WHO offered humanitarian support to Israel’s health response immediately after the attacks. At the time, Israel’s Health Ministry replied that the system was coping, but that it would not hesitate to ask if assistance was needed. To date, WHO’s surveillance system of attacks on healthcare recorded eight attacks on Israeli medical facilities that killed seven people.
In visits to destroyed and deserted towns, from a hospital in Ashkelon to military bases where victims’ remains are stored pending their identification, Dr. Thieren spoke with survivors, health workers and authorities.
He also met with relatives of hostages taken by Hamas, amid continuing repeated calls by WHO and UN partners for their immediate and unconditional release.
As the Israel-Palestine conflict escalates, Dr. Thieren shared an account of what he saw and heard:
WHO
Dr. Michel Thieren (right) talks to medical staff on his visit to the Barzilai Medical Centre in Ashkelon.
“What is so striking is that almost all the people I spoke to, the vast majority of them with severe injuries from gun shots, shrapnel and burns, did not want to talk about themselves at all but about the people they had seen die in front of them.
Almost every one of those survivors had seen someone else die before they themselves were injured. They are absolutely haunted by this. It is dominant in their thoughts.
So many need urgent mental health support.
‘Rapidly spreading’ mental health problems
The fact that so many Israelis are still being held hostage by Hamas means that there is no chance for the wider public to begin the healing process.
It is on their minds 24 hours a day. It has added to the collective psychological burden witnessed nationwide, triggering an acute need for mental health services.
From what I am seeing, mental health problems appear to be rapidly spreading among the country’s population. The human suffering is immense.
People just don’t feel safe anymore, and this is a complete change in their recent history.
Only half of 1,400 victims identified
Doctors and forensic experts are still working to identify the bodies. They are all wrapped in plastic bags. There are obviously adult bodies and children’s bodies, but the vast majority of bags are misshapen.
Despite Israel having some of the best forensic doctors in the world, only 700 – barely half of the 1,400 victims – have been positively identified so far.
This, of course, is incredibly impactful on those that are doing this necessary work.
‘Ghost towns’
I have visited ghost towns in the south whose populations have been evacuated. There is still the terrible stench of death. I have listened to so many people telling their stories.
Survivors, the injured, psychiatrists, doctors, first responders and soldiers – all their accounts are horrific.
The shadow of national shock and grief has plunged this country into night.”
Learn more from WHO’s fact sheet on mental health in emergencies here.
Addressing the Council’s annual debate on resolution 1325, he appealed for countries to “urgently bridge the gap between rhetoric and reality” through concrete action in the areas of participation, financing and leadership.
“Of 18 peace agreements reached last year, only one was signed or witnessed by a representative of a women’s group or organization,” he said. Women also comprised just 16 per cent of negotiators or delegates at UN-led, or co-led, peace processes, he added.
War’s impact on women
Mr. Guterres highlighted how women’s contributions are needed in a world that is on a “knife’s edge” due to raging conflicts, escalating tensions, coups, rising authoritarianism, climate chaos, the nuclear threat, and other crises.
“Where wars rage, women suffer. Where authoritarianism and insecurity reign, women and girls’ rights are threatened. We see this around the world,” he said, pointing to situations in Afghanistan, Haiti, Sudan, Ukraine and the recent escalation in the Middle East.
“Women and girls are among the many victims of Hamas’ brutal atrocities,” he told the packed Council chamber.
“And women and children are more than half the victims of the relentless bombing of Gaza. Tens of thousands of pregnant women are desperately struggling to access essential healthcare.”
Shut out and fed up
Mr. Guterres called for the women, peace and security agenda to be fully implemented now “because women have had enough of being shut out of the decisions that shape their lives”.
Women are demanding concrete actions, he continued, with the first step being ensuring their presence in peace talks. He encouraged governments to support conflict mediation to set ambitious targets for women on negotiating teams.
The UN chief also underscored the need for “money on the table”, stating that “if we want to stand with women driving change, if we want to support women enduring conflict, if we want to remove barriers to participation, and if we want women’s organisations to deliver, we need to pay for it.”
A UNICEF expert on sexual exploitation and abuse briefs displaced people at a gathering point in Wad Madani in east-central Sudan.
Funding and fair representation
He urged countries to allocate 15 per cent of their overseas development assistance to gender equality, and a minimum of one per cent to women’s organizations mobilizing for peace. Fifteen per cent of funding for mediation must also support women’s participation.
Finally, women must have full, equal and meaningful participation at all levels of decision-making on peace and security, and in political and public life.
“That means pushing fair representation in national and local governments, cabinets and parliaments,” he said.
He further called for “robust, comprehensive legislation” to combat violence against women, whether online or in real life, and to end impunity for perpetrators.
600 million in conflict areas
Sima Bahous, Executive Director of UN Women, presented the Secretary-General’s latest report on resolution 1325, which reveals that last year, 600 million women and girls were living countries affected by conflict – a 50 per cent increase since 2017.
She also focused on the current crisis in Israel and Gaza, where women and children on both sides have been killed.
UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe
Sima Sami Bahous, Executive Director of UN Women, addresses the Security Council meeting on Women’s Participation in International Peace and Security.
Middle East crisis
Many women and children were among the more than 1,400 Israelis killed by Hamas, and women are among the roughly 200 hostages seized by the militants. More than 6,000 people have been killed in Gaza, 67 per cent of them women and children.
UN Women estimated that there are now more than 1,100 new female-headed households in Gaza, while upwards of 690,000 women and girls have been displaced.
“But let me be clear – every act of violence against women and girls, including sexual violence, is unequivocally condemned irrespective of the nationality, identity, race or religion of the victims,” she said.
Wins and warnings
The UN report reflects a decline in women’s meaningful participation across the peace spectrum, but it also provides examples of what has worked, especially at the local level.
Ms. Bahous listed examples of women’s achievements, including leading successful crossline negotiations to secure access to water and humanitarian aid, brokering the release of political prisoners, preventing unresolved tribal conflicts and mediating local ceasefires.
Women’s participation in UN Peacekeeping also increased in the past year. These “blue helmets” have set up mobile courts to convict perpetrators of gender-based violence, helped to secure the release of women and girls abducted by armed groups and other achievements.
“These examples should inspire us,” she said, while warning that as peace operations withdraw from countries, the UN’s capacity to monitor and protect women’s rights becomes more limited.
An interactive exhibition mounted outside UN Headquarters in New York gives life to the subject of the Security Council meeting.
The 50 large portraits of women peacekeepers and peacebuilders provide a powerful reminder of the urgent need for more action to ensure women are included in efforts to end conflict and build lasting peace.
UN Photo/Manuel Elías
Mirjana Spoljaric Egger, President of the International Committee of the Red Cross, briefs the UN Security Council meeting on Women’s Participation in International Peace and Security.
Gender aspects of conflict
The President of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) also briefed the Council, saying developments in the Middle East and elsewhere were “a shocking reminder of how rapidly humanitarian conditions can deteriorate.”
Mirjana Spoljaric Egger urged warring parties to “maintain a minimum of humanity” and adhere to international humanitarian law, which upholds the equal protection of civilians, combatants, prisoners of war and those wounded in hostilities.
She drew attention to the gender aspects of conflict, a subject she had raised in a previous address to the Council, noting that “many violations against women go undocumented and continue to be considered an inevitable side effect of war.”
She called for action to prevent and address sexual violence, promote accountability, and to ensure it is always designated as a war crime under international law.
No women, no peace
The ICRC has also been working with legal and military experts to understand how military operations impact women and girls differently, as they often are the ones caring for children, the sick and the elderly, thus affecting their ability to flee danger.
Finally, the Red Cross “sees every day” how women’s meaningful participation in both economies and societies benefits communities as a whole and improves prospects for peace.
“There are 100 steps to peace, and the first are always humanitarian,” said Ms. Spoljaric Egger.
“Without direct input from women, without the recognition of the gendered impact of armed conflict on women, and without the acknowledgement of women’s roles in all aspects of their society, peace responses will fall short and therefore lack the prospect for truth, stability and security.”
UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe
Glivânia Maria de Oliveira, Director General of the Rio Branco Institute, briefs the UN Security Council meeting on Women’s Participation in International Peace and Security.
Hope from Colombia
Brazilian diplomat Glivânia Maria de Oliveira brought positive news from Colombia, where women participated in the negotiations between the Government and the largest remaining rebel group in the country, ELN, which led to a six-month bilateral ceasefire that began in August.
Ms. de Oliveira represented her country at the talks, noting that “more women were also present as builders and promoters of peace.”
She recalled that earlier negotiations between the Colombian authorities and the FARC rebel group, which ended some 50 years of conflict, also had a “gender dimension” that was further reflected in their 2016 Peace Agreement.
In conclusion, she paid tribute “to the courageous Colombian women who have faced the horrors of violence and pain and loss”, and to the women delegates at the
Doctors have been performing surgeries without anaesthesia or other basic surgical supplies, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said in an update, noting that fuel has become the “most vital commodity” in Gaza.
Without it, “trucks can’t move and generators can’t produce electricity for hospitals, bakeries and water desalination plants,” said Tamara Alrifai, spokesperson for the UN agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA).
To date, fuel has been absent from the aid convoys allowed in so far.
“We are on our knees asking for sustained, scaled up, protected humanitarian operations”, UN health agency (WHO) Emergencies Director for the Eastern Mediterranean Region Dr. Rick Brennan said.
Briefing reporters from Cairo, he appealed “to all those in a situation to make a decision or influence decision makers, to give us the humanitarian space to address this human catastrophe”.
Diligence system for aid
The 54 trucks which have crossed into Gaza from Egypt as part of three convoys since Saturday contained a mix of food, medical supplies and non-food items, Ms. Alrifai said.
In comparison, she underscored that before the conflict, 500 trucks used to enter Gaza every day – those included commercial trucks and at least 100 aid trucks, some 45 of them bringing fuel.
Ms. Alrifai stressed that the logistics, coordination, transport and warehousing of the three convoys from Rafah were organized on the Gaza Strip side by UNRWA. Asked about the security risk of any fuel deliveries falling into the wrong hands, Ms. Alrifai explained that as with other equipment UNRWA would be responsible for receiving and handling the fuel, and having it delivered to hospitals and water desalination plants.
“We have in place a very sturdy diligence system to make sure that anything we receive is only used for humanitarian purposes,” she insisted.
Outbreaks ‘just a matter of time’
WHO’s Dr. Brennan highlighted the dire consequences of a lack of access to clean water, compounded by overcrowding. Between one and three litres per person per day were available in Gaza while the absolute minimum was 15 litres, he said.
People were being pushed to consume contaminated water and the spread of infectious diseases was “just a matter of time”.
Dr Brennan also said that WHO was working with UNRWA to establish a system of disease surveillance with daily reports. The most common infectious diseases were respiratory tract infections and diarrhoea, but chicken pox and skin infections like scabies and head lice were also to be expected.
Health facilities overwhelmed
WHO highlighted the extreme gravity of the health situation in the Gaza Strip under Israeli bombardment for over two weeks.
One in three hospitals and two in three clinics were not functioning, and health facilities and workers were overwhelmed with a massive load of trauma cases, many of them complex injuries due to explosions. Dr Brennan cited the example of Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, which had 1.5 patients for each bed.
With 1.4 million displaced people across the territory, overcrowding was a major challenge to the health system.
“I’ve been working in humanitarian assistance for 30 years and can’t remember that number of people displaced over such a short period of time,” Dr Brennan said.
Medicines boost
Some of the WHO medicines and supplies from the three convoys allowed into the enclave have already been delivered to three key referral hospitals in southern Gaza and to the Palestine Red Crescent Society for distribution to its two health facilities and ambulance crews.
“Health staff were so relieved to have replenishments, they took boxes of medicines off the trucks and straight into operating theatres,” WHO said.
Up to 200 women per day are having babies in Gaza and have trouble finding a safe place to deliver, Dr Brennan warned. More than half of them can be expected to experience complications and risk not getting the care they need.
Furthermore, under constant bombardment, the mental health needs of the population are “enormous”, he said.
‘Mortality will increase’
Dr. Brennan highlighted the plight of Gazans with chronic conditions, including kidney disease and diabetes, who have more and more difficulty in accessing services. He warned that they will experience complications and that “mortality will increase”.
Across the border in Egypt, WHO said that it has additional medicines and medical equipment on standby that are enough to provide surgical interventions for 3,700 trauma patients, essential health services for 110,000 people and care for 20,000 chronic diseases patients.
Lives on the line
Dr. Brennan stressed however that even once supplies get across the border, delivery to hospitals is compromised not only because of the lack of fuel, but also due to the “huge security risks” to UN personnel and partners trying to bring aid to hospitals in an active war zone.
UNRWA’s Ms. Alrifai recalled that the agency was mourning the loss of 35 staff so far, most of whom were themselves displaced and were working inside the agency’s shelters and facilities to assist the 400,000 or so people who have sought safety there.
A total of 40 UNRWA installations have been damaged since 7 October.
Asked about accountability for the deaths and destruction, Ms. Alrifai reiterated the importance of respecting the principles of international humanitarian law in wartime.
“Whatever happened to our colleagues and our buildings is unacceptable – no matter who did it,” she said.
10:45: Riyad al-Maliki, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the State of Palestine, stated that the Security Council and the international community has a duty and an obligation to save lives.
“Continued failure at this [Security] Council is inexcusable,” he stressed.
He emphasized that only “international law and peace” were worthy of unconditional support by countries, adding that “more injustice and more killing, will not make Israel safer.”
“No amount of weapons, no alliance, will bring it security – only peace will, peace with Palestine and its people,” he said, stating: “the fate of the Palestinian people cannot continue to be dispossession, displacement, denial of rights and death. Our freedom is the condition of share peace and security.”
Mr. al-Maliki stressed that avoiding an even greater humanitarian catastrophe and regional spillover, “it must be clear that this can only be achieved by putting an immediate end to the Israeli war launched against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip. Stop the bloodshed.”
UN News
The Security Council listens to a briefing by Ms. Lynn Hastings, UN Resident Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory
‘Humanity can prevail’
Briefing the Council, Lynn Hastings, UN Humanitarian Coordinator in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, said agreement on the resumption of aid deliveries through the Rafah, Egypt, crossing and the release of a small number of hostages over the past few days “shows that through diplomacy and negotiation, humanity can prevail, and we can find humanitarian solutions, even in the depths of conflict”.
The world is looking to the Member States around this Council to play its part – Lynn Hastings
Urging all countries with influence to exert it and ensure respect for international humanitarian law, she said civilians must have the essentials to survive. As such, the passage of rapid and unimpeded humanitarian relief must be facilitated, and water and electricity connections resumed, she added.
She said that 20 more trucks are due to move over the Rafah crossing today “although they are currently delayed.” She said the UN was dtermined “to do our part to ensure these deliveries continue.”
She paid tribute to the 35 UN Palestine relief agency (UNRWA) colleagues who have tragically been killed during the Israeli bombardment.
Parties on all sides “must take constant care, to spare civilians”, with water and electricity connections resumed, in accordance with the rules of war.
10.38: “If we are to prevent any further descent into this humanitarian catastrophe, dialogue must continue – to ensure essential supplies can get into Gaza at the scale needed, to spare civilians and the infrastructure they depend on, to release hostages, and to avoid any further escalation and spillover,” she said. “The world is looking to the Member States around this Council to play its part in leading the way.”
UN News
Tor Wennesland, Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process briefing the Security Council
‘The stakes are astronomically high’: Wennesland
Echoing that the current situation risks expanding to the wider region, the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Tor Wennesland, said he and the UN Secretary-General have been pursuing “any and every opportunity” to address the situation on the ground and to prevent further civilian death and misery.
10.28: “It is critical, that we, as a united international community, employ all our collective efforts to end the bloodletting and prevent the further expansion of hostilities, including in the region,” he said. “The stakes are astronomically high, and I appeal for all relevant actors to act responsibly.”
Any miscalculation could have “immeasurable consequences”, he warned, adding that these devasting events were not divorced from the broader context in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Israel, and the region.
For a generation, hope has been lost, he underlined.
“Only a political solution will move us forward,” he said. “The steps we take to address this crisis must be implemented in a way that ultimately advances a negotiated peace that fulfils the legitimate national aspirations of Palestinians and Israelis – the long-held vision of two-States, in line with UN resolutions, international law, and previous agreements.”
‘More dire by the hour’: Guterres
10.11: Mr. Guterres gave what he termed an introduction to the current crisis, saying the situation in the Middle East is “growing more dire by the hour“.
“Divisions are splintering societies and tensions threaten to boil over.”, he said.
“It is vital to be clear on principles” he added, starting with the protection of civilians.
Secretary-General Guterres underscored the need for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, “to ease epic suffering, make the delivery of aid easier and safer and facilitate the release of hostages”.
Watch the UN chief’s full remarks here:
He also emphasized that the world cannot lose sight of the only realistic foundation for peace and stability in the Middle East – a two-State solution.
“Israelis must see their legitimate need for security materialized and Palestinians must see their legitimate need for an independent State realized, in line with UN resolutions, international law and previous agreements.”
What’s at stake
It marks the fourth time the 15 ambassadors of the UN’s premier peace and security body will convene since the intense cycle of violence began.
You can follow all the proceedings live on X broadcast by our colleagues at UN Web TV – click on the tweet here on the page, or click on the video embedded in the main photo area of this story.
So far, there has no agreement on any action, to alleviate the suffering of civilians caught up in the spiralling conflict between Hamas militants, who control the enclave of over two million Palestinians.
The Council failed to adopt two previous draft resolutions addressing the escalation. The first from Russia calling for an immediate ceasefire, failed to get enough votes, while a Brazilian draft was vetoed by the United States. Although it called for humanitarian pauses for aid access, the US determined objected to the fact it did not mention Israel’s right to self defence.
The UN chief António Guterres is due to brief today along with the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Tor Wennesland.
UN Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory Lynn Hastings is also down to brief. She’s also been given the brief of deputy special coordinator.
Foreign ministers from several countries are also due to take part.
So far, 92 different countries have signed up to speak.
Today is also United Nations Day, marking 78 years since the UN Charter entered into force. In a statement the UN chief said that “at this critical hour, I appeal to all to pull back from the brink before the violence claims even more lives and spreads even further.”
10.02: The Council chamber is abuzz with diplomats exchanging views and awaiting the start of the meeting, which will be chaired by Brazil, which holds the presidency for the month of October.
10.07: The 9451st meeting of the Council is called to order…
Echoing that message, UN health agency (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus issued a new appeal on Monday for “sustained safe passage” for medical essentials and fuel to keep health facilities open.
“Lives depend on these decisions,” he insisted on social platform X.
Latest media reports citing the Gaza Ministry of Health indicate that the number of people killed in Gaza since 7 October has risen to 5,087.
Women and children have made up more than 62 per cent of the fatalities, while more than 15,273 people have been injured.
In its latest humanitarian update on the Gaza-Israel crisis UN humanitarian aid coordination office, OCHA, said that more than 1,000 have been reported missing and “are presumed to be trapped or dead under the rubble”.
Israel: Threefold rise in deaths
According to Israeli official sources quoted by OCHA, some 1,400 people have been killed in Israel, the vast majority in the Hamas attacks on 7 October which triggered the latest conflict.
OCHA said that the reported fatality toll is “over threefold the cumulative number of Israelis killed” since it began recording casualties in 2005.
At least 212 Israeli and foreign nationals are being held captive in Gaza, the Israeli authorities have said. Two hostages were released last Friday. UN Secretary-General António Guterres has repeatedly called upon Hamas to release hostages immediately and unconditionally.
Trickle of aid
According to media reports a new aid convoy entered Gaza from Egypt on Monday through the Rafah border crossing. This was the third such delivery after the crossing opened on Saturday for the first time since the start of the conflict, following intense diplomatic efforts.
A total of 34 trucks with aid provided by the UN and the Egyptian Red Crescent entered the enclave over the weekend. The UN has stressed that to respond to soaring humanitarian needs, at least 100 aid trucks per day are required.
Desperate need for fuel
The development comes as UN agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA) warned on Sunday that it was set to run out of fuel within three days, putting the humanitarian response in Gaza at risk.
UNRWA head Philippe Lazzarini said that without fuel, “there will be no water, no functioning hospitals and bakeries” and that “no fuel will further strangle the children, women and people of Gaza”.
Education void
Meanwhile, OCHA said that more than 625,000 children in Gaza have been deprived of education for at least 12 days, and 206 schools have been damaged. At least 29 of them are UNRWA-run establishments.
UNRWA reported on Sunday that 29 of its staff members have been killed in Gaza since 7 October – half of them teachers.
In the occupied West Bank, the escalation has also resulted in restrictions on the access to education. OCHA said that all the schools inside the territory were closed from 7 to 9 October, affecting some 782,000 students. As of last week, over 230 schools which cater to some 50,000 students had not reopened.
“Elections are the only path and the only imperative to restore democratic institutions in Haiti. Only democracy and the rule of law can form the basis from which Haiti can progress towards development and growth,” she said.
The envoy, who also heads the UN Office in Haiti, BINUH, underlined the “enormous significance” of the Council’s recent resolution authorizing the deployment of a multinational support mission to assist the national police, and welcomed another on an arms embargo.
The rampant gang violence – mainly affecting the capital, Port-au-Prince – is another shock to Haiti, where nearly half the population, roughly five million people, needs humanitarian aid. In recent years, the Caribbean nation has been hit by a cholera epidemic, earthquakes and cyclones, as well as the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in July 2021.
Serious crime increasing
Ms. Salvador reported that major crimes are rising sharply and reaching new record highs. Incidents include the broad daylight kidnapping last week of the head of the High Transitional Council – the body tasked with preparing the long-overdue elections – by gang members dressed as police officers.
“Killings, sexual violence, including collective rape and mutilation, continue to be used by gangs every day and in the context of ineffective service support for victims, or a robust justice response,” she said.
Activities by vigilante groups have added further complexity to the security crisis. BINUH has registered the lynching of nearly 400 alleged gang members by the so-called ‘Bwa Kale’ movement between late April and the end of September.
Path to the polls
Meanwhile, Ms. Salvador has continued engagement towards “a path to elections to fully re-establish democratic institutions and the rule of law.” Although inter-Haitian consultations have resumed under the auspices of regional bloc CARICOM, she was concerned that “efforts towards elections are not moving at a desired pace.”
She stressed that re-establishing control by the Haitian National Police is a prerequisite for holding a credible and inclusive vote, and the deployment of the multinational force brings hope that that things will improve.
“The Haitian National Police can only achieve lasting results when public security is restored, and the State resumes its functions, especially in disadvantaged neighbourhoods prone to gang activity,” she said.
Child recruitment and sexual violence
Roughly two million people in Haiti live in areas under the control of armed groups, who are expanding their operations, the head of the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said in her briefing to the Council.
Catherine Russell reported that children are being injured or killed in the crossfire, even on their way to school. Others are being forcibly recruited into gangs or joining them out of sheer desperation, while women and girls are facing extreme levels of gender-based and sexual violence.
Rape ‘now commonplace’
Ms. Russell visited Haiti last June where she met a pregnant 11-year-old at a centre for survivors of sexual violence. Five men had abducted the girl last year while she was walking on a street, and three took turns raping her.
“Several women at the centre spoke of armed men breaking in, raping them – in one case, in front of her children – and then setting their homes on fire. In some areas, such horrific abuses and crimes are now commonplace,” said Ms. Russell.
Food and nutrition crisis
Armed groups have also strangled major routes from the capital to the rest of Haiti, where most of the population resides, destroying livelihoods and restricting access to essential services.
Ms. Russell said this “life-threatening mix of conditions” has caused a food security and nutrition crisis that is deepening, with more than 115,000 children suffering from severe wasting – a 30 per cent increase over last year.
Nearly a quarter of all children in Haiti are chronically malnourished, and the ongoing cholera outbreak is further putting young lives at risk.
A child eats ready-to-use therapeutic food at a health and nutrition centre in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
Humanitarian response continues
Although the violence is also compromising humanitarian workers on the ground, Ms. Russell said UNICEF and partners continue to deliver in Haiti. Last week they were able to secure the safe release of nearly 60 children held by armed groups occupying a school in Port-au-Prince.
She said the multinational support mission will play a critical role in improving security and urged the force to give special care and attention to the protection of children, women, people with disabilities and other vulnerable groups.
Illicit weapon flows
The gang violence being enabled by “sophisticated firearms” that are being brought into Haiti illegally, Gada Waly, head of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) told the Council.
Demand is linked to criminal groups needing to enforce the lucrative trade in illegal drugs, as the country remains a transit destination primarily for cocaine and cannabis.
“Halting the flow of illicit firearms into Haiti and establishing a robust regulatory framework for firearms are imperative steps for the Haitian authorities to assert control and re-establish normalcy,” she said.
By land and sea
Ms. Wady urged the international community to support Haiti in achieving these aims, in parallel to the deployment of the multinational support mission.
The latest UNODC report has identified four major sea and land routes for illicit flows of firearms and ammunition into Haiti, which are mainly coming from the United States, including via direct shipment in containers to Port-au-Prince.
Weapons are also sent from the US to northern regions and transported overland to coastal cities and onward to docks controlled by gangs or traffickers before eventually landing in the capital.
Another land route is through two border crossings with the Dominican Republic, used mainly for trafficking ammunition. The final route is via Cap-Haitien, a city on the north coast, where smaller quantities of weapons are hidden in the personal items of people crossing the border by car or on foot.
Briefing ambassadors, Caroline Ziadeh, Special Representative of the Secretary-General cited a “serious” incident on 24 September, that saw five people – including a Kosovo police officer – killed and others injured.
“[These events] exacerbated an already deteriorating security environment, characterized by an atmosphere of mutual suspicion and contradictory perceptions touching much of the population,” she said, especially in northern Kosovo and among Kosovo-Serb communities elsewhere in Kosovo.
April elections boycott
Ms. Ziadeh, also the head of the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), added that the deteriorating security situation was compounded by the Kosovo-Serb community’s boycott of local elections in April, particularly significant in areas where they constitute the majority.
“The current political impasse, with its impact on the security and well-being of the population, can only be overcome through compromise,” she urged.
Political responsibilities
As the situation continues to escalate, political leaders on both sides bear a significant responsibility for addressing the security needs and broader socio-economic concerns of all segments of society, Ms. Ziadeh said.
The atmosphere of mutual suspicion, inflammatory public allegations, and divisive political rhetoric has strained communication channels and fueled tensions among the population.
“Rather than stoking tensions through political messages directed at one group, elected leaders bear responsibility for addressing the security needs and broader socio-economic concerns of all segments of society, regardless of ethnic, linguistic, or political background,” the UN official stressed.
Women and youth
Efforts to promote participation of women and youth in peace, and security agendas have been ongoing, Ms. Ziadeh said.
UNMIK has supported women-led civil society organizations and encouraged the active involvement of youth and women in decision-making processes.
Despite the challenges, initiatives aimed at addressing critical issues such as combating misinformation, youth involvement in decision-making, and domestic violence, have seen positive results.
Building trust
Ms. Ziadeh further noted that this year marked the fifth anniversary of UNMIK’s trust-building agenda, which has been instrumental in strengthening dialogue, social cohesion, and resilience at the grassroots level.
One example of such efforts is the Barabar Centre, which was opened in May. The term Barabar means equality and fairness in Albanian and Serbian – Kosovo’s two official languages.
In the course of six months, the Centre has organized more than 40 multiethnic events, demonstrating that even during challenging times it is possible to bring people together, Ms. Ziadeh said.
“The Centre is a safe space in the heart of Pristina, where people from all walks of life and all communities, can meet to freely deliberate and transcend divisive political rhetoric,” she added.
“Without fuel, there will be no water, no functioning hospitals and bakeries. Without fuel, aid will not reach those in desperate need. Without fuel, there will be no humanitarian assistance. No fuel will further strangle the children, women and people of Gaza,” he said in a statement.
UNRWA is the largest humanitarian agency in the Gaza Strip, which is home to more than two million people. More than a million have been displaced since the start of the latest hostilities on 7 October, with over half a million now sheltering in its facilities.
This ‘should not happen’
Mr. Lazzarini warned that “without fuel, we will fail the people of Gaza whose needs are growing by the hour, under our watch,” adding, “this cannot and should not happen.”
He appealed to “all parties and those with influence over them” to immediately allow fuel supplies into Gaza and to ensure that it is strictly used to prevent humanitarian operations from collapsing.
Although he welcomed the entry of the first humanitarian convoy into Gaza on Saturday, Mr. Lazzarini said it was “far from enough”, stressing the need for sustained aid.
29 staff killed
UNRWA also published its latest situation report on Sunday, which revealed that 13 more staff members have been killed since the conflict began, bringing the total to 29, while a further 17 have been injured.
In a post on the social media platform X, formerly Twitter, UNRWA noted that half of those killed were teachers.
The report also documented that 12 displaced people sheltering at UNRWA schools have been killed, and nearly 180 injured.
The 20-truck convoy that passed through the Rafah border crossing with Egypt carried life-saving supplies provided by the Egyptian Red Crescent and the UN, including enough water for 22,000 people but only for one day.
The items were approved to cross and be received by the Palestinian Red Crescent, with UN support.
“I am confident that this delivery will be the start of a sustainable effort to provide essential supplies – including food, water, medicine and fuel – to the people of Gaza, in a safe, dependable, unconditional and unimpeded manner,” Mr. Griffiths said in a statement published on his official account on X, formerly Twitter.
‘Catastrophic’ humanitarian situation
The delivery on Saturday follows days of deep and intense negotiations with all relevant sides to ensure that the aid operation resumes as quickly as possible and with the right conditions.
Mr. Griffiths said the already precarious humanitarian situation in Gaza “has reached catastrophic levels” since the hostilities began, and it is critical that aid reaches people in need wherever they are across Gaza, and at the right scale.
“The people of Gaza have endured decades of suffering. The international community cannot continue to fail them,” he said.
‘Lifeline’ amid shortages
The Rafah crossing is the sole one open with Gaza, and hundreds of trucks have been waiting to enter Gaza, where essential items are running out.
The Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) also announced that medical supplies from the agency had crossed the border “but the needs are far higher.”
Posting on X, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stressed the need for safe passage of additional convoys, protection of all humanitarian workers, and sustained access for health aid.
In a statement, WHO said that hospitals inside Gaza have already reached breaking point due to shortages and depletion of medicines and medical supplies, which are a “lifeline” for injured persons or those battling chronic and other illnesses.
Food on the move
The World Food Programme (WFP) said three trucks carrying 60 metric tonnes of emergency food were in the convoy. The supplies included canned tuna, wheat flour, pasta, canned beans and canned tomato paste.
“This food is desperately needed as the conditions inside Gaza are truly catastrophic,” said WFP Executive Director, Cindy McCain. Highlighting the need for continuous safe access, she said the 20 trucks were “an important first step, but this convoy has to be the first of many.”
WFP has another 930 metric tonnes of emergency food items at or near the Rafah border, ready to go whenever access is allowed again. These stocks are needed to replenish the agency’s rapidly dwindling supplies inside Gaza.
Since the start of the crisis, WFP has provided assistance to some 520,000 people and is expanding operations to support 1.1 million in the next two months. This assistance includes fresh bread delivered daily to people clustered in UN shelters in areas where access is allowed.
WFP supplies flour to contracted bakeries, which produce bread for distribution. However, lack of power and fuel have forced many bakeries to stop working, and one was even hit on Wednesday.
‘A matter of life or death’
Over 44,000 bottles of drinking water were also on the convoy, or just enough for 22,000 people for one day, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said.
“With one million children in Gaza now facing a critical protection and humanitarian crisis, the delivery of water is a matter of life or death. Every minute counts,” said Catherine Russell, the agency’s Executive Director.
The shipment represents a drop in the ocean of immense needs in Gaza, where large parts of critical infrastructure, including water and sanitation systems, have been reduced to rubble.
UNICEF said water capacity is at five per cent of normal levels, and Gaza’s nearly 2.3 million residents are now surviving on three litres of water per person per day.
Protect every child
Roughly one million people have been displaced, around half of them children, many of whom are now in overcrowded shelters where limited access to water, sanitation and hygiene are putting young lives at risk of disease outbreaks.
Ms. Russell upheld the need to protect children and for humanitarians to have safe access to reach them and their families.
“Above all, all parties must unconditionally protect every child from harm and afford them the special protection to which they are entitled, in accordance with obligations under international humanitarian law,” she said.
UNICEF has prepositioned additional emergency supplies for up to 250,000 people at the Rafah crossing that can be brought into Gaza in a matter of hours, and more aid is on the way.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi convened leaders from the region and around the world in efforts to de-escalate hostilities following the Hamas incursion into Israel on 7 October, and Israel’s bombing of Gaza and complete siege of the enclave.
The Summit took place one day after the UN chief travelled to the Rafah border crossing in Egypt’s north Sinai, the sole border crossing open with Gaza.
“There I saw a paradox — a humanitarian catastrophe playing out in real time,” he said.
Mr. Guterres noted that hundreds of trucks “teeming with food and other essential supplies” were on the Egyptian side while across the border, two million people in Gaza were going without water, food, fuel, electricity and medicine.
On Saturday, a convoy carrying desperately needed items crossed into Gaza.
UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe
Trucks carrying humanitarian aid wait to cross into Gaza from Egypt through Rafah.
UN working nonstop
“Those trucks need to move as quickly as possible in a massive, sustained and safe way from Egypt into Gaza,” said Mr. Guterres, adding that the UN is working nonstop with all parties towards a continuous delivery of aid at the scale that is needed.
The Secretary-General stressed that the near-term goals must be clear, repeating his call for immediate, unrestricted and sustained humanitarian aid to Gaza, the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages by Hamas, and a humanitarian ceasefire now.
He said that the grievances of the Palestinian people are legitimate and long, but nothing can justify the reprehensible assault by Hamas that terrorized Israeli civilians. At the same time, these abhorrent attacks can never justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people.
Time for action
He emphasised the need to uphold international humanitarian law, which includes protecting civilians and not attacking hospitals, schools and UN premises currently sheltering half a million people.
He also called for not losing sight of “the only realistic foundation for a true peace and stability”, namely a two-State solution for Israelis and Palestinians.
“The time has come for action,” he said. “Action to end this godawful nightmare. Action to build a future worthy of the dreams of the children of Palestine, Israel, the region and our world.”
Release all hostages
Earlier on Saturday, the UN chief expressed gratitude for the assistance of the Emir of Qatar for his efforts to secure the release of two Americans who had been held hostage in Gaza, his Spokesperson said in a statement.
Mr. Guterres renewed his call for an immediate and unconditional release of all hostages and again appealed for unhindered and sustained humanitarian access in Gaza, full respect for international law and the protection of civilians, and international action to avoid the conflict from expanding to the wider region.
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