MIDDLE EAST
Good afternoon, I will start off with a statement on the situation in the Middle East. The Secretary-General believes that the attacks we have seen in South Beirut and Teheran represent a dangerous escalation at a moment in which all efforts should instead be leading to a ceasefire in Gaza, the release of all Israeli hostages, a massive increase of humanitarian aid for Palestinians in Gaza and a return to calm in Lebanon and across the Blue Line.
Rather than that, what we are seeing are efforts to undermine these goals.
The Secretary-General has consistently called for maximum restraint by all. It is increasingly clear, however, that restraint alone is insufficient at this extremely sensitive time. The Secretary-General urges all to vigorously work towards regional de-escalation in the interest of long-term peace and stability for all.
The international community must work together to urgently prevent any actions that could push the entire Middle East over the edge, with a devastating impact on civilians. The way to do so is by advancing comprehensive diplomatic action for regional de-escalation.
LEBANON
And on that front, just to highlight some of the work our UN envoys have been doing. You will have seen that our Special Coordinator for Lebanon, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, issued a statement following the strike in the southern suburb of Beirut. She underscored, once again, that there is no such thing as a military solution and calls on both Israel and Lebanon to avail of all diplomatic avenues to pursue a return to the cessation of hostilities and to recommit to the implementation of resolution 1701 (2006).
For his part, Under-Secretary-General for ¹ú²úAV Operations, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, arrived in Lebanon this week, as part of his Middle East tour.Ìý
He has already held meetings with senior government and military leaders in Beirut, including with the Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and the Prime Minister Najib Mikati.
Discussions focused on the current situation in south Lebanon and across the Blue Line, and the crucial work that UNIFIL is doing.
Tomorrow he will head to Naquora, to visit the UNIFIL Headquarters to be with the peacekeepers who are currently actively patrolling the Blue Line.
For her part, Sigrid Kaag, our Senior Humanitarian and Reconstruction Coordinator for Gaza, met today in Qatar with Minister of State Mohammed bin Abdulaziz Al-Khulaifi to discuss the urgent need for preparations for a ceasefire, unimpeded humanitarian access and the release of all hostages. They also discussed planning for recovery and reconstruction of Gaza. She expressed her gratitude to Qatar, including for its mediation efforts, as well as its support to the UN efforts in Gaza, and she of course relayed the Secretary-General’s own deep concerns about regional escalation.
And also today she met in Egypt with senior Egyptian officials to discuss efforts to address the humanitarian situation in Gaza, including via the UN Mechanism. She also thanked Egypt for their support and relayed our concerns again about the regional situation.
And our colleagues at the UN Coordinator’s office in Jerusalem have also been on the phone with counterparts including Israeli counterparts to encourage de-escalation.
OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY
Turning to the situation in Gaza, our colleagues from the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs tell us that once again, today, they observed the return of thousands of people to parts of Khan Younis. This includes central and eastern neighbourhoods in the city, as well as the adjacent area of Bani Suhaila. Their return follows the announced completion of ground operations by Israeli forces in those areas earlier this week.
Meanwhile, you may have seen that, yesterday, the World Health Organization supported a complex joint effort to evacuate 85 sick and severely injured patients from Gaza to Abu Dhabi. The medical evacuation – which was the largest from Gaza since October – was a partnership with the Emirati Government and other organizations.Ìý
The patients included 35 children, with more than 60 caregivers and family members accompanying the patients. The group was transferred from Gaza via the Kerem Shalom crossing.Ìý
More than 10,000 people still desperately need to be medically evacuated from Gaza.
Dr. Tedros at WHO said he hopes this will pave the way for the establishment of evacuation corridors via all possible routes. He also called for evacuations to the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, to be restored.
As for the West Bank, our colleagues at OCHA say that attacks by Israeli forces and settlers are continuing to have a devastating impact on Palestinians there. According to their regular update and latest figures, nearly 80 Palestinians – including almost two dozen children – were injured by Israeli forces or settlers in incidents across the West Bank in just a single week, between 23 and 29 July.Ìý
Following the sad news today of the killing of two Al Jazeera journalists in Gaza, I want to extend our condolences to our colleagues from Al Jazeera.
I would also like to stress once again: it is clear that journalists must be protected. These and other similar incidents must be fully and transparently investigated and there must be accountability. And we of course condemn clearly the killing of journalists.
Also tomorrow, a briefing that should interest you, OCHA's Head of Office for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Andrea De Domenico, will be our guest here and he will brief remotely from East Jerusalem.
PALESTINIAN PRISONERS
Also want to flag that our colleagues at the UN Human Rights Office today published a report on arbitrary, prolonged and incommunicado detention by Israeli authorities, impacting thousands of Palestinians since last October, including UNRWA staff.
The report also covers allegations of torture and other forms of cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment, including sexual abuse of women and men.
According to the report, at least 53 Palestinian detainees are known to have died in Israeli military facilities and prisons since the horrific terror attacks by Hamas on 7 October on Israeli civilians.
Also just want to say that we’ve taken note of the detention by the Israeli Defense Forces of a number of these soldiers, suspected of abuse in detention centers.
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DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO
Turning to the situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. I can tell you that we welcome the announcement made yesterday by the Angolan presidency that the Governments of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda agreed to a ceasefire that should go into effect on 4 August. The ad hoc Verification Mechanism to monitor the ceasefire will be reinforced to this end and our peacekeeping mission in the DRC expressed its readiness to support this mechanism, in accordance with our UN mandate.ÌýÌýÌý
The announcement was made during the second meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of both countries, under the mediation of President João Lourençoin in Luanda.
We hope this agreement will help create conditions for de-escalation of tensions between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda and enable the safe return of those internally displaced to their homes. We reiterate our support to these efforts, led by the President of Angola, through the Luanda process, and we encourage both parties to respect their commitment for the restoration of peace and stability in the DRC.
UKRAINE
Also turning to Ukraine where, today, the Humanitarian Coordinator, Denise Brown, led a humanitarian convoy to a front-line community in the Donetsk Region, in the eastern part of the country.
The inter-agency convoy delivered nearly 10 tons of medical supplies and hygiene kits, including essential dignity kits for older persons and people with disabilities. This is the 24th convoy to front-line areas in the Donetsk Region this year alone.
Our humanitarian colleagues note that the community there has suffered unrelenting hostilities for over a decade, causing widespread devastation of homes and critical civilian infrastructure and services. Many residents are left without electricity, safe water supplies, adequate healthcare and many people rely on humanitarian assistance to survive. Meanwhile, we, along with our partners, continue to provide assistance across the country.Ìý
OCHA says that in the first half of this year, humanitarian organizations helped 5.6 million people in Ukraine. The $3 billion Humanitarian Response Plan for Ukraine is currently only 39 per cent funded with $1.2 billion received in the bank. The significant funding gap continues to hinder the humanitarian community’s ability to fully address the needs ahead of the winter season.
BANGLADESH
Turning to Bangladesh, I can tell you that despite the political situation and the violence we have seen, it is important to remind everyone that there are humanitarian crises ongoing in Bangladesh and we and our partners continue to provide support the people impacted by a number of emergencies - including Cyclone Remal. Climate emergencies have impacted 13 million people across Bangladesh this year.
Our partners continue their work despite operational challenges – which includes obviously internet outages, bank closures and curfews.Ìý Last month, we and our partners launched the $80 million Humanitarian Response Plan to support 1.2 million people.Ìý
The appeal is currently only 18 per cent funded.Ìý On 5 June, $7.5 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund was made available to support the response to the cyclone, while an additional $6.2 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund was released on 4 July, to allow for cash payments to communities in the Jamuna Basin. And of course, there is also a massive humanitarian operation on Cox’s Bazaar for refugees from Myanmar and to support the host communities.
BRIEFING TOMORROW
Just a programming note, there will be a briefing here tomorrow, by Ambassador Michael Imran Kanu, the President of the Security Council for the month of August and Permanent Representative of Sierra Leone. He will brief you on the programme of work for the month of August.
