I have just concluded an extraordinary meeting of senior UN leaders to discuss the unprecedented developments in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
Let me begin by repeating my utter condemnation of the abhorrent attacks by Hamas and others against Israeli towns and villages in the Gaza periphery, which have left over 800 Israelis dead and more than 2,500 injured.
Sadly, these numbers are expected to rise as the attacks are ongoing and many remain unaccounted for.
In addition, over one hundred, possibly more, Israelis – civilians and military – have been reported captured by armed groups, including women, children and the elderly.
Some are being held hostage inside Israel and many others have been taken inside the Gaza Strip.
Meanwhile, Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad have launched thousands of indiscriminate rockets that have reached central Israel, including Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.
I recognize the legitimate grievances of the Palestinian people. But nothing can
justify these acts of terror and the killing, maiming and abduction of civilians.
I reiterate my call to immediately cease these attacks and release all hostages.
In the face of these unprecedented attacks, Israeli airstrikes have pounded Gaza.
I am deeply alarmed by reports of over 500 Palestinians -- including women and children -- killed in Gaza and over 3,000 injured.
Unfortunately, these numbers are rising by the minute as Israeli operations continue.
While I recognize Israel’s legitimate security concerns, I also remind Israel that military operations must be conducted in strict accordance with international humanitarian law.
Civilians must be respected and protected at all times.
Civilian infrastructure must never be a target.
We already have reports of Israeli missiles striking health facilities inside Gaza as well as multi-storied residential towers and a mosque.
Two UNRWA schools sheltering displaced families in Gaza were also hit.
Some 137,000 people are currently sheltering in UNRWA facilities – with the number increasing as heavy shelling and airstrikes continue.
I am deeply distressed by today’s announcement that Israel will initiate a complete siege of the Gaza Strip, nothing allowed in – no electricity, food, or fuel.
The humanitarian situation in Gaza was extremely dire before these hostilities; now it will only deteriorate exponentially.
Medical equipment, food, fuel and other humanitarian supplies are desperately needed, along with access for humanitarian personnel.
Relief and entry of essential supplies into Gaza must be facilitated – and the UN will continue efforts to provide aid to respond to these needs.
I urge all sides and the relevant parties to allow United Nations access to deliver urgent humanitarian assistance to Palestinian civilians trapped and helpless in the Gaza Strip.
I appeal to the international community to mobilize immediate humanitarian support for this effort.
The UN Special Coordinator and I are engaging with leaders in the region to express our concern, our outrage, and to advance efforts to avoid any spillover to the wider Middle East.
Even in these worst of times – and perhaps especially in the most trying moments – it is vital to look to the long-term horizon and avoid irreversible action that would embolden extremists and doom any prospects for lasting peace.
This most recent violence does not come in a vacuum. The reality is that it grows out of a long-standing conflict, with a 56-year long occupation and no political end in sight.
It’s time to end this vicious circle of bloodshed, hatred and polarization.
Israel must see its legitimate needs for security materialized – and Palestinians must see a clear perspective for the establishment of their own state realized.
Only a negotiated peace that fulfills the legitimate national aspirations of Palestinians and Israelis, together with their security alike – the long-held vision of a two-State solution, in line with United Nations resolutions, international law and previous agreements – can bring long-term stability to the people of this land and the wider Middle East region.
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STEPHANE DUJARRIC
SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES
MONDAY, 9 OCTOBER 2023
UNIFIL
Our peacekeeping colleagues in UNIFIL [UN Interim Force in Lebanon] report they have detected explosions near Al-Boustan in southwest Lebanon this afternoon.
While they are working to gather more information, the Head of the Mission and Force Commander, Aroldo Lázaro Sáenz, is in contact with the parties, urging them to exercise maximum restraint and utilize the Mission’s liaison and coordination mechanisms to prevent further risks of escalation and loss of life.
In addition to leadership being in constant contact with the authorities both in Lebanon and in Israel since the events began, UN peacekeepers in Lebanon have remained present along the Blue Line to maintain stability. They have also adapted and enhanced their presence throughout the area of operations, including counter rocket-launching capabilities.
MIDDLE EAST/Gaza
Turning to Gaza. Our humanitarian colleagues report that over 120,000 people have been internally displaced in Gaza, due to concerns over their protection and the destruction of homes. You heard the Secretary-General on what we are seeing already in Gaza.
Six health care workers have also been killed and four others were injured, with seven health care facilities and nine ambulances damaged.
In Gaza, damage to water, sanitation and hygiene facilitates has undermined services to more than 400,000 people. The Gaza Power Plant is now the only source of electricity and could run out of fuel within days.
Also, as of today, the World Food Programme (WFP) has begun distributing food for up to 100,000 internally displaced Gazans who are seeking refuge in UNRWA shelters with fresh bread and canned food. In the next few days, WFP plans on starting to roll out assistance to up to 800,000 people with food and cash assistance as the situation develops, provided the necessary funding is made available. WFP needs $16.8 million to reach 805,000 people in the next month.
UNRWA
For its part, the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees] says they are sheltering about 137,000 people in 83 of its schools in all areas of the Gaza Strip.
An UNRWA school sheltering displaced families in the Gaza Strip was directly hit over the weekend. The school was severely damaged and was housing about 225 people, though no casualties were recorded among the displaced, but the school sustained significant structural damage.
All UNRWA schools across the Gaza Strip are closed. More than 300,000 students are impacted.
AFGHANISTAN
In Afghanistan, we, along with our humanitarian partners, are now ramping up the response following the 6.3-magnitude earthquake, which struck Herat province, in the west of the country, on Saturday.
Our humanitarian colleagues note that the epicentre of the earthquake was in Zindajan district where reports indicate that 100 percent of homes have been destroyed. According to community-level assessments, nearly 1,300 people have died and 1,700 were injured in Zindajan.
In total, an estimated more than 12,000 men, women, and children have been impacted across five districts of Herat Province. Several hundred households have also been displaced to Herat City.
The figures are likely to rise in the coming days as search-and-rescue efforts and assessments continue.
We have deployed assessment teams and we are providing emergency shelter supplies, blankets, warm clothes, food, hygiene kits, water buckets, chlorine and dignity kits, to those who need it. Our partners have also deployed health teams and are providing trauma and emergency surgery kits.
The Humanitarian Coordinator for Afghanistan, Daniel Endres, has approved an emergency reserve allocation from the Afghanistan Humanitarian Fund of $5 million to support the immediate relief efforts in the earthquake-impacted areas.
SECURITY COUNCIL/ UKRAINE
This morning, the Security Council heard from Rosemary Di Carlo, the Under-Secretary-General for Political and ̽ѡbuilding Affairs. She noted that in recent weeks, civilians and civilian infrastructure across Ukraine have remained under nearly constant fire.
Ms. Di Carlo also said that the immediate impact of such attacks is clear, and just as clear is the fact that international humanitarian law obligates parties to armed conflict to protect non-combatants. She stressed that we will not waver in calling for accountability for anyone responsible for harming civilians during hostilities.
Also briefing was Joyce Msuya, the number two at the Department of Humanitarian Affairs [Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator]. She said that since the attack on Hroza, the UN and humanitarian organizationshave been on the scene, alongside local Ukrainian authorities, to ensure that people receive some support in the face of these atrocious attacks.
Ms. Msuya warned that winter is yet again upon the people of Ukraine, adding that it is disturbing to see that attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure have already been reported over the past weeks.
Both remarks have been shared with you.
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO
Turning to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, our peacekeeping colleagues there tell us they are reinforcing their presence in Kitshanga, in North Kivu province, to protect civilians caught up in clashes between the M23 and members of other armed groups.
Over the weekend, fresh fighting between these groups forced tens of thousands of people to flee their homes. Approximately 2,000 people have sought refuge within the UN Mission’s base at Kitshanga and 18,000 men, women and children have taken shelter just outside the base.
For its part, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says that, since the first of October, clashes in Masisi territory in North Kivu have displaced nearly 85,000 people. This brings the total number of people displaced in the province to more than 2 million.
These newly uprooted people have sought refuge in safer locations, including in other parts of Masisi territory and in Rutshuru. They have settled with host families or are sheltering in collective centres. Most of them are living in very precarious conditions, as one can only imagine.
As a result of the clashes, road traffic is restricted between Goma and Kitshanga. Many of our humanitarian partners have suspended their movements to Kitshanga and its surrounding areas, as a result of fighting.
SOMALIA
The Humanitarian Coordinator there tell us that about 100,000 people have been impacted by last week’s heavy rains and flash floods in the southern district of Baidoa. Shelters for more than 86,000 internally displaced people in 136 settlements were submerged, with most of them still flooded as we speak.
In addition to shelter support, people impacted by the floods need food, water and medical care. Our humanitarian colleagues tell us that El Niño is expected to bring more rain and more flooding to Somalia through December – with at least 1.2 million people in riverine areas likely to be impacted by those heavy rains and flooding.
We, along with our humanitarian partners, have worked with the Government to develop emergency preparedness and response plans – and the Somalia [Humanitarian] Fund has allocated $15 million for early action on flooding.
But additional resources are urgently needed. This year’s Humanitarian Appeal for Somalia is just 37 per cent funded.
ETHIOPIA
Turning to Ethiopia. The World Food Programme today said that it has begun rolling out food distributions to nearly 900,000 refugees in Ethiopia, following a full revamp of the safeguards and controls at its refugee operations. Families living in refugee camps across five regions, including new arrivals who fled from Sudan, are receiving food parcels for the first time since WFP paused food distributions in June of this year, following reports of large-scale diversions of humanitarian supplies.
WFP said that around 35,000 people who have fled from Sudan to Ethiopia in the last six months urgently require food assistance, while Ethiopia also hosts a further 850,000 refugees mostly from Somalia, South Sudan and Eritrea.
The resumption of food distributions for refugees follows major reforms in all camps across the country.
ARMENIA
Over the weekend, the UN Refugee Agency, with other UN agencies and non-governmental organization partners, have appealed for over $97 million to provide urgent humanitarian aid and protection to refugees and those generously hosting them in Armenia, in support of the government-led response.
The Armenia Emergency Refugee Response Plan, waws launched over the weekend It covers relief efforts for a six-month period, until the end of March 2024. The joint plan aims to support 231,000 people including 136,000 refugees and 95,000 members of local host communities. The plan takes into account the upcoming, harsh winter months, when critical support will be required.
And yesterday, UNHCR said that another two trucks with humanitarian aid arrived in Armenia, carrying essential items such as blankets, foldable beds and mattresses, hygiene items, solar lamps and kitchen sets.
INTERNET GOVERNANCE FORUM
In Kyoto, Japan, the Internet Governance Forum is underway. Today, the Secretary-General addressed the Forum in a video message and said we need to keep harnessing digital technologies enabled by the Internet to help deliver on the Sustainable Development Goals, take climate action, and build a better world.
He also underscored the need to close the connectivity gap around the world and re-enforce a human rights and human-centered approach to digital cooperation.
“It is imperative that the Internet – including the physical infrastructure that underpins it – remains open, secure, and accessible to all,” he said.
WORLD POST DAY
Today is World Post Day.
It is a reminder that the postal system has long served as a cornerstone of connectivity across the globe. In his message, the Secretary-General says that in today’s digital world, the fundamental role of the post remains key.
