What's New

A senior UN official on Tuesday urged the Security Council to work to avert further escalation in the Middle East following the deadly airstrike on the Iranian consulate in Syria’s capital, Damascus. 

Briefing ambassadors a day after the attack, Assistant-Secretary-General Khaled Khiari stressed the need for restraint.  

“We appeal to the Council today, as we do every month, to continue to actively engage all concerned parties to prevent further escalation and the worsening of tensions that undermine regional peace and security,” he said. 

The killing of seven aid workers from the NGO World Central Kitchen in Israeli military airstrikes in central Gaza has been strongly condemned by senior UN humanitarian officials who on Tuesday reiterated repeated concerns that "there is no safe space left in Gaza".
 

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Thursday issued new provisional measures for Israel as the humanitarian situation in bombarded and besieged Gaza continues to deteriorate.

One in three migrant deaths happens while people flee conflict, the UN migration agency, IOM, said on Tuesday. More than two in three migrants whose deaths have been documented remain unidentified. 

Last year was the deadliest on record, with 8,541 migrant victims. Nearly 60 per cent of deaths were linked to drowning. 

The UN Security Council on Monday passed a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire for the month of Ramadan, the immediate and unconditional release of hostages and "the urgent need to expand the flow" of aid into Gaza. There were 14 votes in favour with the United States abstaining.

With “starvation bearing down” on Gaza, UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Monday repeated his call for a sustainable end to the conflict and the release of all remaining hostages – amid “unprecedented and ongoing devastation” in the occupied enclave.

“The need is urgent,” Mr. Guterres said in Amman, alongside Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safady, as he pledged to keep pushing “for the removal of all obstacles to life-saving aid, for more access and more entry points” into Gaza.

The United Nations announced today the launch of its social media campaign in Lebanon­ - ­­­­­­­­­#All4Lebanon - aimed at informing the public about the support the UN and its partners are extending to the people of Lebanon across different sectors.

The UN General Assembly on Thursday adopted a landmark resolution on the promotion of “safe, secure and trustworthy” artificial intelligence (AI) systems that will also benefit sustainable development for all.

Adopting a United States-led draft resolution without a vote, the Assembly also highlighted the respect, protection and promotion of human rights in the design, development, deployment and the use of AI.

The Government of the Republic of Korea in Lebanon and the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) have signed an agreement to provide emergency support to the Zahle Civil Defense Centre. The event was held at the Civil Defense in Zahle in the presence of the Korean Ambassador to Lebanon, Mr. Il Park, and Head of UN-Habitat Lebanon Country Programme, Ms. Taina Christiansen.

Amid reports that the Israeli military stormed Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City on Monday in search of Hamas fighters, UN humanitarians warned that new food insecurity data indicates that famine could happen “anytime”.