United Nations | Lebanon, Yemen, Occupied Palestinian Territory & other topics - Daily Press Briefing (1 Oct 2024) @unitednations | Uploaded October 2024 | Updated October 2024, 1 week ago.
Noon briefing by Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.
Highlights:
- Lebanon
- Lebanon/Humanitarian
- Yemen
- Occupied Palestinian Territory
- Libya
- Myanmar
- Ukraine
- International Day of Older Persons
- Financial Contribution
LEBANON
You will have seen that, this morning, in a statement, the Secretary-General expressed his extreme concern with the escalation of the conflict in Lebanon.
He appeals for an immediate ceasefire. An all-out war must be avoided in Lebanon at all costs, he said, and the territorial integrity of Lebanon must be respected.
The Secretary-General spoke earlier this morning to Prime Minister Najib Mekati of Lebanon. He told the Prime Minister that the entire United Nations system in Lebanon was fully mobilized to assist all those in need in his country.
The Secretary-General’s representatives on the ground will continue their efforts to do everything possible to de-escalate the situation.
Also, we spoke just a short while ago to our colleagues at UNIFIL and they confirm that despite these dangerous developments, UN peacekeepers remain in position and are regularly adjusting their posture and activities in order to fulfill their mandate. We of course remain grateful to the mission’s civilian and military personnel, who continue to serve under such conditions, and also to our troop-contributing countries (TCC) for their continued commitment and support to UNIFIL.
The Department of Peace Operations and UNIFIL are closely engaged with troop contributing countries to update them on developments and contingency planning.
YEMEN
Turning to Yemen. I know you had asked us what the impact on Hodeidah was and I can tell you that the Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, Julien Harneis, traveled to Hodeidah today to assess the situation and our ongoing efforts to provide food and nutrition as needs increase, especially along Yemen’s west coast.
Our humanitarian partners also report that, after conducting an initial assessment, both ports remain operational and able to receive commercial and humanitarian supplies.
Power stations throughout Hodeidah city are, however, running at a very limited capacity. We are distributing fuel to health facilities to keep their generators going so they continue to provide health services to those who need it.
OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY
Moving back into Gaza, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports that Israeli bombardments are continuing from the air, land and sea, which has resulted in civilian casualties, displacement, and destruction of civilian infrastructure.
Meanwhile, ground operations continue to be reported – including in areas south of Gaza city, as well as Deir al Balah, Khan Younis and the Rafah area.
Our partners, working to provide food assistance, report that due to persistent supply shortages, more than 1.4 million people across Gaza had not received their monthly food rations as of late September. Despite the challenges, the World Food Programme did manage to reach some 363,000 people in Gaza in September, albeit with reduced rations.
Dwindling stocks are also making it increasingly difficult to keep bakeries and community kitchens going through the efforts of the World Food Programme.
As of the third week of September, our humanitarian partners reported that more than 150 kitchens were providing about 600,000 cooked meals to families across Gaza every day. However, this level of meal production is expected to decrease in October as supplies run low.
Additional supplies are urgently needed to ensure that aid organizations can support vulnerable households ahead of the rainy season and in the winter months. This coincides with a significant increase in the price of firewood, which is pushing more people into energy poverty – at a time when gas supplies are limited, and Gaza remains under an electricity blackout.
Meanwhile, our colleagues from the World Health Organization tell us that yesterday, eight patients – seven of them children – were evacuated from Gaza for specialized medical care in Romania and we thank Romani for taking these patients in.
Despite these small successes, health partners report that an estimated 12,000 patients have not been evacuated since the closure of Rafah last May and still need to be evacuated.
Turning to the West Bank, OCHA tells us that during operations in Tulkarm today, Israeli bulldozers damaged roads in Tulkarm city and its refugee camp, disrupting water and sewage networks and cutting off drinking water for more than 25,000 people.
OCHA is raising concerns over the use of force that exceeds law enforcement standards.
Highlights: un.org/sg/en/content/noon-briefing-highlight?date%5Bvalue%5D%5Bdate%5D=01%20October%202024
Noon briefing by Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.
Highlights:
- Lebanon
- Lebanon/Humanitarian
- Yemen
- Occupied Palestinian Territory
- Libya
- Myanmar
- Ukraine
- International Day of Older Persons
- Financial Contribution
LEBANON
You will have seen that, this morning, in a statement, the Secretary-General expressed his extreme concern with the escalation of the conflict in Lebanon.
He appeals for an immediate ceasefire. An all-out war must be avoided in Lebanon at all costs, he said, and the territorial integrity of Lebanon must be respected.
The Secretary-General spoke earlier this morning to Prime Minister Najib Mekati of Lebanon. He told the Prime Minister that the entire United Nations system in Lebanon was fully mobilized to assist all those in need in his country.
The Secretary-General’s representatives on the ground will continue their efforts to do everything possible to de-escalate the situation.
Also, we spoke just a short while ago to our colleagues at UNIFIL and they confirm that despite these dangerous developments, UN peacekeepers remain in position and are regularly adjusting their posture and activities in order to fulfill their mandate. We of course remain grateful to the mission’s civilian and military personnel, who continue to serve under such conditions, and also to our troop-contributing countries (TCC) for their continued commitment and support to UNIFIL.
The Department of Peace Operations and UNIFIL are closely engaged with troop contributing countries to update them on developments and contingency planning.
YEMEN
Turning to Yemen. I know you had asked us what the impact on Hodeidah was and I can tell you that the Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, Julien Harneis, traveled to Hodeidah today to assess the situation and our ongoing efforts to provide food and nutrition as needs increase, especially along Yemen’s west coast.
Our humanitarian partners also report that, after conducting an initial assessment, both ports remain operational and able to receive commercial and humanitarian supplies.
Power stations throughout Hodeidah city are, however, running at a very limited capacity. We are distributing fuel to health facilities to keep their generators going so they continue to provide health services to those who need it.
OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY
Moving back into Gaza, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports that Israeli bombardments are continuing from the air, land and sea, which has resulted in civilian casualties, displacement, and destruction of civilian infrastructure.
Meanwhile, ground operations continue to be reported – including in areas south of Gaza city, as well as Deir al Balah, Khan Younis and the Rafah area.
Our partners, working to provide food assistance, report that due to persistent supply shortages, more than 1.4 million people across Gaza had not received their monthly food rations as of late September. Despite the challenges, the World Food Programme did manage to reach some 363,000 people in Gaza in September, albeit with reduced rations.
Dwindling stocks are also making it increasingly difficult to keep bakeries and community kitchens going through the efforts of the World Food Programme.
As of the third week of September, our humanitarian partners reported that more than 150 kitchens were providing about 600,000 cooked meals to families across Gaza every day. However, this level of meal production is expected to decrease in October as supplies run low.
Additional supplies are urgently needed to ensure that aid organizations can support vulnerable households ahead of the rainy season and in the winter months. This coincides with a significant increase in the price of firewood, which is pushing more people into energy poverty – at a time when gas supplies are limited, and Gaza remains under an electricity blackout.
Meanwhile, our colleagues from the World Health Organization tell us that yesterday, eight patients – seven of them children – were evacuated from Gaza for specialized medical care in Romania and we thank Romani for taking these patients in.
Despite these small successes, health partners report that an estimated 12,000 patients have not been evacuated since the closure of Rafah last May and still need to be evacuated.
Turning to the West Bank, OCHA tells us that during operations in Tulkarm today, Israeli bulldozers damaged roads in Tulkarm city and its refugee camp, disrupting water and sewage networks and cutting off drinking water for more than 25,000 people.
OCHA is raising concerns over the use of force that exceeds law enforcement standards.
Highlights: un.org/sg/en/content/noon-briefing-highlight?date%5Bvalue%5D%5Bdate%5D=01%20October%202024
