Live updates on ME from the Security Council and across UN

Riyad Mansour, Permanent Observer of the Observer State of Palestine speaks at the Security Council. UN Phoo - Eskinder Debebe.

9 October 2024 - As turmoil roils the Middle East, senior UN officials provided humanitarian updates on the impact of continued fighting in Lebanon and Gaza, while many ambassadors in the Security Council offered strong support for the "indispensable" role of the Palestine refugee agency, UNRWA, which has come under increasing attack in the Israeli parliament. UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini said attempts to "dismantle" the agency would compromise humanitarian work and human rights worldwide.

Gaza

Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN agency for Palestine refugees, UNRWA, briefed the Security Council saying draft laws in the Knesset designed to strip the agency of immunity and “dismantle” it could “eventually compromise humanitarian and human rights work worldwide”.

Lisa Doughten, Director, Financing and Partnerships at the UN aid coordination office, OCHA, told ambassadors Gaza is home to the largest cohort of child amputees in modern history.

Lebanon

UN peacekeepers at UNIFIL in Lebanon observed large-scale Israeli air strikes and continued to observe fire by Hezbollah militants towards Israel, said UN Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq.

Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, UN Special Coordinator for the country, told journalists in New York via a videolink from Beirut that the situation is dire, with unrelenting bombardment “now part and parcel of daily life”.

The UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Lebanon, Imran Riza, said the year-long violence has intensified over the past three weeks causing widespread casualties, mass displacement and extensive destruction.

Future of Gaza must be future without Hamas: Israel

Israeli Ambassador Danny Danon said a year has passed since the 7 October massacre, the darkest day in his country’s history.

“Over the past year, Israel has endured unimaginable pain. Families continue to grieve, not only for those they lost but for those who remain in the grip of Hamas, held as hostages in Gaza,” he said.

He told ambassadors that “some of you in this chamber support Israel's firm position that Hamas cannot remain in the ruling regime in Gaza, others remain in the middle indifferent, and tragically, some even offer their support to Hamas and its murderous objectives.”

If any members want these discussions to be productive, then “every conversation should centre around the simple truth: the future of Gaza must be a future without Hamas.”

Outlining this vision, he said that “aid would finally reach those who truly need it”.

“Hamas has exploited the suffering of its people, using the misery Gaza as a propaganda tool while they line their pockets and boost their arsenals,” he said.

“Our vision of Gaza is not an impossible dream. It is within reach. But it cannot happen while Hamas remains in control, diverting aid, exploiting resources and worsening the suffering of their own people.”

Syria: Flash update from UN refugee agency

Security Council must enforce its resolutions: Palestine

Riyad Mansour, Permanent Observer of the Observer State of Palestine, said the “unprecedented attacks” by Israel against the UN, the Secretary-General and UNRWA, must be understood in the context of its attacks against the Palestinian people.

“If the aim of Israel is to make Gaza unlivable, then it must attack the backbone of the humanitarian response in Gaza – UNRWA,” he said.

The real target of the attacks are the Palestine refugees the agency is serving, he declared. Israel as “the occupying power”, has the obligation to protect and provide for the Palestinian population, he continued.

Israel is not only is failing to do so but is also attacking those who are responding to Palestinians' needs.

Israel impervious

He addressed the members of the Security Council, telling them that Israel is not listening to “any one of you”.

“You keep repeating yourself. We have had dozens of meetings. I heard the word ‘must’ maybe one hundred times in this session – ‘must have a ceasefire, must have humanitarian assistance’ – a long list, but one country is not listening,” he said.

“And you are refusing, collectively, to use the tools available to you to implement its resolutions,” he told ambassadors.

ICYMI: OCHA briefs the Security Council

North Gaza update from UNRWA

‘Orphanage city’ helps children in Gaza as the war grinds on

Some Palestinian orphans in Gaza have gotten a glimmer of hope as the tragedies triggered by the grinding nearly year-long war continue to deplete the Strip.

The latest death toll has surpassed more than 41,000 people, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health – the majority of them women and children – while most of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million have been forcibly displaced and trapped in only 10 per cent of the territory, but in this grim situation, new initiatives aim at radiating even the slightest sliver of light amid the darkness of war.

In the Al-Mawasi area, west of Khan Younis, teacher Mahmoud Kallakh set up a camp aimed at providing some relief to families who had lost their men and breadwinners.The Al-Baraka orphanage camp currently hosts 400 Palestinian families displaced to this area of southern Gaza. 

In an interview with our correspondent in Gaza, Ziad Taleb, Mr. Kallakh said that the initiative works to provide care to families in what he described as an “orphanage city”, including shelter, food and drink, medical care alongside educational and social services, with help, including from the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

“We have a dedicated medical centre and a school sponsored by the United Nations, through UNICEF, which thankfully provided the necessary resources for the school, embracing students, providing them with stationery and paying teachers’ salaries,” Mr. Kallakh said. “We want to establish this school completely, to replace these small tents, to create a more comfortable environment for students to receive their education.”

Russia says ‘we need to defend UNRWA’

Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said terrorist methods cannot be justified and that violence against Israelis and Palestinians is unacceptable. Gaza has become the world’s biggest open-air prison that is continuously being bombed and aid is being blocked.

What can be deemed a success is the UN’s polio vaccination campaign, he said. However, challenges persist, including the Knesset’s bills against the UN, which will, among other things, threaten the work of UNRWA.

Israel’s attack on UNRWA could also have a negative impact on the region as a whole as well as the realisation of a Palestinian State, he said, adding that “we have no right for this to pass.”

“We need to defend the agency,” he stressed, noting that ceasefire dialogue is at an impasse, and Israel has shown no interest in peace.

“How can we call on the UN to discharge its humanitarian mission when there are ongoing bombings, which is hindering aid delivery, when humanitarian workers are being assassinated and when UNRWA is being threatened with closure?” he said. 

The current catastrophic situation can only be settled through diplomatic means, he added, to put an end to the bloodshed and guarantee that Palestinians can assert their right to self-determination. - UN News