Tag: Middle East

“This deterioration is taking place alongside ongoing unilateral steps that undermine a two-State solution, the absence of a peace process and the continuing economic challenges facing Palestinians and the Palestinian Authority (PA),” said Khaled Khiari, Assistant Secretary-General for Middle East, briefing ambassadors.

“It is critical that all parties take urgent steps to stop the downward spiral and engage with each other to seek a constructive path forward,” he stressed.

Scores of deaths, injuries

Since 27 July, 21 Palestinians – including five children – have been killed, along with nearly 250 injured, by Israeli security forces carrying out search-and-arrest and counter-protest operations; as well as during attacks and alleged attacks against Israelis, and other violent incidents.

Another 20 Palestinians, including five children, were injured by Israeli settlers or other civilians, Mr. Khiari said.

According to Israeli sources, two members of the Israeli security forces were killed and eight injured, while another 39 Israelis, including three children, were injured by Palestinians in shooting and ramming attacks, through stone throwing and Molotov cocktails, improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and other incidents, he added.

Operation in Jenin camp

He highlighted the 3 to 4 July Israeli military operation in the Jenin Refugee Camp, marked by multiple drone airstrikes and the use of over 1,000 ground troops.

The resulting deaths and injuries were the worst in a single operation in the West Bank since the UN began tracking casualties in 2005, Mr. Khiari told ambassadors.

Targeted sites included locations adjacent to UN facilities and a school, while exchanges of fire took place near health facilities. The only health clinic in the camp – run by the UN agency that assists Palestine refugees, UNRWA – was damaged and remains closed, he said

The operation also had a significant humanitarian toll on the camp and its residents, with over 460 houses damaged, roads dug up and families displaced.

A number of priority needs have been identified by UN and humanitarian partners, including clearing unexploded ordnance, restoring water and sewage services, and repairing and restocking medical facilities.

Attacks against Israelis

A number of attacks were also carried out by Palestinians against Israelis, including a ramming and stabbing attack in Tel Aviv that injured eight Israeli civilians, including a pregnant woman, on 4 July, informed Mr. Khiari.

Militants in Gaza fired five rockets from Gaza towards Israel, responding to the operation in Jenin, on the night of 4 July, Mr. Khiari added.

All were intercepted by Israel’s aerial defence system, with shrapnel landing in the city of Sderot. In response, the Israeli Air Force carried out airstrikes against what it said were Hamas targets in the Strip.

Targeting of civilians unacceptable

Mr. Khiari underscored that targeting civilians, including children, was unacceptable and must be condemned and rejected by all.

“All perpetrators of violence must be held accountable and swiftly brought to justice,” he said.

“Israel has an obligation to protect Palestinians and their property in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and ensure prompt, independent, impartial and transparent investigations into all acts of violence.”

In his briefing, Mr. Khiari also spoke of demolitions by Israeli authorities of Palestinian-owned buildings, as well as evictions.

Click here for full coverage of the Security Council meeting.

“I hope they will soon, because if not, it will be another missed opportunity to help the Syrian conflict to come to a negotiated end, at a time when the impact of the crisis is deepening,” Geir Pedersen said, briefing the Security Council.

While there had been positive humanitarian gestures following the devastating earthquakes in February, it was disappointing that the UN cross-border relief operations which provoked a Russian veto and a failure to agree any resolution two weeks ago, could not be extended, he told ambassadors.

“How are the Syrians meant to believe that some broader progress is possible, and how are they meant to be encouraged to overcome their own deep differences, if consensus on humanitarian basics among international parties is elusive?”

Five foreign armies

“Syria remains territorially divided with Syrian society too divided on many issues”, Mr. Pedersen said, informing of the presence of five foreign armies within the country.

“This month saw airstrikes attributed to Israel, reports of Turkish drone strikes, reports of pro-Government airstrikes north of Aleppo, and the US saying it carried out drone strikes on an ISIL leader near al-Bab.”

Civilians continue to be injured and killed, amid violent clashes, regular exchanges of mortar, rocket and artillery fire across northeast and northwest Syria, he added.

Plea to work proactively

Mr. Pedersen called on the Syrian Government to work proactively with the UN on a political path out of the conflict, and also highlighted the need for “constructive and coordinated international diplomacy”.

“The more you can work together despite your differences, the more you can encourage and support the Syrians to do the same,” he urged the 15-member Council.

Conditions getting worse

Ramesh Rajasingham, Director of Coordination for UN aid coordination wing OCHA, informed ambassadors of the letter his office had received from the Syrian Government granting the UN permission to use the Bab al-Hawa crossing to deliver assistance in northwest.

He said humanitarians continue to engage with the Government on the terms outlined in the letter and the essential requirements OCHA has to keep operating, guided by the humanitarian principles of humanity, impartiality, neutrality and independence.

Throughout Syria, he continued, conditions continue to deteriorate, with the price of essential food commodities surging by over 90 per cent in 2023, putting basic food items and other essentials, out of the reach of millions of families.

Assistance to up to 40 percent of them, or 2.5 million people, have been discontinued this month due to funding shortfalls
– Ramesh Rajasingham, OCHA

Across the country, almost 12 million people – more than half the population – do not have enough to eat and a further 2.9 million are at risk of sliding into hunger.

In the country’s northwest, extreme heat is putting lives at risk with more than 40 fires reported from the period between 15 to 17 July alone.

“Despite these severe vulnerabilities, the 2023 Humanitarian Response Plan for Syria is only 12.4 per cent funded,” he added, warning that in the absence of urgent funding, humanitarians will have to make “difficult choices again this year”.

“To give you an example of what this means in practice: beneficiaries of food assistance are currently receiving only 50 per cent of the standard ration size. In addition, assistance to up to 40 percent of them – or 2.5 million people – have been discontinued this month due to funding shortfalls,” the UN relief official warned.

In a statement, UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator David Gressly said he was “shocked and deeply saddened by the appalling attack”, which occurred on Friday when unknown gunmen fired on the aid workers in the town of Turbah, located in Taiz governorate in southwestern Yemen.

Never a target

Mr. Gressley said the entire UN family and humanitarian partners in the country are grieving the loss of Moayad Hameidi, a Jordanian national and dedicated humanitarian, who died in hospital shortly after the attack.

“Mr. Hameidi’s death is indeed an unacceptable tragedy. I call on the authorities to bring the perpetrators to justice. Humanitarian workers should never be a target,” he said.

Mr. Hameidi was a veteran WFP staff member, having worked for the UN agency for 18 years, including on a previous posting in Yemen.

He had only recently returned to the country to assume a new job as the head of WFP’s office in Taiz.

The Resident Coordinator conveyed his heartfelt sympathies to Mr. Hameidi’s family and friends, and wished a speedy recovery to the injured staff member.

Moayad Hameidi, a Jordanian national, was working in Turbah, in the country’s southwest. He came under fire on Friday afternoon, and the identify of the assailants is not yet known.

Head of Taiz office

WFP released a statement expressing deep sadness at the news, noting that he had only recently arrived in Yemen to assume a new job as head of the agency’s office in Taiz.

Since 2015, a Saudi-led coalition supporting the internationally-recognized Government has been battling for control of the Arab nation, with Houthi militia, who control the capital and much of northern Yemen.

Taiz is the country’s third largest city and has been under siege by Houthi rebels for around seven years, creating a blockade for essential goods and humanitarian supplies for the city’s residents.

Tens of thousands of civilians have died during the grinding conflict and the UN estimates that 17 million people are still food insecure across Yemen, with projections showing that by the end of this year the number suffering high levels of acute food insecurity could rise to 3.9 million.

Food assistance from WFP is crucial to avoid potential famine and a lingering food security crisis.

‘Profound tragedy’

The agency described Mr. Hameidi, who had worked for WFP for 18 years as a “dedicated humanitarian”. He had served previously in Yemen, as well as in Sudan, Syria, and Iraq.

“The loss of our colleague is a profound tragedy for our organization and the humanitarian community,” said Richard Ragan, WFP Representative and Country Director in Yemen. “Any loss of life in humanitarian service is an unacceptable tragedy.”