What's New

The United Nations General Assembly is moving towards a potential vote on the Israel-Palestine crisis as an emergency session continues on Friday amid deadlock in the Security Council and with conditions in the besieged enclave of Gaza growing increasingly dire. 

10:06 AM

Delegates are gathering in the gilded General Assembly Hall for a long day ahead.

The UN Secretary-General on Wednesday firmly rebuked what he described as the “false” claim by top Israeli diplomats that he had sought to justify the terror attacks of 7 October by Hamas in a speech he delivered to the Security Council. 

The UN Security Council met on Tuesday at UN Headquarters in New York for a scheduled quarterly open debate on the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine, now given greater urgency by the Hamas attacks of 7 October and the deepening humanitarian crisis as the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip continues. The UN chief said the situation "is growing more dire by the hour"

Tuesday’s annual observance marking the official creation of the United Nations was overshadowed by the rising toll of suffering and sacrifice in Gaza, where 35 staff members with Palestine refugee agency UNRWA have now lost their lives.

UN Day on 24 October marks the anniversary of the entry into force in 1945 of the UN Charter – the day the Organization officially came into being.  

The number of people killed in Gaza has exceeded 5,000 according to latest reports from de facto authorities there, amid intensifying Israeli airstrikes in response to Hamas attacks, while humanitarians repeated urgent calls for a ceasefire and more aid convoys.

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.

More aid arrived in Gaza on Sunday aboard 14 trucks that passed through the Rafah crossing with Egypt, the UN Humanitarian Affairs Coordinator said in a post on social media.

In a statement published on X, formerly Twitter, Martin Griffiths described the supplies provided by the Egyptian Red Cross and the UN as “another glimmer of hope for the millions of people in dire need of humanitarian aid”, adding “but they need more, much more."

No details were provided about what was on the trucks.

UN humanitarians said on Friday that an agreement to unlock aid deliveries across the border to Gaza was near, as UN chief António Guterres arrived at the Rafah crossing saying aid must move as quickly as possible.

In a passionate speech standing on the Egyptian side of the wall, he pointed behind him and spoke of the two million trapped without sufficient supplies now for nearly two weeks.

The United States on Wednesday vetoed a UN Security Council resolution that would have called for “humanitarian pauses” to deliver lifesaving aid to millions in Gaza. The failure by the Council to make its first public intervention on the Israel-Gaza crisis followed the rejection of a Russian-backed draft on Monday evening.

While 12 of the Council’s 15 members voted in favour of the Brazilian-led text, one (United States) voted against, and two (Russia, and the United Kingdom) abstained.

UN Middle East envoy Tor Wennesland on Wednesday highlighted the need for an inquiry into the strike against a Gaza hospital that killed hundreds, including patients, staff and displaced people seeking shelter. 

Mr. Wennesland told the Security Council that he “watched in horror and in real time” as reports of mass casualties emerged from Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza City on Tuesday.

UN chief António Guterres called on Wednesday for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in the Middle East to ease the “epic human suffering” in the Israel-Gaza conflict. The head of the UN health agency (WHO) said he welcomed the reported agreement between the US and Israel, which would allow food, water and medical aid into the battered enclave via the Egyptian border.