary-General for the Middle East, Asia and the Pacific.
  18. The Board expresses its appreciation to the Executive Director and the staff of the Office of the Register of Damage for their efficient support in the preparation of the four Board meetings held during the reporting period, which enabled the Board to perform its functions smoothly.
  19. The Board of the Register of Damage will continue to provide periodic reports.

IV. OCHA: Mass casualties reported in Gaza as hostilities continue

On 2 June, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs issued the following statement.

OCHA warns that the situation on the ground in the Gaza Strip continues to worsen by the day.

Hostilities across Gaza have reportedly caused mass casualties. In the last two days, partners reported scores of people killed and injured, apparently while gathering to receive supplies near militarized distribution centers in Rafah and Deir al Balah.

Attacks against health facilities have also continued. Yesterday in North Gaza, Noura Al Kaabi Centre for dialysis was reportedly hit. The Ministry of Health in Gaza reports that more than 40 per cent of dialysis patients in Gaza have died since the escalation of the hostilities in October 2023. This is because the centres were either struck or unreachable.

As hostilities continue, people have once again been forced to flee. On Saturday, Israeli authorities issued another displacement order in Khan Younis and Deir al Balah. This has affected about 100,000 people living in more than 200 displacement sites. Two primary healthcare centres and five medical points are within the displacement area, while three hospitals, three field hospitals, seven primary healthcare centres and 20 medical points are located within 1,000 metres of it.

Overall, since 18 March, humanitarian partners estimate that more than 640,000 people, nearly a third of Gaza’s entire population, have been displaced again across the Strip.

The latest displacement order also deprived at least 8,000 students of learning, as tens of functioning temporary learning spaces and a dozen public schools had to suspend their operations. These closures constitute a severe setback for children’s education, limiting access to a safe and structured learning environment.

The UN and its humanitarian partners continue efforts to identify and treat malnutrition whenever possible and as dwindling supplies allow. Last week, they distributed supplements to about 40,000 children, despite severe challenges and restrictions on humanitarian assistance.

Meanwhile, as people endure deprivation, hunger and the absence of adequate food distribution, looting incidents continue to be reported. The vast majority are people taking flour directly from open trucks, out of clear desperation. However, humanitarian teams have also started observing some criminal looting again.

The UN and its partners continue to call for the full lifting of the restrictions on aid and other essentials to ensure the needs of civilians in Gaza are met.

This comes as people continue to suffer from frequent water shortages. The pipeline in Deir al Balah, which supplied at least 12,000 cubic metres every day, is still not operational, and humanitarians’ attempts to carry out coordinated missions to repair it have been denied. Today, five missions to distribute potable water in the displacement camps in Jabaliya were also denied by Israeli authorities.

Partners working on protection report that last week, five organizations suspended their services due to ongoing hostilities, displacement and access restrictions in Gaza city and North Gaza. However, despite the trauma, exhaustion, and anxiety among displaced workers and volunteers, partners reached thousands of individuals with life-saving protection services during the last two days. In view of the desperate conditions on the ground, needs for safe shelter, mental healthcare and basic aid remain acute.

Over the weekend, the UN and its partners kept working to bring supplies from the Palestinian side of Kerem Shalom crossing into Gaza. More than 100 truckloads of food and medical supplies were picked up on Saturday and Sunday, bringing to more than 300 the number of truckloads picked up from the Gaza side of the Kerem Shalom crossing since it was reopened.

Today, one of our attempts to collect supplies from Kerem Shalom was denied. Another was still ongoing, awaiting a green light from Israeli authorities, a pause in the bombing along the route, and the allocation of a viable path.

Because of the Israeli weekend and holiday, the border was kept closed, preventing the UN from bringing more supplies through Kerem Shalom since Saturday.

OCHA stresses that even when the crossing is open, severe restrictions on what humanitarians can bring in, both in terms of volume and variety, mean that the supplies currently entering Gaza are still just a trickle and fall far short of what people need.


V. UN Secretary-General appalled by reports of Palestinians killed and injured while seeking aid in Gaza 

The following statement by UN Secretary-General António Guterres was issued on 2 June 2025.

I am appalled by the reports of Palestinians killed and injured while seeking aid in Gaza yesterday. It is unacceptable that Palestinians are risking their lives for food.

I call for an immediate and independent investigation into these events and for perpetrators to be held accountable.

Israel has clear obligations under international humanitarian law to agree to and facilitate humanitarian aid. The unimpeded entry of assistance at scale to meet the enormous needs in Gaza must be restored immediately. The UN must be allowed to work in safety and security under conditions of full respect of humanitarian principles.

I continue to call for an immediate permanent, sustainable ceasefire. All hostages must be released immediately and unconditionally. This is the only path to ensuring security for all. There is no military solution to the conflict.


VI. UN Relief Chief: “No one should have to risk their life to feed their children” in Gaza.

 On 4 June, the following statement on aid distribution in Gaza was issued by Tom Fletcher, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator.

The world is watching, day after day, horrifying scenes of Palestinians being shot, wounded or killed in Gaza while simply trying to eat. Emergency medical teams have confirmed treating hundreds of trauma cases. Yesterday alone, dozens were declared dead at hospitals after Israeli forces said they had opened fire. This is the outcome of a series of deliberate choices that have systematically deprived 2 million people of the essentials they need to survive.

I echo the Secretary-General’s call for immediate, independent investigations. These are not isolated incidents, and the perpetrators must be held accountable. No one should have to risk their life to feed their children. As I have repeatedly stressed, we must be allowed to do our jobs: We have the teams, the plan, the supplies and the experience. Open the crossings, all of them.

Let in lifesaving aid at scale, from all directions. Lift the restrictions on what and how much aid we can bring in. Ensure our convoys aren’t held up by delays and denials. Release the hostages. Implement the ceasefire. We value the support of more and more Member States who are joining our call: Let us work.


VII. Security Council fails to adopt resolution calling for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, as a result of a veto by the United States 

The following is a press release on the Security Council’s 9929th meeting held on 4 June.

The Security Council today failed to adopt a resolution aiming to ameliorate the plight of civilians in Gaza, as the United States vetoed the measure despite affirmative votes by the other 14 members of the 15-nation organ.

“There are moments when silence is more eloquent than language,” observed Algeria’s representative, “today is one of those”. However, he added: “But silence cannot defend the dead; it cannot hold the hand of the dying; it cannot confront the machinery of injustice.” Therefore “we must speak, loudly”, he proclaimed, not to state a position, “but for the sake of memory, of morality and of the human spirit”. Today’s resolution, even in its obstruction, is a mirror that “reflects the agony of multilateralism” and “reveals why the Israeli occupier continues its crimes”, he said.

Today, the Council’s elected members stood with clarity, conviction and courage, “they are the proud bearer of moral legitimacy, they are the true compass of the world’s conscience”, he stressed. He underscored that the Council should have acted to impose a ceasefire in Gaza, “for the killing of Palestinian children to not become a mere pastime”; “for starvation not to be legitimized as a weapon”; and “for future generations to not grow up scorning international law”. Stressing that today’s vote “is not a conclusion”, he quoted a recent statement by his country’s President: “Algeria will not abandon Palestine.”

That statement immediately followed the Council’s failure to adopt today’s resolution. That draft text, introduced by the representative of Slovenia on behalf of the 10 elected members of the Council, would have demanded a ceasefire, the release of all hostages and the lifting of all restrictions on the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza. However, it was defeated by a vote of 14 in favour to 1 against (United States), with no abstentions. (As a permanent Council member cast a negative vote, the text was not adopted.)

The representative of that member, the United States, said before the vote that her country’s opposition to the draft “should come as no surprise”. The text, she stressed, “is unacceptable for what it does say, it is unacceptable for what it does not say and it is unacceptable for the manner in which it has been advanced”. She underscored: “Any product that undermines our close ally Israel’s security is a non-starter.”

Adding that the Council cannot be allowed to “reward Hamas”, she stated that the text also “draws false equivalence” between that group and Israel. Additionally, the permanent ceasefire envisioned by the text would leave Hamas in a position to carry out future attacks. She also said that the draft does not acknowledge the disastrous shortcomings of prior methods of aid delivery, which allowed Hamas to enrich itself at the expense of Palestinians. “Performative actions designed to draw a veto”, she stressed, are harmful while delicate diplomacy is at work.

However, the representative of Slovenia stressed after the vote: “It was never our intention to provoke a veto.” As such, the draft resolution had only one focus, “a humanitarian one”, he noted, as briefings to the Council on this issue have become increasingly distressing. “Just ashes and sorrow,” he observed. Starving civilians and inflicting immense suffering is inhumane, against international law and not justified by any war objective. “We had hoped, and expected, that this was our shared understanding,” he said.

Today’s resolution would have constituted the “bare minimum” for the “first-aid kit” that the international community must provide to ease the suffering of Palestinian civilians, underscored the representative of the Russian Federation. Yet, once again, the Council could not adopt a product that would have spared Gaza and the region from descending further into chaos. “We all today have another opportunity to see who really wants peace in the Middle East, and who wants to continue playing political games,” he said.

Other delegations also spotlighted the text as the least the Council could do to address the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza. “It represented the lowest common denominator” that “we should be able to defend”, stressed Panama’s representative, adding that nothing in the text disregards Israel’s security concerns. Sierra Leone’s representative, too, said that the draft “represented the bare minimum required to address the worsening, catastrophic humanitarian situation”. She warned: “The cost of inaction will be borne by an entire generation.”

In that vein, Somalia’s representative urged Israel to fulfil its international obligations and end its occupation: “This is the only path to sustainable peace in the Middle East and for the future of many children to come.” International law is clear, underscored Denmark’s representative. Humanitarian aid must never be politicized, used as a bargaining chip nor employed as part of a military strategy, she said, adding: “We have all seen the chaotic scenes at the recently set-up aid distribution sites.”

“We witness, every day, on our screens, the agonizing killing of innocent Palestinians, including children,” the representative of the Republic of Korea said, also noting the recent chaos at the new aid-distribution sites. “We are also extremely concerned about the horrific conditions that Israeli hostages, still brutally held by Hamas, are forced to endure,” he added. However, blocking or throttling humanitarian aid for millions of people cannot ensure the safe return of hostages, he pointed out.

China’s representative joined these and other Council members to also take issue with the aid-delivery mechanism promoted by the United States and Israel, as it violates the principles of impartiality and neutrality. “This mechanism has even become a death trap,” he stressed, noting the repeated incidents of civilian casualties near distribution sites and underscoring that military means are not the solution. The United Kingdom’s representative concurred: “This Israeli Government’s decision to expand its military operations in Gaza and severely restrict aid are unjustifiable, disproportionate and counterproductive.”

“Peace cannot be maintained by force,” stated Greece’s representative, “it can only be achieved by understanding”. While joining several others in condemning Hamas’ terrorist attacks, he urged Israel to allow the immediate, unhindered flow of humanitarian aid, at scale, throughout the entire Gaza Strip. The partial resumption of aid delivery is hardly sufficient, he added, stating that reports about the deaths of those seeking aid are “simply unthinkable”.

France’s representative observed: “We all know the tragedy taking place under our very eyes in Gaza, not many words are needed.” Providing humanitarian aid cannot be conditioned on a ceasefire, nor can it be used for political purposes. While the Council should condemn Hamas’ attack, he urged the organ to also work towards a “concrete implementation of the two-State solution”. For its part, France will continue working towards this objective by co-chairing, with Saudi Arabia, a conference on that solution over 17-20 June.

The representative of Pakistan also spotlighted that conference, while underscoring that the Council’s failure to adopt today’s text is “another low in the history of this august body”. The veto cast sends the signal that the lives of over 2 million starved and besieged Palestinians are dispensable. While the Council deliberated, Gaza was decimated, and he stated that to kill civilians seeking bread and water is to criminalize survival. “Aid dropped from the sky or delivered under armed escort is not a solution, it is a spectacle,” he added.

For his part, the representative of Yemen, speaking for the Arab Group, concurred that the Council’s failure today seriously undermines its mandate. Urging more action to protect the Palestinian people, he expressed support for mediation efforts by Egypt, Qatar and the United States. However, it is vital to resume the entry of humanitarian aid and end Israel’s occupation, he stressed, pointing out that such aid has become a method for forced displacement.

While thanking the 14 Council members who voted in favour of today’s text, the observer of the State of Palestine pointed to the “engineered starvation” wrought upon his people. “An entire civilian population”, he said, is brought to the “edge of famine”, and aid is then used to lure and confine them to an extremely limited area of the Strip, “clearly to facilitate their expulsion and annexation”. Noting the Council’s failure to act, he asked: “You cannot even say something about that?”

He also questioned whether the Council has anything to say about Israel breaking the fundamental rules of international law, “of basic humanity”. While noting his expectation that the elected members’ minimal demands, “directed by humanity, by legality, by morality”, would have received unanimous support, he recalled that they were instead met with a veto. Meanwhile, efforts by the United States, Egypt and Qatar to realize a ceasefire have yet to meet success. He asked: “Does that mean Israel can continue its destruction of the Gaza Strip, and all life within it, while the negotiations continue?”

Meanwhile, Israel’s representative said: “Today, this Council stood at a crossroads, and most of you chose wrong, you chose appeasement and submission.” Nevertheless, he thanked the United States for standing on the right side and refusing to abandon the hostages. Israel had accepted multiple versions of the United States-backed proposal, but Hamas has rejected every deal, every offer, every opportunity. Further, he said that the text undermines humanitarian aid, while the new aid-delivery mechanism is operational and “is doing what the old system could not, stopping Hamas from stealing it”.

“I listened to all of you,” he said, adding that only a few condemned Hamas. Instead of applying pressure where it belongs, most of the Council is applying it on the country working to bring its people back home. Military pressure works, he emphasized, reaffirming commitment to bringing all hostages home. “Don’t waste more of your time,” he told those present, referring to the General Assembly emergency meeting that will be triggered by today’s veto. He added that no resolution, no vote, “will stand in our way”.


VIII. WHO calls for urgent protection of Nasser Medical Complex and Al-Amal Hospital in the Gaza Strip

On 5 June, the World Health Organization issued the following press release.

WHO warns that the Gaza Strip’s health system is collapsing, with Nasser Medical Complex, the most important referral hospital left in Gaza, and Al-Amal Hospital at risk of becoming non-functional. There are already no hospitals functioning in the north of Gaza.

Nasser and Amal are the last two functioning public hospitals in Khan Younis, where currently most of the population is living. Without them, people will lose access to critical health services.

While these hospitals have not received orders to evacuate patients or staff, they lie within or just outside the evacuation zone announced on 2 June. Israeli authorities have informed the Ministry of Health that access routes leading to both hospitals will be obstructed. As a result, safe access for new patients and staff will be difficult, if not impossible. If the situation further deteriorates, both hospitals are at high risk of becoming non-functional, due to movement restrictions, insecurity, and the inability of WHO and partners to resupply or transfer patients.

Nasser and Al Amal hospitals are operating above their capacity, while people with life-threatening injuries continue to arrive to seek urgent care amid a dire shortage of essential medicines and medical supplies. The hospitals going out of service would have dire consequences for patients in need of surgical care, intensive care, blood bank and transfusion services, cancer care, and dialysis.

Losing the two hospitals would cut 490 beds, reducing the Gaza Strip’s overall hospital bed availability to less than 1400 hospital beds (40% less hospital beds available in the Gaza Strip than before the start of the conflict), for the entire population of 2 million people.

The relentless and systematic decimation of hospitals in Gaza has been going on for too long. It must end immediately. For over 20 months, health workers, WHO, and partners have managed to keep health services partly running despite extreme conditions. But repeated attacks, escalating hostilities, denial of aid, and restricted access have systematically dismantled the health system.

WHO calls for urgent protection of Nasser Medical Complex and Al-Amal Hospital to ensure they remain accessible, functional and safe from attacks and hostilities. Patients seeking refuge and care to save their lives must not risk losing them trying to reach hospitals. Hospitals must never be militarized or targeted.

WHO calls for the delivery of essential medicines and medical supplies into Gaza to be immediately expedited safely and facilitated through all possible routes.

WHO calls for an immediate and lasting ceasefire.


IX. UN Human Rights Office condemns targeting journalists and attacks on hospitals

On 6 June, the UN Human Rights Office in the Occupied Palestinian Territory issued the following press release.

UN Human Rights Office in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) condemns the Israeli military’s pattern of killings of journalists in Gaza, which remains the deadliest place in the world to be a journalist. In the latest attack on Al Ahli Hospital, Gaza City, in the morning on 5 June, at least 4 journalists were killed and 3 more were injured. This is at least the third instance of journalists apparently targeted and killed at hospitals. An attack on Nasr Medical Complex in Khan Younis on 7 April 2005 killed 2 journalists, and an attack on Al Awda Hospital in An Nuseirat killed 5 journalists on 26 December 2024.

UN Human Rights Office in the OPT is horrified that Israeli military attacks reportedly killed 18 journalists in May 2025 alone. The Office has verified the killing of 227 Palestinian journalists in Gaza since 7 October 2023, including 197 men and 30 women. The apparent targeting of Palestinian journalists in Gaza, combined with the denial by Israel of access of foreign journalists to Gaza for over 18 months, except a few visits controlled by IDF, appear to indicate a deliberate attempt by Israel to limit the flow of information to and from Gaza and prevent reporting on the impact of its attacks and denial of humanitarian assistance. Directing attacks against protected persons such as journalists is a violation of international humanitarian law and also constitutes a war crime.

The attack on Al Ahli Hospital on 5 June came as the Israeli military targeted hospitals that had barely recovered from previous rounds of hostilities. The Israeli military’s conduct of hostilities has pushed the health care system across Gaza to the verge of complete collapse. Operations in North Gaza have put three main hospitals in the governorate out of service, destroying the sole dialysis centre in the north. At the same time, the Israeli displacement orders and intense military operation in Khan Younis are preventing patients from reaching two of the main hospitals in Khan Younis, European and Al Amal Hospitals, and Israeli ground troops are advancing in the vicinity of Nasr Medical Complex, the largest hospital in the south, raising the risk of it also being of it also being forced out of service. Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al Balah was struck three times in the morning on 4 June.

The coordinated, repeated and extensive attacks on hospitals, which are specially protected facilities under international humanitarian law, and the deprivation of health and medicate care to those in desperate need, further indicate a complete indifference towards civilian lives and suffering and raise concerns of an intentional disregard by Israel of its obligation to respect and protect civilians.


X. UNDP staff member and his family killed in Gaza

On 7 June, United Nations Development Programme’s Administrator Achim Steiner issued the following statement.

I am deeply saddened by the tragic killing of our UNDP colleague, Ramzi Khader (47), his wife, their six children, and members of his extended family in Gaza yesterday. An Israeli airstrike on his family home in Jabalia in northern Gaza killed him and reportedly more than 36 members of his extended family. He is survived by his son, with whom we have been in touch to offer our support.

Ramzi joined UNDP’s Programme of Assistance to the Palestinian People (UNDP/PAPP) in May 2004 as an Area Manager and served as a Programme Portfolio Associate in Gaza. Throughout his 21 years of service, and even under the most difficult circumstances since the onset of the war, Ramzi remained deeply committed to supporting the Palestinian people and advancing UNDP’s mandate on the ground.

Ramzi was a special colleague and a treasured friend. He was most caring, courageous and compassionate. He had a brilliant mind, finding solutions for any challenge. He kept us honest and true, with his strong principles and ethical values. He remained on his land, in his family home, despite all that he endured. He was deeply respected, admired, and loved by those who worked with him.

The loss of Ramzi and his family has devastated our team. UN staff and civilians in Gaza are not, and must never be, targets. The protection of civilians and humanitarian personnel must be upheld in accordance with international humanitarian law.

This war must end. A ceasefire is urgently needed to prevent further atrocities. No family should have to endure the heartbreak and suffering that Ramzi’s loved ones, and so many others in Gaza, continue to face.

On behalf of UNDP, I extend my deepest condolences to Ramzi’s family, his loved ones, our colleagues at UNDP/PAPP, and all those who had the honour of working alongside him.


XI. OCHA: Hostilities, hunger deepen civilians’ suffering in Gaza

On 10 June, the United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs shared the following press release.

OCHA warns that hostilities and hunger continue to fuel desperation among more than 2 million people in Gaza who are being denied the basics necessary for their survival, amid reports of ongoing Israeli military operations.

Between 5 and 8 June, 15 attacks were reported on residential buildings and tents sheltering displaced people across Gaza, killing tens of Palestinians and injuring others.

In northern Gaza, Israeli military operations have intensified in recent days, with mass casualties reported. On 7 June, the Palestinian Civil Defence reported 30 fatalities, including women and children, in an air strike on a residential building in Gaza city.

Hungry and displaced people have also reportedly been killed while risking their lives to access food at militarized distribution hubs.

Meanwhile, four new displacement orders have been issued by the Israeli authorities for northern areas of Gaza since 6 June. The last of these was said to be in response to reported Palestinian rocket fire into Israel. Combined, they cover about 8 square kilometres but largely overlap with previously issued orders.

OCHA underscores that civilians must be protected, including those fleeing and forced to leave through displacement orders and those who remain despite those orders. Civilians who flee must be allowed to return as soon as circumstances allow. OCHA reiterates that civilians must be able to receive the humanitarian assistance they need, wherever they are. All of this is required by international humanitarian law.

Yesterday, some supplies, mainly flour, were collected from Kerem Shalom crossing. The aid was bound for Gaza city but was taken directly from the trucks by hungry and desperate people who have now endured months of deprivation.

Separately, there have also been some instances of violent looting and attacks on truck drivers, which are completely unacceptable. OCHA reiterates that Israel, as the occupying power, bears responsibility with regards to public order and safety in Gaza. That should include letting in far more essential supplies, through multiple crossings and routes, to meet humanitarian needs and help reduce looting.

Today, additional supplies have been sent to Kerem Shalom, and humanitarian partners continue their efforts to pick up supplies when they are allowed access by the Israeli authorities.

Meanwhile, Israeli authorities continue to deny many humanitarian movements within the Strip to provide whatever limited services available to the population. Yesterday, they rejected 11 out of 18 attempts by the UN to coordinate such movements. These included trucking water, retrieving fuel, carrying out a rescue mission in Khan Younis, and repairing roads.

West Bank: Northern areas affected by Israeli operations

OCHA says Israeli forces’ operations in northern areas of the West Bank continue to be reported.

Today at around midnight, Israeli forces launched an operation in Nablus city, focusing on the Old City. They imposed a curfew, conducted house-to-house searches, and reportedly used a school as an interrogation centre. At least 20 homes have been searched, with reports of damage to property.

Yesterday in Jenin, the Israeli authorities announced an imminent plan to demolish nearly 96 structures, most of them residential, in Jenin camp. More than 280 families who stand to be affected have been given 72 hours to retrieve their personal belongings.

In Tulkarm, Israeli operations have intensified in its camps, Tulkarm and Nur Shams, since 6 June, coinciding with Eid al Adha. The forces have implemented demolition orders for 58 structures. More than three dozen buildings have been demolished so far, according to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, with destruction extending beyond the original orders issued at the start of the month.

There is a heavy presence of military forces remaining at both camps. On 7 June, Israeli forces reportedly shot and injured a Palestinian man in Nur Shams. Israeli forces have also operated in parts of Tulkarm city, taking over buildings and using them as military posts.


XII. Israeli attacks on educational, religious and cultural sites in the Occupied Palestinian Territory amount to war crimes and the crime against humanity of extermination, UN Commission says

On 10 June, the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem and in Israel, issued the following press release.

Israel has obliterated Gaza’s education system and destroyed over half of all religious and cultural sites in the Gaza Strip, part of a widespread and relentless assault against the Palestinian people in which Israeli forces have committed war crimes and the crime against humanity of extermination, the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem and Israel, said in a new report today.

While the Commission paid special attention to the situation in Gaza, the report focuses on attacks in the Occupied Palestinian Territory as a whole, and in Israel.

“We are seeing more and more indications that Israel is carrying out a concerted campaign to obliterate Palestinian life in Gaza,” said Navi Pillay, Chair of the Commission. “Israel’s targeting of the educational, cultural and religious life of the Palestinian people will harm the present generations and generations to come, hindering their right to self-determination.”

The Commission found that Israel used airstrikes, shelling, burning and controlled demolitions to damage and destroy more than 90 percent of the school and university buildings in Gaza, creating conditions where education for children, including adolescents, and the livelihood of teachers have been made impossible. Over 658,000 children in Gaza have had no schooling for 20 months.

Israeli forces committed war crimes, including directing attacks against civilians and wilful killing, in their attacks on educational facilities that caused civilian casualties. In killing civilians sheltering in schools and religious sites, Israeli security forces committed the crime against humanity of extermination.

The Commission documented and investigated several cases of burning and demolition of educational facilities by Israeli forces which it concluded were deliberate and unnecessary. Israeli soldiers recorded and distributed videos in which they mock Palestinians and Palestinian education, before destroying schools and universities. The Commission considers such acts as indicative of the Israeli security forces’ intent to destroy these facilities to curtail Palestinians’ access to education in the long-term.

The Commission also found significant evidence that Israeli security forces seized and used educational facilities as military bases or staging areas for military activity, including transforming a part of the Al-Azhar university’s Al-Mughraqa campus to function as a synagogue for the troops. The Commission found one instance where the military wing of Hamas had also used a school for military purposes. Such conduct violates the provision of customary international humanitarian law that requires parties to a conflict to distinguish between civilian objects and military objectives.

In the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, the education system has suffered from increasing military operations by Israeli security forces, the harassment of students, and an increase in checkpoints, demolitions and settler attacks which have affected more than 806,000 Palestinian students. Israel has done little to prevent or prosecute settlers who have intentionally targeted educational facilities and students to terrorise communities and force them to leave their homes.

Israeli authorities have also targeted Israeli and Palestinian educational personnel and students inside Israel who expressed concern or solidarity with the civilian population in Gaza, resulting in their harassment, dismissal or suspension and in some cases humiliating arrests and detention. Israeli authorities have particularly targeted female educators and students, intending to deter women and girls from activism in public places.

“Children in Gaza have lost their childhood. With no education available, they are forced to worry about survival amid attacks, uncertainty, starvation and subhuman living conditions,” said Pillay. “What is particularly disturbing is the widespread nature of the targeting of educational facilities, which has extended well beyond Gaza, impacting all Palestinian children.”

Attacks by Israeli security forces have damaged more than half of all religious and cultural sites in the Gaza Strip, part of a wider campaign to destroy civilian targets and infrastructure through airstrikes and shelling. Israeli attacks also targeted religious sites that served as places of refuge, killing hundreds of people, including women and children. The Commission concluded that Israeli security forces knew or should have known the locations and significance of Gaza’s prominent cultural sites and should have planned all military operations to ensure no harm.

All ten religious and cultural sites in Gaza investigated by the Commission constituted civilian objects at the time of attack and suffered devastating destruction for which the Commission could not identify a legitimate military need. Artefacts were destroyed, removed or looted.

In the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, the Commission found that Israeli authorities have appropriated, developed and profited from cultural heritage sites representing Palestinian, Jewish and other cultures, displaced Palestinian residents from those sites, and blocked or severely restricted Palestinians from accessing such sites.

In East Jerusalem, frequent militarised incursions, arrests and harassment against worshippers and religious figures in Haram al-Sharif/Temple Mount have resulted in severe restrictions of freedom of worship and, on several occasions, ignition of wider conflict. Israeli authorities limited access of Palestinian worshippers to the site while allowing increased access of Jewish worshippers. The Commission emphasises that, while some actions by Israeli security forces at the site may have been linked to security justifications, these should be considered within the broader context of Israel’s illegal occupation, settlement activity and support to settlers, and the erosion of the status quo. Israel’s actions are governed by the law of occupation, the occupying power’s obligation to ensure public order and safety, and international human rights law regarding the use of force, which must be necessary and proportionate.

“Attacks on cultural and religious sites have deeply impacted intangible culture, such as religious and cultural practices, memories and history,” said Pillay. “The targeting and destruction of heritage sites, the limiting of access to those sites in the West Bank and the erasure of their heterogenic history erode Palestinians’ historical ties to the land and weaken their collective identity.”

In its recommendations, the Commission urges the Government of Israel to immediately end attacks targeting cultural, religious and education institutions and seizure and military use of such institutions; immediately end its unlawful occupation of Palestinian territory and cease all settlement plans and activities, including those conducted in or endangering religious and cultural sites; and comply fully with the provisional measures ordered by the International Court of Justice.

The Commission calls on the Government of the State of Palestine to ensure the protection, preservation and development of cultural heritage sites, including those representing non-Palestinian heritage, and to safeguard artefacts. The Commission calls on the de-facto authorities in Gaza to cease using civilian objects for military purposes.

To learn more about the Special Procedures of the UN Human Rights Council and the Question of Palestine, click here to visit the dedicated webpage on UNISPAL.


XIII. WFP warns of starvation risk in Gaza amid aid delays and insecurity

On 10 June, the United Nations World Food Programme issued the following statement.

Overnight, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) dispatched 59 trucks carrying life-saving food assistance intended for northern Gaza. The aid convoy, transporting 930 metric tons of wheat flour, was stopped along the way and offloaded by hungry civilians in critical need of food to feed their families. Community responses of relief, gratitude and urgent pleas for more trucks reinforce the desperation of the situation.

A second aid convoy with 21 trucks of food aid intended for southern Gaza was delayed and waited for clearances to move for over 36 hours.

Since the limited resumption of humanitarian assistance into Gaza on 19 May, WFP has only been able to bring in small amounts of life-saving food and aid. This is largely due to delays or denials of permission for humanitarian movements due to expanded military operations.

As of 10 June, almost three weeks after limited supplies were allowed to enter Gaza, WFP has transported over 700 trucks of aid to the Kerem Shalom border crossing point. This compares to 600-700 trucks of aid transported per day during the ceasefire earlier this year. The trucks carried over 11,000 metric tons of food but only 6,000 metric tons has entered Gaza, enough to support less than 300,000 people for a month with minimal daily food requirements. This is a small fraction of what is needed for a population of 2.1 million people and far too slow to meet the overwhelming needs.

To stave off starvation, stabilize markets and calm desperation, we need to consistently support the entire population with basic food requirements every month.

After nearly 80 days of a total blockade of aid, and a trickle of assistance since the reopening, the fear of starvation inside Gaza remains high.

For the trucks and drivers inside Gaza, insecurity and the breakdown in law and order also pose concerns. Some trucks have been looted by armed gangs, injuring drivers and damaging trucks.

WFP continues to call for better operating conditions so that food can reach families consistently, fairly, and safely, wherever they are across the Gaza Strip. This means more safe and reliable convoy routes, faster permission approvals and additional border crossings open for use.

This is the only way to reassure the population and to push back starvation.

WFP has over 140,000 metric tons of food––enough to feed the entire population of 2.2 million Gazans for two months, within and on its way to the region.

The food aid brought into Gaza during the ceasefire helped to push back the tide of hunger. We can do this again.

Another ceasefire is urgently needed and is the only way to reach all people safely across Gaza with life-saving assistance.


XIV. General Assembly adopts resolution demanding an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire, to be respected by all parties 

On 12 June, the General Assembly adopted the resolution A/RES/ES-10/27 titled “Protection of civilians and upholding legal and humanitarian obligations” by a recorded vote of 149 in favour, 12 against, and 19 abstentions.

ES-10/27. Protection of civilians and upholding legal and humanitarian obligations

The General Assembly,

Reaffirming the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations, and recalling its resolutions regarding the question of Palestine, and all the relevant resolutions of the Security Council,

Reaffirming also that all parties to armed conflicts must comply with their obligations under international law, including the Charter, international humanitarian law and international human rights law, and underscoring the importance of holding accountable all those responsible for violations of international law,

Strongly deploring the end of the ceasefire and the decision of the Israeli Government, since 2 March 2025, to block access to humanitarian aid, including life-saving supplies, notably food, medicine, fuel and cooking gas, for over 2 million people, and expressing its deep alarm over the ongoing catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, including the severe lack of adequate healthcare services and the extreme state of food insecurity, creating a critical risk of famine, and its grave impact on children, women, elderly persons and other civilians,

Expressing grave concern at the latest and prolonged escalation of violence since the 7 October 2023 attack and the war in the Gaza Strip and the grave deterioration of the situation, including the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip,

Condemning all attacks against civilians, including all acts of terrorism and indiscriminate attacks, deploring all attacks against civilian objects, acts of provocation, incitement and destruction, reaffirming its rejection of forced displacement of the civilian population, and recalling that the taking of hostages is prohibited under international law,

Expressing support for the mediation efforts of Egypt, Qatar and the United States of America to immediately restore the implementation of the ceasefire agreement in all its phases, leading to a permanent end to hostilities, the release of all hostages, the exchange of Palestinian prisoners, the return of all human remains and the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip as well as the start of a major multi-year reconstruction plan for Gaza,

Recalling the orders of provisional measures of the International Court of Justice in the case concerning the application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide[1] in the Gaza Strip (South Africa v. Israel), indicated by the Court on 26 January, 28 March and 24 May 2024, given its determination that there is a real and imminent risk that irreparable prejudice will be caused to the rights found by the Court to be plausible, namely the right of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip to be protected from acts of genocide and related prohibited acts mentioned in article III of the Convention,

Recalling in particular the determination by the International Court of Justice on 28 March 2024 that “the State of Israel shall, in conformity with its obligations under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, and in view of the worsening conditions of life faced by Palestinians in Gaza, in particular the spread of famine and starvation … take all necessary and effective measures to ensure, without delay, in full co-operation with the United Nations, the unhindered provision at scale by all concerned of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance, including food, water, electricity, fuel, shelter, clothing, hygiene and sanitation requirements, as well as medical supplies and medical care to Palestinians throughout Gaza, including by increasing the capacity and number of land crossing points and maintaining them open for as long as necessary”, which has remained unheeded to date,

Recalling the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice on the legal consequences arising from Israel’s policies and practices in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and from the illegality of Israel’s continued presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory,[2] as well as the urgent request of the General Assembly for an advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice on the obligations of Israel in relation to the presence and activities of the United Nations, other international organizations and third States in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem,

Noting that, in accordance with international humanitarian law, if the whole or part of the population of an occupied territory is inadequately supplied, the Occupying Power shall agree to relief schemes on behalf of the said population, and shall facilitate them by all the means at its disposal,

Recalling Articles 100, 104 and 105 of the Charter, the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations and the Convention on the Safety of United Nations[3] and Associated Personnel,[4] Security Council resolution 2730 (2024) of 24 May 2024 and all relevant resolutions concerning the safety and security of United Nations and humanitarian personnel, including General Assembly resolution 79/138 of 9 December 2024,

Expressing deep alarm at the number of humanitarian workers killed in the Gaza Strip, including personnel of the United Nations, the majority of them staff of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East,

Reiterating its demand that all parties to the conflict comply with their obligations under international law, including international humanitarian law, including with regard to the protection of civilians, humanitarian access, the safety and security of humanitarian personnel and their freedom of movement, and the protection of United Nations and humanitarian facilities and other civilian objects,

Expressing grave concern at the escalation of violence and violations of international law in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, which has witnessed the intensification of forcible displacement, settlement activity, settler violence, unlawful use of force by Israeli forces, arbitrary arrests and the demolition or seizure of Palestinian homes and essential infrastructure,

Recalling that the General Assembly established the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East as a subsidiary organ of the United Nations in its resolution 302 (IV) of 8 December 1949, and acknowledging the essential role that the Agency has played for more than seven decades since its establishment in alleviating the plight of the Palestine refugees by provision of services, including emergency assistance, for the well-being, protection and human development of the Palestine refugees and for the stability of the region, pending the just resolution of the question of the Palestine refugees in line with the relevant resolutions,

Emphasizing the imperative of ensuring accountability for all violations of international law in order to end impunity, ensure justice, deter future violations, protect civilians and promote peace,

  1. Demandsan immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire, to be respected by all parties;
  2. Recalls its demandfor the immediate, dignified and unconditional release of all hostages held by Hamas and other groups;
  3. Demandsthat the parties fully, unconditionally and without delay implement all the provisions of Security Council resolution 2735 (2024) of 10 June 2024, including an immediate ceasefire, the release of hostages, the return of the remains of hostages who have been killed, the exchange of Palestinian prisoners, the return of Palestinian civilians to their homes and neighbourhoods in all areas of the Gaza Strip and the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip;
  4. Also demandsthat all parties to the conflict comply with their obligations under international law, including international humanitarian law, in particular with regard with the conduct of hostilities and the protection of civilians, and stresses the need for accountability for violations by all parties;
  5. Strongly condemnsany use of starvation of civilians as a method of warfare and the unlawful denial of humanitarian access, and stresses the obligation not to deprive civilians in the Gaza Strip of objects indispensable to their survival, including by wilfully impeding relief supplies and access;
  6. Stressesthat an occupying Power is obliged under international law to ensure that humanitarian aid reaches all the population in need, and demands the immediate and permanent facilitation of full, rapid, safe and unhindered entry of humanitarian assistance at scale, including food and medical supplies, to and throughout the Gaza Strip and its delivery to all Palestinian civilians, as well as fuel, equipment, shelter and access to clean water, in accordance with international humanitarian law, with full respect for the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality and independence, in coordination with the United Nations;
  7. Demandsthat the parties fully comply with their obligations under international law, including international humanitarian law and international human rights law, in relation to persons they detain, including through the immediate, dignified and unconditional release of all those arbitrarily detained and the return of all human remains;
  8. Recallsits decision, in its resolution 79/232 of 19 December 2024, to request the International Court of Justice, on a priority basis and with the utmost urgency, to render an advisory opinion on the obligations of Israel, as an occupying Power and as a member of the United Nations, in relation to the presence and activities of the United Nations, including its agencies and bodies, other international organizations and third States, in and in relation to the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including to ensure and facilitate the unhindered provision of urgently needed supplies essential to the survival of the Palestinian civilian population as well as of basic services and humanitarian and development assistance, for the benefit of the Palestinian civilian population, and in support of the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination;
  9. Demandsthat Israel, the occupying Power, immediately end the blockade, open all border crossings and ensure that aid reaches the Palestinian civilian population throughout the Gaza Strip immediately and at scale, in line with its obligations under international law and humanitarian principles;
  10. Stresses the need for accountability in order to ensure Israel’s respect of international law obligations, and in this regard calls upon all Member States to individually and collectively take all measures necessary, in line with international law and the Charter of the United Nations, to ensure compliance by Israel with its obligations;
  11. Calls uponall Member States scrupulously to respect the privileges and immunities of all officials of the United Nations, the specialized agencies and related organizations and to refrain from any acts that would impede such officials in the performance of their functions, thereby seriously affecting the proper functioning of the Organization;
  12. Calls uponall States to respect and protect humanitarian personnel and United Nations and associated personnel, including national and locally recruited personnel, in accordance with their obligations under international law;
  13. Stresses the obligation, in accordance with international humanitarian law and national laws and regulations, as applicable, to respect and protect medical personnel, as well as humanitarian personnel exclusively engaged in medical duties, their means of transport and equipment, as well as hospitals and other medical facilities, in all circumstances;
  14. Also stressesthe obligation of the parties to armed conflict to respect and protect civilians and to exercise constant care to spare civilian objects, including objects necessary for food production and distribution, and to refrain from attacking, destroying, removing or rendering useless objects that are indispensable to the survival of the civilian population, and to respect and protect humanitarian personnel and consignments used for humanitarian relief operations, in accordance with the relevant provisions of international law;
  15. Welcomes and expresses supportfor the United Nations-Coordinated Plan to Resume Humanitarian Aid Deliveries to Gaza;
  16. Reiterates its callto all States and the specialized agencies and organizations of the United Nations system to continue to support and assist the Palestinian people;
  17. Underscores that the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East remains the backbone of the humanitarian response in the Gaza Strip, rejects actions that undermine the implementation of the mandate of the Agency, welcomes the commitment of the Secretary-General and the Agency to fully implement the recommendations of the Independent Review of Mechanisms and Procedures to Ensure Adherence by UNRWA to the Humanitarian Principle of Neutrality (Colonna Report), also welcomes the commission by the Secretary-General of a strategic assessment in order to review the Agency’s impact, implementation of its mandate under present political, financial, security and other constraints and consequences and risks for Palestine refugees, and calls upon all parties to enable the Agency to carry out its mandate, as adopted by the General Assembly, in all areas of operation, with full respect for the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality and independence, and to respect international humanitarian law, including the protection of United Nations and humanitarian facilities;
  18. Welcomesthe League of Arab States-Organization of Islamic Cooperation recovery and reconstruction plan as the basis to address the horrific humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, calls upon all Member States, the United Nations and international donors to cooperate and provide assistance to ensure the effective implementation of the plan, with a leading role for the Palestinian Authority, and encourages the international community to participate in the international conference that Egypt plans to convene to address recovery and reconstruction in the Gaza Strip;
  19. Reiterates its unwavering commitmentto the two-State solution, with the Gaza Strip as part of the Palestinian State and where two democratic States, Israel and Palestine, live side by side in peace and security within their secure and internationally recognized borders, in accordance with international law and the relevant United Nations resolutions, and in this regard firmly rejects attempts at demographic and territorial change in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, as well as all measures violating the historic status quo of the holy sites of the city, reiterates its unequivocal rejection of actions that aim at forcibly displacing the Palestinian people and at unlawfully seizing Palestinian territory, including any such actions in the Gaza Strip, and demands the immediate and complete cessation of such actions, condemns all plans of individual or mass forcible transfers, as well as deportations of protected persons from occupied territory, demands an immediate halt to all settlement construction, expansion, land confiscation, home demolitions, forced evictions and settler violence in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and calls for immediate and concrete steps to preserve the territorial integrity of the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and towards unifying the Gaza Strip with the West Bank under the Palestinian Authority;
  20. Reaffirms the permanent responsibility of the United Nations with regard to the question of Palestine until it is resolved in all its aspects in accordance with international law and the relevant United Nations resolutions;
  21. Decides to adjourn the tenth emergency special session temporarily and to authorize the President of the General Assembly at its most recent session to resume its meeting upon request from Member States.

 60th plenary meeting

12 June 2025


XV. “Hunger must never be met with bullets,” says UN Relief Chief on Gaza aid attacks

On 12 June, Tom Fletcher, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, issued the following statement.

Attacks on civilians in Gaza, including the killing and injury of hungry people seeking food and those delivering aid, are unacceptable.

United Nations convoys carrying humanitarian aid have been intercepted by armed Palestinian gangs, who endangered our staff and drivers. Civilians in desperate need of the food we’re able to bring in have not been spared; some have been shot by Israeli forces, and others crushed by trucks or stabbed while trying to retrieve food.

Other incidents have concentrated around militarized distribution centres, where starving people tell us that Israeli forces opened fire on them. Hospitals report that they have received 245 fatalities and over 2,150 injuries from these areas over the past two weeks. And yesterday the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation stated that Palestinians involved in their distribution were killed, injured, and captured by Hamas.

Without immediate and massively scaled-up access to the basic means of survival, we risk a descent into famine, further chaos, and the loss of more lives.

Hunger must never be met with bullets. Humanitarians must be allowed to do their work. Lifesaving aid must reach people in need, in line with humanitarian principles.

We stand ready, as we have repeatedly emphasized, to deliver lifesaving aid at scale. Let us do our work.


XVI. Appointment of the new Deputy UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process

On 13 June, UN Secretary-General António Guterres announced the appointment of Ramiz Alakbarov as his new Deputy Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced today the appointment of Ramiz Alakbarov of Azerbaijan as his new Deputy Special Coordinator and Resident Coordinator, Office of the United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process (UNSCO).  Dr. Alakbarov will also serve as Humanitarian Coordinator. He succeeds Muhannad Hadi of Jordan, to whom the Secretary-General is grateful for his dedication and service. The Secretary-General also thanks Sarah Poole of the United States, who has been providing steadfast support in an ad interim capacity.

Dr. Alakbarov brings more than 30 years of extensive international experience in executive leadership, strategic planning and policy-making, development programming and management, and humanitarian response. He has been serving as the United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Ethiopia since 2023. Prior to this, he held the position of Deputy Special Representative for Afghanistan with the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), where he was also the United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, from 2021 to 2023. In Afghanistan, he also served as UN Resident Coordinator ad interim in 2020.

Dr. Alakbarov has served in several positions within the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), including as Deputy Executive Director for Management and United Nations Reforms (ad interim) and Director of the Policy and Strategy Division in New York, Country Representative in Haiti, Deputy Regional Director of the Regional Office for Arab States in Cairo and Head of the Office in South Sudan. Prior to these positions, he served in various roles at UNFPA supporting country programmes in Arab States, Eastern Europe, and Central Asia. His roles included Programme Officer covering Sudan, Somalia, and Iraq and Humanitarian Response Officer for Operations, in Afghanistan, Palestine and the Great Lakes Region. From 1992 to 1995, he was an Assistant Professor at Azerbaijan Medical University and a practicing physician.

Dr. Alakbarov holds M.D. and Ph.D. degrees in internal medicine from Azerbaijan Medical University and a Master of Arts in international relations from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. He is fluent in Azerbaijani, English, French, Russian and Turkish.


XVII. UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese issues a new report titled “From economy of occupation to economy of genocide”

On 16 June, the advance version of the new report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967, Francesca Albanese, titled “From economy of occupation to economy of genocide” was issued. The conclusions and recommendations of the report are reproduced below.

Conclusions:

  1. While life in Gaza is being obliterated and the West Bank is under escalating assault, this report shows why Israel’s genocide continues: because it is lucrative for many. By shedding light on the political economy of an occupation turned genocidal, the report reveals how the forever-occupation has become the ideal testing ground for arms manufacturers and Big Tech, providing boundless supply and demand, little oversight, and zero accountability, while investors and private and public institutions profit freely. Too many influential corporate entities remain inextricably financially bound to Israel’s apartheid and militarism.
  2. Post-October 2023, when the Israeli defence budget doubled, and at a time of falling demand, production and consumer confidence, an international network of corporations has propped up the Israeli economy. Blackrock and Vanguard rank among the largest investors in arms companies pivotal to Israel’s genocidal arsenal. Major global banks have underwritten Israeli treasury bonds, which have bankrolled the devastation, and the largest sovereign wealth and pension funds invested public and private savings in the genocidal economy, all the while claiming to respect ethical guidelines.
  3. Arms companies have turned over near record profits by equipping Israel with cutting-edge weaponry that has obliterated a virtually defenceless civilian population. The machinery of global construction equipment giants has been instrumental in razing Gaza to the ground, preventing the return and reconstitution of Palestinian life. Extractive energy and mining conglomerates, while providing sources of civilian energy, have fuelled Israel’s military and energy infrastructures, both used to create conditions of life calculated to destroy the Palestinian people.
  4. And while the genocide rages on, the inexorable process of violent annexation continues. Agribusiness still sustains expansion of the settlement enterprise. The largest online tourism platforms continue normalizing the illegality of Israeli colonies. Global supermarkets continue to stock Israeli settlement products. And universities worldwide, under the guise of research neutrality, continue to profit from an economy now operating in genocidal mode. Indeed, they are structurally dependent on settler-colonial collaborations and funding.
  5. Business continues as usual, but nothing about this system, in which businesses are integral, is neutral. The enduring ideological, political and economic engine of racial capitalism has transformed Israel’s displacement-replacement economy of occupation into an economy of genocide. This is a “joint criminal enterprise”,[5] where the acts of one ultimately contribute to a whole economy that drives, supplies and enables this genocide.
  6. The entities named in the report constitute a fraction of a much deeper structure of corporate involvement, profiteering from and enabling violations and crimes in the occupied Palestinian territory. Had they exercised due diligence, corporate entities would have ceased involvement with Israel long ago. Today, the demand for accountability is all the more urgent: any investment sustains a system of serious international crimes.
  7. Business and human rights obligations cannot be isolated from Israel’s illegal settler-colonial enterprise in the occupied Palestinian territory, which now functions as a genocidal machine, despite the ICJ having ordered that it be fully and unconditionally dismantled. Corporate relations with Israel must cease until the occupation and apartheid end, and reparations are made. The corporate sector, including its executives, must be held to account, as a necessary step towards ending the genocide and disassembling the global system of racialized capitalism that underpins it.

Recommendations:

  1. The Special Rapporteur urges Member States:
  2. To impose sanctions and a full arms embargo on Israel, including all existing agreements and dual-use items such as technology and civilian heavy machinery;
  3. To suspend/prevent all trade agreements and investment relations, – and impose sanctions, including asset freezes, on entities and individuals involved in activities that may endanger the Palestinians;
  4. To enforce accountability, ensuring that corporate entities face legal consequences for their involvement in serious violations of international law.
  5. The Special Rapporteur urges corporate entities:
  6. To promptly cease all business activities and terminate relationships directly linked with, contributing to and causing human rights violations and international crimes against the Palestinian people, in accordance with international corporate responsibilities and the law of self-determination;
  7. To pay reparations to the Palestinian people, including in the form of an apartheid wealth tax along the lines of post-Apartheid South Africa.
  8. The Special Rapporteur urges the International Criminal Court and national judiciaries to investigate and prosecute corporate executives and/or corporate entities for their part in the commission of international crimes and laundering of the proceeds from those crimes.
  9. The Special Rapporteur urges the United Nations:
  10. To comply with the International Court of Justice Advisory Opinion of 2024;
  11. To include all entities involved in Israeli unlawful occupation in the United Nations database (to be accessible on the OHCHR website).
  12. The Special Rapporteur urges trade Unions, lawyers, civil society and ordinary citizens to press for boycotts, divestments, sanctions, justice for Palestine and accountability at international and domestic levels; together we can end these unspeakable crimes.
  13. This report is written at the cusp of a profound and tumultuous transformation. Globally witnessed atrocities require urgent accountability and justice, which demands diplomatic, economic, and legal action against those who have maintained and profited from an economy of occupation turned genocidal. What comes next, depends on all of us.

To learn more about the Special Procedures of the UN Human Rights Council and the Question of Palestine, click here to visit the dedicated webpage on UNISPAL.


XVIII. FAO and WFP early warning report reveals worsening hunger in 13 hotspots, including Gaza

On 16 June, a new joint report by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and World Food Programme (WFP) on hunger risk was issued. The report’s recommendations are reproduced below.

Recommendations:

  1. Emergency response: 
  • The 2025 Flash Appeal for the Occupied Palestinian Territories, which covers both the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, calls for USD 1.3 billion for food security and livelihoods interventions. The nutrition sector component requires USD 203 million.
  • Allow the entry of fuel and cooking gas to sustain humanitarian operations and keep essential services, such as mills and bakeries, functioning in the Gaza Strip. These efforts are also critical for rehabilitating the agriculture, livestock and fishing sectors to maintain local food production.
  • Establish and maintain safe, unhindered and sustained humanitarian access across the entire Gaza Strip, to enable the delivery of food and agricultural assistance to the most food-insecure populations.
  • Support the restoration of critical infrastructure to ensure access to safe drinking water and functional sanitation facilities.
  • Facilitate the reopening and functioning of markets and bakeries to support the delivery of commercial goods and improve food access.
  • Expand blanket supplementary feeding and infant and young child feeding programmes to prevent and treat acute malnutrition.
  • Resume distributions of animal fodder, veterinary kits, vaccines and animal shelters, and provide live animals for herd restocking among livestock-keeping households.
  • Provide essential agricultural inputs, including seeds, organic fertilizers, greenhouse materials, sheds, irrigation systems and water tanks, in the West Bank, and in the Gaza Strip as soon as aid resumes at a scale, to help farming households restore production and increase the availability of fresh and nutritious food. Other actions
  1. Other Actions:
  • Remove restrictions on commercial and humanitarian food imports to enable uninterrupted food supply across the Gaza Strip.
  • Integrate agriculture-based assistance into broader humanitarian planning and food security assessments, to ensure coordinated and effective response.
  • Scale up cash-based assistance to help households meet immediate needs and restore livelihoods in the West Bank, and in the Gaza Strip as soon as aid resumes at scale.

XIX. UN Secretary-General’s report highlights grave violations against children in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory

On 17 June, the Secretary-General’s annual report on Children and armed conflict (A/79/878) was issued. Below is an excerpt related to Israel and the State of Palestine.

Israel and the State of Palestine

  1. The United Nations verified 8,554 grave violations against 2,959 children (1,925 boys, 1,034 girls; Israeli children (15), Palestinian children (2,944)) in Israel (10); and in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (8,544) (West Bank, including East Jerusalem (3,688); and in the Gaza Strip (4,856)). In addition, 2,789 grave violations that occurred in 2023 in the Gaza Strip (2,788) and in Israel (1) were verified. In addition, the United Nations received reports of the killing of 4,470 children in the Gaza Strip in 2024, which are pending verification.
  2. Verified grave violations were attributed to Israeli armed and security forces (7,188), unidentified perpetrators (43), Israeli settlers (42), individual Palestinian perpetrators (11), Palestinian Authority Security Forces (7), Hizbullah (3) and the armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran (1). In addition, the process of attribution of responsibility relating to 1,259 verified violations is ongoing.
  3. The United Nations verified the killing of 3 Israeli boys in the West Bank in attacks by individual Palestinian perpetrators. In addition, the killing of two Israeli boys that occurred in 2023 in the Gaza Strip, who had been abducted by al Mujahideen Brigades and Hamas’ Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, was verified.
  4. A total of 12 Israeli children (10 boys, 2 girls) were maimed in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem (4), and in Israel (8) by individual Palestinian perpetrators (8); by Hizbullah (3); and by shrapnel (1), when the Israeli armed forces intercepted missiles launched by the armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
  5. Two attacks on schools in Israel were attributed to the armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran (1) and to shrapnel (1) when the Israeli armed forces intercepted missiles launched by the Houthis (who call themselves Ansar Allah).
  6. The United Nations verified the use of 27 Palestinian boys by Israeli armed and security forces as human shields during operations in the West Bank (5) and in the Gaza Strip (22). There are reports of the use of human shields by Hamas’ Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades and other Palestinian armed groups in the Gaza Strip.
  7. The United Nations verified the detention of 951 Palestinian children (940 boys, 11 girls) for alleged security offences by Israeli armed and security forces in the West Bank (602), in East Jerusalem (259) and the Gaza Strip (90), including the detention by Israeli armed and security forces of a Palestinian girl whose whereabouts remain unknown. Israeli authorities reported that 112 Palestinian children were held under administrative detention, without charge or trial as at 31 December 2024, in addition to 25 children transferred to Israel from the Gaza Strip and detained under the “unlawful combatant” designation.
  8. The United Nations verified the killing of 97 Palestinian children (92 boys, 5 girls) in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. In the Gaza Strip, the United Nations verified the killing of 1,259 Palestinian children (662 boys, 597 girls) and the process of attribution is ongoing. Of the total (1,356), 754 were boys and 602 were girls. In the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, the United Nations verified the killing of Palestinian children attributed to Israeli armed and security forces (90, including as a result of live ammunition (70) and air strikes (20)), Palestinian Authority Security Forces (2), Israeli settlers (1) and unidentified perpetrators (4) (as a result of unexploded ordnance (1), crossfire between Palestinian Authority Security Forces and armed Palestinians (2) and simultaneous fire by Israeli forces and Israeli settlers (1)). Further, the killing of 1,637 children (794 boys, 843 girls) between October and December 2023 was verified. Most incidents were caused by the use of explosive weapons in populated areas by Israeli armed and security forces.
  9. A total of 1,561 Palestinian children (1,131 boys, 430 girls) were verified as having been maimed in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem (620), and in the Gaza Strip (941). The United Nations verified maiming attributed to Israeli armed and security forces (1,507), Israeli settlers (35), unidentified perpetrators (15) (including as a result of unexploded ordnance (3), simultaneous gunfire by Israeli armed and security forces and Israeli settlers (4)) and Palestinian Authority Security Forces (4). In the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, most children were maimed by live ammunition (313), teargas inhalation (168), rubber-coated metal bullets (20) and air strikes (10). In Gaza, most children were maimed by Israeli armed and security forces air strikes (787), tank shelling (84) and live ammunition (57). In addition, the United Nations verified that 1,147 Palestinian children (666 boys, 481 girls) were maimed between October and December 2023 in the Gaza Strip, by Israeli armed and security forces (1,123) and unidentified perpetrators (24).
  10. Attacks on 502 schools (148) and hospitals (354), including on protected persons in relation to schools and/or hospitals (110), and on ambulances (41), were attributed to Israeli armed and security forces (473); unidentified perpetrators (22); Israeli settlers (6); and Palestinian Authority Security Forces (1) in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem (131), and in the Gaza Strip (371). The United Nations verified 13 military uses of schools (8) and health facilities (5), including ambulances (1), by Israeli armed and security forces (10), Palestinian Authority Security Forces (1), armed Palestinians (1) and Hamas’ Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades (1). Schools in the Gaza Strip have remained closed since 7 October 2023.
  11. The denial of humanitarian access by Israeli armed and security forces (5,091) was verified in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem (2,828) and in the Gaza Strip (2,263). In the Gaza Strip, the United Nations verified 2,263 denials of humanitarian access by Israeli authorities related to the coordination of humanitarian aid missions being denied (1,262) or access being impeded (1,001) by Israeli authorities, out of 5,321 planned missions. In the context of Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip, humanitarian personnel were killed, including at least 280 United Nations personnel since 7 October 2023. On some occasions, Hamas’ Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades and other Palestinian armed groups also shelled crossings and checkpoints and obstructed roads that are proximate to or co-located with Israeli military positions that were used to deliver humanitarian aid. In the West Bank, Israeli armed and security forces delayed or obstructed medical care to critically injured children (5). In addition, 2,823 permit applications (1,600 for boys, 1,223 for girls) to Israeli authorities for children from the West Bank to gain access to specialized medical treatment were denied or not approved in time to reach scheduled hospital appointments, while 5,327 applications were approved.

 Developments and concerns

  1. I am appalled by the intensity of grave violations against children in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel, notably by the widespread use of explosive weapons in populated areas. I am deeply concerned by the significant rise in grave violations in the Gaza Strip, and I am deeply alarmed by the escalating violence in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.
  2. I am deeply alarmed by the continued increase in grave violations against children perpetrated by Israeli armed and security forces, notably the high number of children killed and maimed, attacks on schools and hospitals, including ambulances and protected persons in relation to schools and/or hospitals, and the denial of humanitarian access. I reiterate my calls upon Israel to abide by international humanitarian law and international human rights law, including its obligations to respect the special protections afforded to children, to protect schools and hospitals and to comply with the principles of distinction, proportionality and precautions in attacks, and to refrain from the use of explosive weapons in populated areas, including in air strikes. I urge Israel to pursue accountability for grave violations against children.
  3. I am alarmed by the attacks carried out by Israeli settlers against Palestinian children, including in proximity to, and with the support of, Israeli security forces. I reiterate my grave concern regarding the continued excessive use of force during law enforcement operations, including increasingly militarized operations, in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and reiterate that security forces must exercise maximum restraint and use intentional lethal force only when it is strictly unavoidable as a measure of last resort. I am alarmed by the continued increase in the number of children detained by Israel and by reports of physical violence directed against them during detention. I call upon Israel to uphold international juvenile justice standards, and to end the administrative and other arbitrary detention of children.
  4. I urge Israel to develop and sign an action plan with the United Nations to end and prevent the killing and maiming of children and attacks on schools and hospitals, on the basis of the letters addressed by my Special Representative to Israel in 2023 and 2024, including clear, time-bound commitments to end and prevent grave violations against children, as proposed by the United Nations.
  5. I call upon Hamas’ Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades and other Palestinian armed groups to release unconditionally all hostages, alive or dead, in a dignified manner and to facilitate access for humanitarian actors. I am shocked by reports that children held hostage were subjected to violence. I call upon Palestinian armed groups to protect schools and hospitals, including protected persons in relation to schools and/or hospitals, and refrain from using them for military purposes.
  6. I call upon all Palestinian armed groups to abide by their obligations under international humanitarian law and international human rights law, to respect the special protections afforded to children, to cease attacks that target civilians, including children, and to cease indiscriminate attacks from densely populated areas in the Gaza Strip towards Israeli civilian population centres. I further call upon Palestinian armed groups to facilitate access for humanitarian actors. I call upon Hamas and Hizbullah, as well as the Houthis, to cease their indiscriminate attacks on Israeli population centres. I call upon the Islamic Republic of Iran to abide by its obligations under international humanitarian law and human rights law and to cease attacks that affect civilians, including children.
  7. I urge Hamas’ Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades and affiliated factions, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad’s Al-Quds Brigades to develop and sign action plans with the United Nations to end and prevent the killing and maiming and abduction of children, on the basis of the letters previously addressed by my Special Representative to Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad in 2024, including clear, time-bound commitments to end and prevent grave violations against children, as proposed by the United Nations.
  8. I condemn attacks against humanitarian operations, premises and workers, including the killing of humanitarian personnel. I call upon Israel to ensure that assistance reaches those who need it, and to allow and facilitate full, rapid, safe and unhindered access for humanitarian aid and personnel into and within the Gaza Strip.

XX. OHCHR: Desperate Palestinians seeking food killed in Gaza

On 18 June, the UN Human Rights Office in the Occupied Palestinian Territory issued the following press release.

The UN Human Rights office in the Occupied Palestinian Territory calls on the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) to immediately cease its use of lethal force around food distribution points in Gaza, following repeated instances of shooting and killing of Palestinians seeking to access food there. Since the so-called ‘Gaza Humanitarian Foundation’ (GHF) started food distribution in southern Gaza on 27 May, more than 400 Palestinians have been reportedly killed while trying to access food or other humanitarian assistance. We are horrified at the repeated incidents, continuously reported across Gaza, and we call for an immediate end to these senseless killings.

The victims have been killed while trying to approach four GHF distribution points in southern Gaza or while waiting for UN humanitarian convoys. In many cases, witnesses reported being fired on by fire from Israeli military ground forces and quadcopters, as well as the shelling of crowds waiting for food. Many more have been seriously injured and without access to lifesaving medical treatment, following the Israeli military’s almost complete destruction of the health system across Gaza, they face excruciating pain and potential death.

In just one incident on 17 June, the Israeli military reportedly shelled a crowd of Palestinians waiting for UN food trucks. According to the Ministry of Health in Gaza, at least 51 people were killed and 200 were injured. On 16 June, Israeli shelling had reportedly killed 3 Palestinians and injured several others waiting for trucks carrying food in western Beit Lahiya. There is no information to suggest that the people killed or injured were involved in hostilities or posed any threat to the Israeli military or to staff of GHF distribution points.

Rendering the situation worse is the disintegration of civil order as a result of 20 months of hostilities, Israel’s destruction of civilian infrastructure across Gaza, it’s almost 3 months of complete blockade of the strip, continued severe impediments to the entry and distribution of humanitarian assistance and attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure including the civilian police force. As a result, Palestinians are increasingly facing the inhumane choice of dying from starvation or risking being killed while trying to access the little food that is available.

Israel’s militarised humanitarian assistance mechanism violates international standards, endangers civilians, and contributes to the catastrophic situation in Gaza. The weaponisation of civilians’ food and the restriction or prevention of access to other life sustaining services constitute a war crime and may constitute elements of other crimes under international law.

Israel, as the occupying power, has the duty to ensure the provision of food and medical care for the population as needed. Furthermore, they have the obligations to facilitate access by international humanitarian service providers and to facilitate access of the civilian population to that assistance. The office recalls that in 2024, the International Court of Justice, having found that there was a real and imminent risk of irreparable prejudice to the plausible rights of Palestinians in Gaza under the Genocide Convention, issued binding orders to Israel to take all measures to ensure, without delay, and in cooperation with the UN, the unhindered provision at scale of aid and assistance to Gaza.

Unlawful restrictions and impediments on the UN and other humanitarian actors a must be lifted immediately and food and other humanitarian assistance essential to save and sustain the lives of Palestinians there must be permitted rapid and unimpeded entry to Gaza.


XXI. UN Palestinian Rights Committee Chair addresses the OIC conference

On 21 June, the Chair of the United Nations Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People delivered the following statement at the 51st session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).

On behalf of the United Nations Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, I am honoured to address this distinguished gathering at the 51st Session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.

I speak with urgency and conviction. The time for rhetorical expressions of concern has passed. The devastation unfolding in Gaza and the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, demands decisive, principled, and coordinated action.

The Palestinian people are enduring an unprecedented suffering and humanitarian catastrophe characterized by untold death, destruction, deprivation and displacement. Israel is systematically destroying Gaza. Civilians are being starved, entire communities are flattened, families are shattered, and hope is extinguished. The Nakba has not ended; it continues in new and more brutal forms. The use of starvation as a weapon, the obstruction of humanitarian aid, targeted attacks on civilians, humanitarian personnel and critical infrastructures, including homes, hospitals and schools, are not only grave breaches of international law; they constitute crimes against humanity.

The response thus far from the international community has been inadequate. The Israeli government’s mass collective punishment, forced displacement, and dehumanizing rhetoric against the Palestinian people must be condemned, not merely in statements, but through international measures in accordance with international law obligations. The Security Council has failed to act decisively. The General Assembly has spoken, but its resolutions must now be enforced, not shelved.

The Committee calls for an urgent and unequivocal permanent ceasefire and unimpeded humanitarian access in accordance with international law and Security Council resolution 2735 (2024). The Security Council resolution, like General Assembly resolutions, demands the release of all hostages and arbitrarily detained persons, and for Israel to halt and reverse the displacement of Palestinians from their homeland and its illegal annexation and occupation of Palestinian territories. These are not negotiable requests; they are legal and moral imperatives.

The Committee is alarmed by the Israeli ban on UNRWA and the unilateral promotion of a new entity, the “Gaza Humanitarian Forum,” which lacks the experience and operational capacity to respond to the scale and urgency of the crisis and violates all humanitarian principles. This mechanism adds to the humanitarian catastrophe and the insecurity of the people of Gaza. Life-saving aid must reach the Palestinian people in Gaza without delay or obstruction, and the UN, including UNRWA, must be allowed to carry out its vital humanitarian work. UNRWA remains irreplaceable and must be fully restored and resourced to deliver its essential mandate.

At the same time, the two-State solution, on which there is global consensus, is being deliberately eroded by Israel, with a clear and declared intent to destroy it. The expansion of illegal settlements, growing settler violence and terror against Palestinians, and grotesque proposals to transform Gaza into a “Riviera,” while its people suffer and starve, point to an agenda aimed at permanently erasing Palestinian identity, rights and thwarting the independence of the Palestinian State.

As the Committee and its Members and Observers have warned for a long time, we are approaching a dangerous and untenable one-State reality of occupation and apartheid. The international community must act now to preserve the possibility of a just and viable two-State solution, based on the pre-1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as the capital of the State of Palestine, with a shared focus on ensuring the Palestinian people’s rights to self-determination.

We must also address the wider regional implications. Israeli military actions beyond its borders, under the guise of preemptive defence, are escalating tensions across the region, risk a wider conflagration and must stop. The conflict is metastasizing. The longer the world delays, the greater the threat to regional and international peace and security. And yet, all the while, Palestinians continue to die, under an illegal occupation, under siege, and under the weight of global indifference.

The Committee regrets the postponement of the high-level International Conference on the Two-State Solution, mandated by General Assembly resolution ES-10/24, due to recent regrettable and volatile developments in the regions, which pose serious regional and international stability risks. We commend the co-chairs, France and Saudi Arabia, for their efforts to reschedule the Conference before the year’s end and urge all Member States to remain committed to its early convening and success in support of the Palestinian people. Let me remind you that there are now less than three months left for Israel to comply with the GA resolution’s call to end its illegal occupation.

In this context, the forthcoming Jerusalem Conference, jointly organized by CEIRPP and the OIC and hosted by the Government of Senegal, assumes critical importance. It is a preparatory event and a strategic platform to reassert Jerusalem’s centrality in the broader question of Palestine. It aims to propose concrete, rights-based measures for justice, accountability and peace. We urge OIC Member States to support and actively participate in this initiative.

The time for action is now. The Committee calls upon OIC Member States to:

  • Advocate for an urgent and permanent ceasefire to stop what amounts to a genocide against the Palestinian people, and unimpeded humanitarian access under the auspices of the United Nations.
  • Mobilize coordinated diplomatic, legal, and financial support for Palestinian institutions and civil society.
  • Advance international legal accountability for war crimes committed against the Palestinian people, including through the International Court of Justice, the International Criminal Court and universal jurisdiction mechanisms.
  • Intensify high-level diplomatic engagement to secure recognition of the State of Palestine and its full membership in the United Nations.
  • Consider political and economic measures and sanctions, consistent with international law, including an arms embargo and the cessation of dealings with settlements, to exert pressure on the occupying Power toward compliance and de-escalation.

More than two million Palestinians, men, women, and children, are at imminent risk. We must act now to end the siege, prevent further displacement, restore dignity, and save lives. The world must also confront the selective application of international norms and double standards that have devalued Palestinian lives and rights and helped fuel this ongoing Nakba.

Let this be the moment when the OIC helps move from words to decisive, unified action on the Palestinian question. In this regard, the Committee reaffirms its unwavering commitment to work in close partnership with the OIC and the international community to achieve a just, lasting resolution to the conflict, through the end of the Israeli occupation, the realization of two sovereign States, and a just solution for the Palestine refugees, in line with relevant UN resolutions and international law. I thank you.


XXII. UNRWA and Türkiye sign Host Country Agreement

On 23 June, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East issued the following press release.

Today, the Government of the Republic of Türkiye and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) signed an agreement to host an UNRWA office in Türkiye. This agreement, signed on the sidelines of the 51st Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Council of Foreign Ministers meeting in Istanbul, marks a milestone in the relationship between the Agency and Türkiye, and bears testimony to the country’s political and financial support to UNRWA.

Through this Host Country Agreement, the cooperation between UNRWA and the Government of Türkiye is set to grow, allowing the Agency to liaise and build an even stronger partnership with Turkish institutions and the Turkish public.

UNRWA has been providing essential services to Palestine Refugees for decades, including primary healthcare, education, and emergency assistance, in the occupied West Bank including East Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip, Lebanon, Syria and Jordan. Türkiye’s consistent support to UNRWA is a translation of its commitment to the rights of Palestine Refugees.

Philippe Lazzarini, UNRWA CG, stated: “Today, I would like to express my appreciation for Türkiye’s strategic decision to host an UNRWA office in Ankara. This new office will enable UNRWA to diversify and expand its political and financial support base. I also commend the Turkish Government for increasing its humanitarian assistance to UNRWA during the war, using a combination of funding to support lifesaving operations and wheat flour to the people of Gaza”.

The Agency expresses its gratitude for the invitation extended to UNRWA as a special guest at the OIC Ministerial Meeting hosted by Türkiye, and for the continued solidarity and support demonstrated by OIC Member States.

Since it became a member of the UNRWA Advisory Commission in 1949, Türkiye has been a longstanding supporter and partner of the Agency to serve Palestine Refugees.


XXIII. UN Human Rights Office: Over 400 Palestinians have been killed at Gaza aid distribution points

On 24 June, the UN Human Rights Office issued the following press release.

UN Human Rights Office spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan today called on the Israeli military to stop shooting at hungry people trying to get food at aid distribution points operated by the “Gaza Humanitarian Fund” in Gaza.

“Since the “Gaza Humanitarian Foundation” started operating on 27 May, the Israeli military has shelled and shot Palestinians trying to reach the distribution points, leading to many fatalities. Reportedly, over 410 Palestinians have been killed as a result,” said Al-Thameen.

Addressing the bi-weekly press briefing in Geneva, the UN Human Rights Office spokesperson said over 410 Palestinians have reportedly been killed as a result of the Israeli military shelling and shooting at Palestinians trying to reach the distribution points. He said at least 93 others have been reportedly killed by the Israeli army while attempting to approach the very few aid convoys of the UN and other humanitarian organisations.

“Each of these killings must be promptly and impartially investigated, and those responsible must be held to account. The killing and wounding of civilians resulting from the unlawful use of firearms constitute a grave breach of international law, and a war crime,” he said.

“The Israeli military must stop shooting at people trying to get food. Israel must also allow the entry of food and other humanitarian assistance needed to sustain the lives of Palestinians in Gaza in accordance with international law and humanitarian principles. It must immediately lift its unlawful restrictions on the work of UN and other humanitarian actors,” he added.

Third States have the obligation to take concrete steps to ensure that Israel, the occupying power in Gaza, complies with its duty to ensure that sufficient food and lifesaving necessities are provided to the population,” said Al-Kheetan.


XXIV. UN Secretary-General calls for ceasefire and end the suffering in Gaza 

On 27 June, UN Secretary-General António Guterres made the following press remarks.

Tomorrow, I head to Sevilla for the 4th International Conference on Financing for Development which we are co-hosting with Spain.

Before I leave, I wanted to say a few words about the situation in Gaza.

The conflict between Israel and Iran has dominated headlines. But we cannot allow the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza to be pushed into the shadows. The ceasefire achieved between Iran and Israel offers hope. And hope is more needed than ever. So it is time to find the political courage for a ceasefire in Gaza.

Following the terror attacks by Hamas on 7 October, which I have unequivocally condemned, Israeli military operations have created a humanitarian crisis of horrific proportions, more dire today than at any point in this long and brutal crisis.

Families have been displaced again and again, and are now confined to less than one-fifth of Gaza’s land. And even these shrinking spaces are under threat. Bombs are falling, on tents, on families, on those with nowhere left to run. People are being killed simply trying to feed themselves and their families. The search for food must never be a death sentence.

Let me be clear: Israel, as the occupying Power, is required by international law, to agree to and to facilitate humanitarian relief.

Meanwhile, humanitarian operations continue to be strangled. For over three months, shelter materials and fuel for critical services have been blocked.

Doctors are forced to choose who gets the last vial of medicine, or the last ventilator. Aid workers themselves are starving. This cannot be normalized. A handful of medical supplies finally crossed into Gaza earlier this week, the first from the UN in months. But this only underscores the vast scale of the crisis. A trickle of aid is not enough.

What’s needed now is a surge, the trickle must become an ocean. We need concrete actions so aid can reach all people, swiftly, at scale, wherever they are. Any operation that channels desperate civilians into militarized zones is inherently unsafe. It is killing people.

It is time for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. The immediate and unconditional release of all hostages. And full, safe and sustained humanitarian access.

The problem of the distribution of humanitarian aid must be solved. There is no need to reinvent the wheel with dangerous schemes.

We have the solution, a detailed plan grounded in the humanitarian principles of humanity, impartiality, neutrality, and independence. We have the supplies. We have the experience. Our plan is guided by what people need. It is built on the trust of communities, donors and Member States. And it worked during the last ceasefire. It must be allowed to work again.

To those in power, I say: enable our operations as international humanitarian law demands.

To those with influence, I say: use it.

To all Member States, I say: uphold the UN Charter you recommitted to just yesterday for the 80th anniversary.

Let us bring in the life-saving supplies.

Let us reach people where they are. And let us recognize that the solution to this problem is ultimately political.

The only sustainable path to re-establishing hope is by paving the way to the two-State solution. Diplomacy and human dignity for all must prevail. Thank you.


XXV. Israel continues to kill entire displaced families in area it designated as “humanitarian zones” in Gaza 

On 27 June, the UN Human Rights Office issued the following press release.

The Israeli military continues to target tents of displaced Palestinians in Al Mawasi in western Khan Younis, killing entire families, while at the same time ordering Palestinians from other parts of Gaza to move to “known shelters” (in Al Mawasi) even though the area remains unsafe and there is little or no infrastructure to house or support them.

Since the ceasefire ended on 18 March 2025, the Israeli military has intensified its operations in Rafah and Khan Younis, forcing civilians into ever-shrinking spaces. Between 18 March and 16 June, the Israeli military issued 21 such displacement orders to Palestinians in Rafah, most parts of Khan Younis, and in some parts of southern Middle Gaza.

Al Mawasi, located in western Khan Younis, covers approximately 8.9 square kilometers. It is almost completely empty lacking basic infrastructure, such as shelter, water and sewage systems, solid waste removal, latrines, and medical facilities. Despite this, the Israeli military had unilaterally designated the area as a “humanitarian zone” and refers to it in displacement orders as an area of “known shelters”. The Shelter Cluster, working under the UN Humanitarian Country Team, and its partners have repeatedly called for Israel to facilitate the access and entry of supplies to Gaza that are urgently required for the construction of shelters to meet the needs of the increasing number of civilians who are being forcibly displaced.

Israel is obliged under international humanitarian law to ensure adequate and safe shelter for internally displaced people, as well as access to food, water, and medical care, until they can return to their homes. Regrettably, in the 21 months since the first orders instructing civilians to relocate, Israel has not made any efforts to comply with its obligations as the occupying power to provide proper accommodation to those relocating or to ensure that these removals are done in satisfactory conditions of health, hygiene, safety and nutrition.

Since the end of the ceasefire on 18 March 2025, Al Mawasi has been full of displaced Palestinians. Following that, the increasing issuance of displacement orders has seen its population dramatically increase. According to OCHA, it has more than tripled, increasing from 115,000 on 13 March 2025 to 425,000 as of 19 June. Nearly all are living in makeshift tents assembled with very basic materials.

Before the war, Gaza was already one of the most densely populated areas on Earth, with around 5,500 people per square kilometre. Today in Al Mawasi, there are more than 47,700 people per square kilometre.

Despite instructing civilians to relocate to Al Mawasi, the Israeli military has continued to conduct intense military attacks on the area, notwithstanding the extremely high concentration of civilians per square kilometre. Many of these appear to target directly makeshift tents with deadly consequences for those inhabiting them. Between 18 March and 16 June 2025, the UN Human Rights Office in the Occupied Palestinian Territory recorded 112 attacks killing 380 people, including at least 158 women and children.

Among the victims of these attacks, there were 64 cases where entire nuclear families (parents and their children) were killed.

Among a number of such reports are the following:

  • On 31 March, the Israeli military struck tents near the Applied Science College in Al Mawasi. We have verified the killings of 3 Palestinians from the Al Akkar family: a 24-year-old woman, a 66-year-old woman and a 3-year-old boy.
  • On 25 March, the Israeli military struck a tent of the Abu Ta’imah family near Al Aqsa University in Al-Ard Al-Tayyiba camp, Al Mawasi. We have verified that 5 Palestinians were killed: a 33-year-old man, his 29-year-old pregnant wife and their 3 children (a 4-year-old boy, a 6-year-old boy and a 7-year-old girl). The Israeli military made no claim regarding the target of the strike, reflecting the pattern of strikes where no military objective is identified, and all those killed must be presumed civilians unless the Israeli military proves otherwise.
  • On 19 May, at around 9 pm, the Israeli military struck a tent of the Kasab family in the vicinity of the Fish Fresh Junction, Al Mawasi. The UN Human Rights office has verified that 7 Palestinians were killed, a 34-year-old woman and 6 of her children (4 girls aged 5, 7, 10 and 13, and 2 boys aged 11 months and 11 years).

The Israeli military has not publicly provided justification for any of the 112 attacks on tents recorded by our office. During the same period, the Israeli army did not issue any statements indicating it had targeted members of Palestinian armed groups or any military objectives in specific locations in Al Mawasi. Exceptionally, on 30 May, the Israeli military claimed to have killed “Khalil Abd al-Nasser Muhammad Khatib, a cell commander in Hamas’ Al Mawasi battalion” without specifying the location where he was killed. However, despite having information about three incidents that took place in the Al Mawasi area on 30 May, we have not been able to verify that Khalil Khatib was among those killed. Furthermore, the office could not identify any legitimate military objectives in the vicinity where these attacks took place.

Such attacks, resulting in the killing of hundreds of Palestinians, raise serious concerns about the intentional targeting of civilians in violation of international humanitarian law. They also starkly demonstrate that nowhere is safe in Gaza, including the Israeli-designated so-called “humanitarian zones”.


XXVI. UN Assistant Secretary-General updates Security Council on Gaza crisis, urges ceasefire and respect for international law 

On 30 June, the UN Assistant Secretary-General for the Middle East, Asia and the Pacific, Khaled Khiari, briefed the Security Council on the situation in the Middle East and presented the report on UNSCR 2334 (2016).

Today’s briefing is devoted to the Secretary-General’s quarterly report on the implementation of resolution 2334. Since the 17 June cutoff date for the written report hostilities continued between Israel and Hamas, including Israel Defense Forces (IDF) airstrikes, artillery shelling, and ground operations across Gaza. The devastating human toll is mounting.

According to the Gaza Ministry of Health, the total number of Palestinian fatalities since 7 October 2023 reached over 56,500, with 1,068 fatalities since 17 June, an average of 82 per day. On 19 June, Israeli forces reportedly struck three houses in Jabalia, killing at least 14 people from the same family, including two children and one woman. On 20 June, 12 people, including four women, were reportedly killed when the IDF struck a residential building in Deir al Balah. Amidst renewed evacuation orders and intensified airstrikes in Gaza City and Jabalia, another larger-scale military operation is expected in the area.

According to the Israeli sources, since 17 June, 9 members of the IDF were killed in hostilities in Gaza, including 7 soldiers killed when Hamas targeted their armoured vehicle with an explosive device. Israeli sources reported that more than 1,748 Israelis and foreign nationals have been killed in attacks in or originating from Gaza since 7 October 2023. Fifty hostages, including one woman, are still being held captive by Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups in Gaza.

Attacks on Palestinians seeking aid continued, including frequent casualty incidents in the vicinity of militarized food distribution points and aid convoys. Since 17 June, at least 580 Palestinians have been killed either trying to reach Gaza Humanitarian Foundation distribution points or waiting for other aid convoys, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health. On 17 June, at least 50 people were killed and 200 were wounded in Khan Younis when an IDF tank opened fire on a crowd of people waiting for WFP food trucks. On 24 June, IDF troops reportedly opened fire near GHF sites north of Al Bureij Camp and northwest Rafah, killing 49 Palestinians and injuring 197 others. In the occupied West Bank, Israeli security forces continued operations in the northern part of the occupied West Bank. On 25 June, a 15-year-old Palestinian was killed during an Israeli operation in Al Yamun, west of Jenin. On the same day, an elderly woman was reported shot and killed by Israeli security forces in the Shu’fat refugee camp in East Jerusalem.

Attacks by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank have intensified in recent days. On 19 June, armed Israeli settlers, in the presence of Israeli forces, reportedly opened fire on Palestinians in the town of Surif, northwest of Hebron, killing one and injuring seven others. On 25 June, three Palestinians were killed during an assault on Kafr Malik, including arson, by Israeli settlers in the presence of ISF. The following day, Israeli Security Forces dismantled the nearby Ba’al Hatzor settlement outpost leading to repeated clashes with settlers over several days. According to ISF, settlers threw stones at and assaulted Israeli soldiers, and on 27 June, ISF said settlers attempted to ram a military vehicle and threw stones, with ISF using live ammunition in response and possibly leading to the injury of a 14-year-old Israeli boy.

Allow me to highlight some of the Secretary-General’s observations regarding the implementation of Security Council Resolution 2334 (2016) during the reporting period.

The Secretary-General once again strongly condemns the horrific attacks by Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups in Israel on 7 October 2023 and their continued holding of hostages in horrific conditions. Nothing can justify these acts of terror. We remain appalled that hostages may be subjected to ongoing ill-treatment and that the bodies of hostages continue to be withheld.

The Secretary-General also unequivocally condemns the widespread killing and injury of civilians in Gaza, including children and women, and the destruction of homes, schools, hospitals, and mosques. The level of suffering and brutality in Gaza is unbearable. The continued collective punishment of the Palestinian people is unjustifiable.

We remain deeply concerned by Israeli military operations in Gaza that render large areas of Gaza uninhabitable. We reject the forced displacement of the Palestinian population from any part of the Occupied Palestinian Territory, which would constitute a breach of international law obligations.  We mourn the United Nations personnel killed in Gaza and strongly condemns the killing of all health and humanitarian personnel and journalists. Following almost 80 days of Israel’s denial of entry of all humanitarian and commercial supplies into Gaza, supplies have started to enter Gaza at wholly inadequate levels which do not meet the massive needs of the population. We call upon Israel to fulfil its obligations under international law, and allow the rapid and unimpeded passage of humanitarian relief for civilians in need. We strongly condemn the loss of lives and injuries of Palestinians seeking aid in Gaza and we call for an immediate and independent investigation into these events and for perpetrators to be held accountable

The United Nations will not participate in any aid delivery modality that does not comply with the fundamental humanitarian principles of humanity, impartiality, independence, and neutrality.

I echo once again the Secretary-General’s call for an immediate ceasefire and the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages in Gaza.

We remain deeply alarmed by the relentless Israeli settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem. The ever-growing settlement footprint contributes to settler-related violence, further entrenches the Israeli occupation, hampers the free movement of the population, and undermines the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination.

We are deeply concerned by the Israeli Government’s decision to resume formal land registration in Area C and the serious risk that this will facilitate further settlement expansion and entrenchment.

The demolition and seizure of Palestinian-owned structures, including internationally funded humanitarian projects, entail numerous violations of international law and raise concerns about the risk of forcible transfer.

The escalating violence in the occupied West Bank is alarming. Military operations by Israeli security forces in the northern West Bank have resulted in high levels of fatalities, including women and children, significant population displacement, and destruction of homes and infrastructure, particularly in refugee camps.

We are concerned that the Palestinian Authority continues to face a deepening fiscal crisis, that threatens to further undermine Palestinian institutions and basic service delivery. Increased Israeli clearance revenue deductions and measures that introduce instability to the Palestinian financial sector should be urgently resolved.

The international community must provide immediate support to the Palestinian Government to strengthen its governance capacity, address its fiscal challenges, and prepare it to reassume its responsibilities in Gaza. This will require the establishment of political and security frameworks that can relieve the humanitarian catastrophe, start early recovery and reconstruction, address Israel’s legitimate security concerns, and lay the groundwork for a political process to end the occupation and establish a viable two-State solution.

We welcome reform steps undertaken by the Palestinian Authority, including the appointment of a Vice President of Palestine. and encourage continued reforms, urging international partners to support these efforts.

We regret the need to suspend the High-level International Conference for the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution and welcome the continued commitment of the co-chairs France and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to convene the conference as soon as possible.

Allow me also a brief comment regarding the recent military escalation between Iran and Israel, which the Council has discussed in the past days.

I reiterate the Secretary-General’s, condemnation of the tragic and unnecessary loss of lives and injuries to civilians and damage to homes and critical civilian infrastructure. The Middle East region has been devastated by conflict and cannot withstand yet another major escalation. We welcome the 24 June ceasefire agreement announced by President Trump and commend the efforts of the United States, in coordination with Qatar, to end the hostilities.

We hope that this ceasefire can be replicated in the other conflicts in the region, nowhere is this more needed than in Gaza. Thank you.


[1] Resolution 260 A (III), annex.

[2] A/78/968.

[3] Resolution 22 A (I).

[4] United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 2051, No. 35457.

[5] International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, Prosecutor v Karemera et al., Case No. ICTR-98-44-T, 2 February 2012, para 62.


2025-07-17T09:31:59-04:00

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