Israeli settler violence has increased significantly, from an already high average of three incidents per day in 2023 to seven a day now, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OHCA).
During this period, OCHA recorded 171 settler attacks against Palestinians, resulting in 26 different casualty incidents, damage to 115 Palestinian properties, and some 30 reported incidents of both property damage and casualties.
Cases of harassment, trespass and intimidation are not included in the reporting, although they too increase the pressure on Palestinians to leave their land, the Office noted.
An increasing number of Israeli settlers have moved onto West Bank land, occupied by Israel since 1967, undermining a potential two-State solution to the long running conflict, where two States live peacefully side by side.
Access restrictions
Access restrictions, typically imposed by the Israeli authorities, have also intensified throughout the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. These are particularly severe in areas near Israeli settlements and in the so called “Seam Zone”; the Palestinian area isolated by Israel’s 712-kilometre-long barrier in the West Bank.
Settlers too have imposed movement restrictions, OCHA said, blocking access roads to Palestinian communities, limiting their access to essential services and livelihoods. In some cases, settlers have also damaged water resources which herding communities rely on.
Humanitarian assistance services, including health and education, has also had to stop since the restrictions intensified, OCHA added.
Use of firearms
The Office also noted the use of firearms to intimidate Palestinians, with more than one in every three settler-related incidents since 7 October involving settlers using firearms to threaten Palestinians, including by opening fire.
On 12 October, eight households, comprising 51 people, were displaced from the Shihda WaHamlan herding community in Nablus in northern West Bank, after settlers threatened them at gunpoint, saying they would kill them and set their tents on fire during the night, according to OCHA.
‘Active support’ of Israeli forces
It added that in almost half the cases, Israeli security forces “accompanied or actively supported” the attackers.
Many of the latter incidents were followed by confrontations between Israeli forces and Palestinians, where three Palestinians were killed, and dozens injured. Eight Palestinians were killed by settlers directly, as of the end of October, the Office noted.
Damage or destruction was caused to 24 residential structures, 40 structures used for farming, 67 vehicles and more than 400 trees and saplings.
Secretary-General António Guterres also reiterated his call for an “immediate humanitarian ceasefire” between Israeli forces and militants from Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, and other militant groups.
Consistent flow of aid essential
In a statement, Mr. Guterres said depriving Gaza’s people basic supplies was only “compounding the human tragedy” of the conflict, calling for unimpeded humanitarian access “to be granted consistently, safely and to scale in order to meet the urgent needs created by the catastrophe unfolding in Gaza.”
He said he was deeply alarmed” by the intensifying violence, including the expansion of ground operations by the Israel Defense Forces accompanied by further intense air strikes, and the continued rocket fire towards Israel from Gaza.
“Civilians have borne the brunt of the current fighting from the outset. Protection of civilians on both sides is paramount and must be respected at all times”, he said.
The Hamas-run Ministry of Health reports that over 8,300 people have been killed in Gaza since 7 October, including 3,547 children, 2,136 women and 480 elderly persons.
Latest figures released by the UN Palestine refugee agency (UNRWA) which has around 13,000 staff working in Gaza, put the extent of the humanitarian crisis into stark relief.
670,000 internally displaced are sheltering in 150 UNRWA installations.
“The situation in shelters remains critical with very limited assistance available and no additional space”, said the agency, with healthcare dwindling and protection risks rising.
UNRWA deaths mount
Furthermore, UNRWA itself lost a further three staff members in the ongoing airstrikes during the past 24 hours – killed in their houses along with their families, according to agency.
This brings the death toll to 67. Last night, UNRWA chief Phillipe Lazzarini said one of those lost just hours before the Security Council met on the crisis in New York, was Samir, head of security and safety for the middle region of Gaza – killed along with his wife and eight children.
“I mourn and honour the United Nations colleagues who have tragically been killed in the bombardment of Gaza over the past three weeks”, said the Secretary-General. “My heart goes out to the families of our colleagues who lost their lives in service.”
UN News on Tuesday managed to get through to UNRWA Spokesperson in Gaza, Adnan Abu Hasan, who described in vivid detail the difficulty and danger being faced by colleagues attempting to keep limited aid flowing to those in desperate need.
Some of his own family members have been injured as airstrikes continue, driving home the reality that nowhere is safe for civilians aid workers there:
Unconditional release of hostages
The UN chief repeated his “utter condemnation of the acts of terror perpetrated by Hamas” on 7 October.
“There is never any justification for the killing, injuring and abduction of civilians. I appeal for the immediate and unconditional release of those civilians held hostage by Hamas”, he said.
Mr. Guterres stressed again that international humanitarian law “establishes clear rules that cannot be ignored. It is not an a la carte menu and cannot be applied selectively.”
All parties must abide by the rules, “including the principles of distinction, proportionality, and precaution.”
Looking to the dangers of spillover across borders into Lebanon and Syria, the UN chief said he remained “deeply concerned about the risk of a dangerous escalation”, urging all leaders in the region to exercise utmost restraint.
“It is an honor to be here in Lumbini – a site of spirituality, serenity, and peace,” Mr. Guterres began.
“I am deeply moved to have been invited to pay tribute to Lord Buddha.”
A UNESCO World Heritage Site, Lumbini in southern Nepal, is known as the birthplace of Lord Buddha. It holds immense spiritual significance and draws hundreds of thousands of pilgrims from all over the world.
Reflect on Buddha’s message
Mr. Guterres urged everyone to reflect on the core teachings of Buddhism and their relevance in today’s troubled world.
He highlighted conflicts in regions from the Middle East to Ukraine, and the Sahel to Sudan, the undermining of global rules and institutions, and the devastating impact of these conflicts on ordinary people – especially women and children.
The Secretary-General also expressed concern over the record number of people driven from their homes by violence, conflict, and persecution, as well as the persistent challenges of poverty and inequality, and worsening impacts of the climate crises.
A clear choice
The UN chief’s message was clear, “humanity has a choice. The path to peace is ours to take. It is not always an easy one, but guided by Lord Buddha’s timeless example, I believe it is a vision we can make real through action.”
He outlined action that can lead the way, protecting human rights and dignity, building trust and understanding, achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and addressing the climate crisis by urgently reducing greenhouse gas emissions and restoring biodiversity.
Mr. Guterres emphasized the Buddhist message of compassion, non-violence, and interdependence as an inspiration for all and source of unity.
“Peace is more than a noble vision; it is a rallying cry. From these sacred gardens, I call on the world to act now for peace,” Guterres concluded.
Address to the Parliament
On an official visit to Nepal at the invitation of the Government, the Secretary-General on Tuesday also addressed a joint session of the Nepalese Parliament, where he noted progress made by the country, having endured a decade-long internal armed conflict.
“You are preparing the final stages of your Nepalese-led peace process – healing the wounds of war through transitional justice,” he said.
“We know that transitional justice has the greatest chance of success when it is inclusive, comprehensive, and has victims at its heart,” he added, noting that UN stands ready to support the victim-centred process and its implementation in line with international standards and Supreme Court’s rulings.
In his address, the UN chief also recognized Nepal’s contributions to UN peacekeeping operations globally, climate change challenges, multilateralism and technology and digital inclusion.
Watch the full address by the Secretary-General below
The vicinities of Shifa and Al Quds hospitals in Gaza city and of the Indonesian hospital in northern Gaza, have been bombarded over the weekend, UN humanitarian affairs coordination office OCHA said.
“This followed renewed calls by the Israeli military to evacuate these facilities immediately,” OCHA added.
Relief chief: Protect civilians ‘wherever they are’
“Palestinian and Israeli civilians have suffered enough”, UN relief chief Martin Griffiths wrote on social platform X on Monday. He revealed that he is in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory and “will be discussing with the leadership of both parties how we can ramp up the humanitarian response”.
“My plea to all parties is: free the hostages. Protect civilians, wherever they are. Allow the delivery of aid swiftly, safely and at scale. Respect international humanitarian law,” he wrote.
Evacuation remains ‘impossible’
According to OCHA, some 117,000 displaced people are sheltering in the 10 hospitals still operational in Gaza city and elsewhere in northern Gaza, which have received “repeated evacuation orders” in recent days.
UN health agency WHO reiterated overnight on social platform X that “evacuation of hospitals is impossible without endangering patients’ lives”.
Humanitarians keep working
Emergency C-sections are being performed without anaesthesia amid shortages of medical supplies and power, and doctors are sometimes left delivering the premature babies of dying mothers, UN sexual and reproductive health agency UNFPA said, citing harrowing testimony from Shifa Hospital staff.
The UN agency for Palestine refugees, UNRWA, said on Monday that its aid workers in Gaza “keep going”, providing assistance to over 600,000 people who have sought safety in UN Palestine refugee relief organisation (UNRWA) shelters, now more than three times over capacity.
“They are the face of humanity during one of its darkest hours,” UNRWA said.
The agency held a memorial service on Sunday for 59 of its personnel killed in the conflict so far and UN chief António Guterres stressed his “gratitude, solidarity and full support” to colleagues working to save lives in Gaza while risking their own.
Death toll keeps rising
As of Sunday evening the death toll in Gaza since 7 October passed the 8,000 mark, according to the Hamas-run Ministry of Health in Gaza.
OCHA also said that Palestinian armed groups’ indiscriminate rocket firing towards Israeli cities and towns continued over the past 24 hours, with no fatalities reported.
According to the Israeli authorities, 239 Israelis and foreign nationals, including some 30 children, remain captive in Gaza and 40 people are still reported missing following Hamas’ terror attacks on Israel on 7 October which killed 1,400 people.
The UN has repeatedly called for the immediate and unconditional release of the hostages. Mr. Guterres repeated on Sunday that “there is no justification, ever, for the killing, injuring and abduction of civilians”.
Listen to a UN News interview from 25 October with a senior World Health Organization (WHO) official from last week on the challenges faced getting medical supplies into Gaza:
Much more aid needed
OCHA said that on Sunday “at least 33 trucks” carrying water, food, and medical supplies entered Gaza through the Rafah crossing with Egypt, the largest such delivery since limited convoys resumed on 21 October.
“While this increase is welcome, a much larger volume of aid is needed on a regular basis to prevent further deterioration in the dire humanitarian situation, including civil unrest,” OCHA stressed. Before the 7 October Hamas attacks, close to 500 trucks a day reportedly entered Gaza.
WHO
Al-Quds hospital in Gaza remains open.
Over the weekend – amid UN relief team warnings that people are already going hungry in Gaza – thousands of people broke into several UNRWA warehouses and distribution centres, taking wheat flour, hygiene supplies and other items.
At the same time, a telecommunication blackout lasting over 24 hours cut Gazans off from the rest of the world and from each other. UNRWA’s Operations Director, Tom White, described the development as “a worrying sign that civil order is starting to break down after three weeks of war and a tight siege on Gaza”.
OCHA stressed once again that the entry of fuel, which has not been allowed on the aid trucks, is “urgently required” to operate medical equipment and water and sanitation facilities.
The United Nations agency dealing with Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, and the UN World Foord Programme (WFP) were among the humanitarian organizations reporting the incidents, which follow a harrowing 24-hour communication blackout and persistent access challenges.
One of the warehouses that was stormed, in Deir al-Balah, is where UNRWA stores supplies from the humanitarian convoys coming from Egypt.
WFP likewise reported that a warehouse contained 80 tons of mixed food commodities, mainly canned food, wheat flour and sunflower oil, all being stored there ahead of distribution to displaced families.
‘People are scared and desperate’
“This is a worrying sign that civil order is starting to break down after three weeks of war and a tight siege on Gaza,” said the Director of UNRWA Affairs in the Gaza Strip, Thomas White, who added: “People are scared, frustrated and desperate”.
He went on to say that the tensions and fear were made worse by the cuts in the phones and internet communication lines.
“They feel that they are on their own, cut off from their families inside Gaza and the rest of the world,” said Mr. White, who noted that massive displacement of people from the north of the Gaza Strip southward has placed enormous pressure on those communities, adding further burden on crumbling public services.
Some families received up to 50 relatives taking shelter in one household.
“Supplies on the market are running out while the humanitarian aid coming into the Gaza Strip on trucks from Egypt is insufficient. The needs of the communities are immense, if only for basic survival, while the aid we receive is meager and inconsistent,” added Mr. White.
‘Set up to fail’
The UNRWA official reported that to date, just over 80 trucks of aid crossed into Gaza in one week.
On Saturday, 28 October, there was no convoy due to the blackout in communications. UNRWA, which is the main actor for the reception and storage of aid in the Gaza Strip, was not able to communicate with the different parties to coordinate the passage of the convoy.
“The current system of convoys is geared to fail,” said Mr. White, explaining that very few trucks, slow processes, strict inspections, supplies that do not match the requirements of UNRWA and the other aid organizations, and mostly the ongoing ban on fuel, “are all a recipe for a failed system.”
“We call for a regular and steady flow line of humanitarian supplies into the Gaza Strip to respond to the needs especially as tensions and frustrations grow,” he concluded.
Meanwhile, UNRWA teams in Gaza have reported that internet services and connections were restored, and they will reassess the situation with the aim of resuming convoys and distribution of assistance.
‘Trickle of supplies’ in not enough
Samer Abdeljaber, WFP Representative and Country Director in Palestine, made a similar plea: “We need a humanitarian pause to be able to reach the people in need with food, water and basic necessities safely and effectively. Much more access is urgently needed, and the trickle of supplies needs to become a flow.”
The storming of the supply warehouses in Gaza was “a sign of people losing hope and becoming more desperate by the minute. They are hungry, isolated, and have been suffering violence and immense distress for three weeks.”
Adding to the overall concerns, WFP said that fuel shortages and loss of connectivity also threaten to bring humanitarian operations to a halt. Without additional fuel supplies, bakeries working with WFP in Gaza are no longer operational and transporters cannot deliver food where it’s needed.
WFP reported that it plans to provide food lifeline to over one million people who are going hungry now and the agency needs a steady supply of food with at least 40 FP trucks to cross daily into Gaza to be able to meet the escalating needs.
Honouring fallen colleagues
Also on Sunday, in the Jordanian capital, Amman, UNRWA, led by Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini, organized a ceremony to honor the memory of its 59 staff members who have lost their lives in Gaza since the crisis erupted on 7 October.
“Every day becomes darker for the United Nations and UNRWA as the number of our colleagues being killed increases. Talk of indescribable suffering flows from Gaza hourly,” the agency said.
In an interview with UN News, UN Human Rights Council-appointed expert Francesca Albanese, said it was “impossible to describe the pain and suffering that Israelis are going through because of what happened to them…because there are not only those who were killed, those who were taken hostage, but there is an entire population that was completely shaken”.
But describing the UN chief’s words to the Security Council last Tuesday when he noted that the brutal attacks by Hamas fighters of 7 October “did not occur in a vacuum” as “brave”, she stressed Gazans have “already suffered five deadly wars…during the period Israel has declared an unlawful blockade over the Gaza Strip, entrapping 2.2 million people.”
And since 7 October “they have been recklessly bombarded with an average of 6,000 bombs launched per week,” she added.
Protecting children
Over 7,700 Palestinians have been killed since the Israeli bombing campaign began, with more than 19,740 injured, said the UN aid coordination office (OCHA) on Saturday, according to the Hamas run Ministry of Health in Gaza.
Children’s Fund UNICEFreported earlier in the week that nearly 2,400 children were among the dead in Gaza, with women and children accounting for 66 per cent of the casualties.
“All schools have been targeted one way or another”, said Ms. Albanese.
“Schools have been hit by the bombings, hospitals have been hit by the bombings” and there has been a tightening of the blockade. “Israeli leaders, one way or another, are blaming and holding all Palestinians in Gaza responsible and are punishing all Palestinians in Gaza for what Hamas and other military groups have done”, she added.
WHO
Mourners attend the funeral of people who died following Israeli strikes in Gaza.
Occupying power
The independent human rights expert also criticised Israel’s continued occupation of Palestinian lands and the mistreatment of Palestinians.
“We are talking of an occupying power. Israel is an occupying power vis a vis the Palestinians. There is no independent and sovereign Palestinian state,” said Ms. Albanese.
“The occupation has been the vehicle to colonise, brutalise, arbitrarily arrest and detain and to carry out summary executions against the Palestinian people.”
The occupation has been the vehicle to colonise, brutalise, arbitrarily arrest and detain and to carry out summary executions against the Palestinian people.
She criticised the international community for not doing more to end the illegal occupation.
“Has the international community ever stopped this protracted illegality? No. This is why I keep on saying the international community has a huge, huge responsibility in the catastrophe that is now unfolding.”
Right to self-defence
The rights expert highlighted that both Israel and Palestine maintain the right to defend themselves militarily, although this response must remain proportional to the perceived threat.
“There was an incursion in Israeli territory that resulted in the killing and brutalization of Israeli civilians so that incursions had to be repelled,” said Ms. Albanese.
She argued that, once the attack was successfully repelled, however, the subsequent bombings of targets in Gaza represent violations of international law.
“What Israel is doing is considered by some Member States legitimate self-defence, which it is not. Because how can it be self-defence, the bombing, the carpet bombing of an entire population under a very opaque and vague objective of eradicating Hamas?”
Right to resistance
The right to resist is guaranteed under international law, although this resistance does have limits. The rights expert emphasised that, despite Palestinians’ right to resist Israeli occupation, Hamas’ attack on civilians violated the right to resistance.
“Resistance has rules and limits, and they are the same that apply to any warring parties. So, each actor engaging as part of the resistance becomes responsible for the choice of actions and methods of engagement. And killing civilians is never permitted under international law.”
WHO
Extensive destruction has been caused by Israeli airstrikes in the north of Gaza.
Legitimate targets?
Ms. Albanese criticised the Israeli government’s continued dehumanisation of Palestinian civilians.
How can you hold a newborn responsible?
“It manifests in the statements of various Israeli political leaders who have referred to the Palestinians as human animals, as deserving the treatment they are receiving because they are all responsible for what Hamas is doing, otherwise they would have revolted against Hamas. As if that hadn’t happened,” she said.
“[Israeli politician] Naftali Bennett has inferred that there are no civilians in Gaza, that even babies become a legitimate target. How can it be? How can it be? How can you hold a newborn responsible?”
International failures
The international community has failed to provide adequate support for ending hostilities between Israel and Palestine, argued Ms. Albanese.
“What the international community had an opportunity to do, for once, was to show support to both the Israeli and Palestinian people. It was horrific what the Israelis have suffered as of the 7th of October, and at the same time, the international community missed the opportunity to act wisely and even-handedly, vis a vis both in a way that could be seen as leading to peace.”
She also criticised Western countries for their unwavering support of Israel despite its human rights violations.
You can stand in solidarity with the Palestinians and still condemn the atrocities that Hamas has committed. This is necessary.
“Western countries have, with a few exceptions, rallied around Israel, basically supporting what Israel is doing, self-defence. What Israel does should be in line with international [law]. But it’s not.”
Ms. Albanese also called on the Arab world to condemn Hamas’ targeting of civilian targets while still expressing their support for Palestine.
“There is a huge mobilisation in the Arab world in solidarity with the Palestinians. At the same time, I want to say to those in the Arab world, you can stand in solidarity with the Palestinians and still condemn the atrocities that Hamas has committed. This is necessary.”
‘Many more people are going to die’
The Special Rapporteur lamented the situation, claiming many more would die if more was not done to immediately end the conflict.
I feel for their present, but I also fear for the future, for the Palestinians and Israelis.
“Many more people are going to die in Palestine, in the occupied Palestinian territory, for sure. This is not going to stop, and genocidal intentions have to be addressed.
“I really fear for what the Palestinians are going to face, and I also fear for the future of these two people. I feel for their present, but I also fear for the future, for the Palestinians and Israelis.”
Independent experts
Special Rapporteurs and other independent rights experts are part of the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council, work on a voluntary and unpaid basis, are not UN staff, and work independent of any government or organisation.
“The Jeddah talks cannot have started soon enough. More than six months since the start of the crisis in Sudan, the humanitarian tragedy in the country continues to unfold unabated,” UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths in a statement issued on Sunday.
While he welcomed the resumption of the talks and thanks Saudi Arabia for hosting them, Mr. Griffiths underscored the dire situation: “Thousands of people have been killed or injured. One in nine people has fled their homes. Nearly one-third of the population could soon become food insecure.”
Conflict broke out in Sudan in mid-April, when tensions between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Force erupted into open warfare in the capital, Khartoum, and elsewhere across the east African nation.
‘Colossal’ humanitarian crisis
The UN emergency relief chief went on to say that Sudan’s health system is in tatters, with the specter of disease outbreaks, including cholera, looming. Moreover, a generation of Sudanese children risk missing out on a full education.
Mr. Griffiths stressed that the humanitarian community is doing everything possible to meet these ever-increasing needs.
“Since mid-April, we have provided assistance to 3.6 million people, but this represents only 20 p er cent of the people we hope to help,” he explained, noting that humanitarian workers “are paralyzed by fighting, insecurity and red tape, making the operating environment in Sudan extremely difficult.”
This is why these Jeddah talks are critical: We need the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces to break the bureaucrat“ic logjam,” he stated.
Mr. Griffiths, who is also the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, added: “We need them to fully adhere to international humanitarian law. We need them to secure safe, sustained and unhindered access to people in need, be it in Darfur, Khartoum or the Kordofans.”
In light of the “colossal humanitarian crisis”, Mr. Griffith said that the UN office he heads up, known as OCHA, will facilitate the humanitarian aspect of these negotiations.
Comprehensive ceasefire needed
Meanwhile, the UN Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS) also welcomed the resumption of talks in Jeddah, which are being facilitated by Saudi Arabia, as well as the United States, the African Union and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD).
In a press release, the Mission said that it hoped “this new round of negotiations results in the implementation of the Declaration of Commitment to Protect the Civilians of Sudan, signed on May 11, 2023, and in a comprehensive ceasefire, all of which are two crucial factors in alleviating the suffering of the Sudanese people.”
The mission also welcomed current initiatives from a wide range of civilian actors calling for an end to the war, emphasizing the urgent need for a solution that would lead to a resumption of the democratic political transition.
Secretary-General António Guterres said on X, formerly Twitter: “I reiterate my appeal for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, together with the unconditional release of hostages and the delivery of relief at a level corresponding to the dramatic needs of the people in Gaza, where a humanitarian catastrophe is unfolding in front of our eyes.”
The UN chief is on his way to Nepal but is following the situation closely. His spokesman in NY said that at a stopover in Doha, Qatar, Mr. Guterres spoke by phone with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi and the two discussed the current situation in the Middle East and spoke about the coordination of humanitarian efforts for civilians in Gaza.
The UN health agency says that it has lost contact with its staff in the enclave but is still trying to gather information on the overall impact on civilians and health care.
“WHO reminds all parties to the conflict to take all precautions to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure. This includes health workers, patients, health facilities and ambulances, and civilians who are sheltering in these facilities,” the agency said in a press release.
Active measures must be taken, the agency continued, to ensure civilians and health workers are not harmed and safe passage provided for the movement of desperately needed medical supplies, fuel, water and food into and across Gaza.
WHO’s warning comes as the crisis in the Gaza Strip enters its third week following the 7 October incursion by Hamas militants into Israel and Israel’s subsequent declaration of war.
The ongoing violence has left thousands dead on both sides and while UN and other humanitarian agencies have been able to move a trickle of aid, goods and health supplied into the ravaged enclave through the Rafah crossing in Egypt, much more is needed to meet the skyrocketing needs.
When the UN Security Council is unable to shoulder its primary responsibility to maintain international peace and security, as has thus far been the case following the 7 October outbreak of the latest Israel-Palestine crisis, the General Assembly can consider the matter immediately in an emergency special session.
UN Member States can request the Assembly President to convene such a session, with a view to making appropriate recommendations for collective measures, including calling for ceasefires, and in the case of a breach of the peace or act of aggression, as a last resort, the use of armed force when necessary.
At the first plenary meeting of an emergency special session or upon its resumption, as is the case with the current tenth session, the Assembly typically hears from the country or countries of concern. Member States then debate the issue and vote on a draft resolution.
If adopted by a two-thirds majority, the non-binding General Assembly resolution provides guidance for nations. Some of these past session resolutions have contained, for example a request for an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice (ICJ), and a request for an international UN-led force to intervene to secure and supervise the cessation of hostilities.
UN Photo/Evan Schneider
The General Assembly emergency special session meeting on the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory enters its second day of deliberations.
What triggers emergency special sessions?
An emergency special session swiftly happens when the UN Security Council is deadlocked. That occurs when one of the five permanent Council members (China, France, Russia, United Kingdom, United States) uses their UN Charter-mandated veto power to quash a related draft resolution.
While veto use can also be quickly scrutinized at a regular General Assembly meeting, emergency special sessions are one option the UN membership has to debate urgent peace and security matters.
That’s what happened this week regarding the Israel-Palestine crisis. The Council’s failure to agree on multiple resolutions triggered a group of UN Member States to submit a request to the Assembly President.
UN Photo
Journalists work late into the night at UN Headquarters during the first emergency special session in 1956.
What makes these sessions ‘special’?
Only 11 emergency special sessions have been called in the last 73 years. The eleventh was convened, following a Security Council veto, six days after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, resulting in a broadly supported resolution on the crisis.
What makes it ‘special’ is that despite Council disunity, the countries of the world can address urgent global peace and security matters together. At the request of Member States or the Council itself, the Assembly President shall convene an emergency special session within 24 hours.
The establishment and guiding rules of these sessions came after the outbreak of the Korean Peninsula conflict in 1950, when the Assembly adopted its landmark “Uniting for peace” resolution.
Another unique element is that unlike the 15-member Security Council, a veto cannot be used in the 193-member General Assembly. If a two-thirds majority of the Assembly votes in favour, a proposed draft resolution is adopted.
What’s another difference between the Council and the Assembly? While the former’s resolutions are legally binding, the latter’s are not.
UN Photo
The then UN Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld (standing second from left) in conversation in the Delegates Lounge at UN Headquarters following an emergency special session in 1958.
Hot spot: Middle East
Six of the 11 Assembly emergency special sessions relate to the Middle East.
The first ever such session was held in 1956 to consider the 1949 Arab-Israeli armistice agreements, which had been “disregarded” amid foreign military presence on Egypt’s territory near the Suez Canal.
During that session, the Assembly adopted a package of resolutions that, among other things, requested, “as a matter of priority, the Secretary-General to submit to it within 48 hours a plan for the setting up, with the consent of the nations concerned, of an emergency international United Nations Force to secure and supervise the cessation of hostilities”.
Other emergency special sessions were convened on matters in the Middle East in 1958 and 1967, the question of Palestine in 1980, and the situation in the occupied Arab territories in 1982.
Open 24/7
At the request of UN Member States, meetings of an emergency special session can be reconvened at any time and have been over the years.
That’s what happened last week, when a deadlocked Security Council led a group of nations submitted such a request to the Assembly President to reconvene the tenth emergency special session.
Convened for the first time in 1997, the session pertains to the matter of illegal Israeli actions in Occupied East Jerusalem and the rest of the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
At the outset of the resumed tenth session on 26 October, the Assembly heard from the UN Permanent Observer State of Palestine. Member States then opened their debate of the matter.
Though non-binding, the draft resolution overwhelmingly calls for peace.
Want to know who voted on what resolution and why? The UN Dag Hammarskjöld Library holds voting records, explanations of vote and related resolutions from all emergency special sessions here.
A UN inter-agency convoy reached the front-line community of Huliaipole, located in the Zaporizhzhia region, bringing medicine, shelter kits, hygiene items and other assistance to support some 2,000 people.
The town has suffered large-scale destruction and remains without power, water and gas, said UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric, speaking from New York.
“Today’s humanitarian convoy was the 13th this year to the Zaporizhzhia Region. The UN and our partners have reached nearly 30,000 people there just in the past 10 months,” he said.
Earlier this week, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) delivered UN shelter materials in western Ukraine, following an attack on Wednesday that damaged hundreds of homes, dozens of schools, and other civilian facilities in the Khmelnytskyi Region. Scores of residents were reportedly injured.
Mr. Dujarric said the supplies will cover damaged roofs and windows to protect residents as the winter approaches. The Ukrainian Red Cross and national NGOs also delivered emergency assistance, with partners providing legal and mental health support to affected families.
Violence against aid workers hampers relief efforts in South Sudan
Increasing violence and threats against aid workers and humanitarian assets continues to hamper efforts to assist nearly seven million people in South Sudan, with a dozen such incidents recorded last month.
Despite these challenges, the UN and partners reached at least four million people with aid, but needs are growing. As of this week, some 333,000 people fleeing the war in Sudan have arrived in the country.
Meanwhile, the $1.7 million Humanitarian Response Plan for South Sudan this year is only around 50 per cent is funded. As a result, humanitarian partners are being forced to reprioritize and even suspend some programmes.
Japan: Treated radioactive water release progressing as planned
The discharge of treated radioactive wastewater from Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station is progressing as planned and without any technical concerns, a UN-backed task force confirmed on Friday.
Members were in the country this week to review the safety of the process two months after the water was released into the Pacific Ocean.
The task force – set up by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) – reviewed facilities and equipment installed at the power station, which suffered major damage during an earthquake and tsunami in March 2011.
Water that was pumped in to cool the plant came in contact with radioactive substances, resulting in contamination. It was treated and diluted through a filtration process called Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS), then stored in special tanks.
In a report published in July, the IAEA said that Japan’s approach and activities to discharge the treated water were “consistent with relevant international safety standards”.
The Task Force is comprised of experts from the UN agency 11 countries – Argentina, Australia, Canada, China, France, the Marshall Islands, the Republic of Korea, Russia, the United Kingdom, the United States and Viet Nam.
“Conducting regular Task Force review missions is one way in which the IAEA will continue its multiyear safety review,” the agency said.
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