Middle East

Making Gaza safe again from unexploded bombs could take 14 years, UN demining experts said on Friday. 

Bassem Al-Habal carried a large bag of flour provided by the UN agency for Palestine refugees, UNRWA, inside one of the shelters in the city of Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, part of his daily journey to find food and water for his family while overcoming displacement, bombardment and the challenges of being deaf and mute in a war zone.

Unexpected blistering temperatures across Gaza have added to the daily misery faced by the enclave’s people and sparked new fears of disease outbreaks amid a lack of sufficient clean water and waste disposal, UN humanitarians said on Thursday.

The war in Gaza continues to cast a dark shadow over the wider Middle East region, in particular Syria where a series of strikes and attacks are exacerbating an already dire humanitarian situation, the UN Special Envoy for the country said on Thursday.

The UN agency that assists Palestine refugees, UNRWA, launched a $1.2 billion appeal on Wednesday to address the unprecedented humanitarian crisis in the besieged Gaza Strip and to respond to needs in the West Bank as violence there increases. 

A new mechanism for getting lifesaving aid into Gaza will start in the coming days, UN Senior Humanitarian and Reconstruction Coordinator Sigrid Kaag announced in a briefing to the Security Council on Wednesday.

Disturbing reports continue to emerge about mass graves in Gaza in which Palestinian victims were reportedly found stripped naked with their hands tied, prompting renewed concerns about possible war crimes amid ongoing Israeli airstrikes, the UN human rights office, OHCHR, said on Tuesday.

Book by book and page by page, Türkiye’s booklovers are bringing life back to cities ravaged by the deadly 2023 earthquakes through the power of reading, with help from cash grants from the UN International Organization for Migration (IOM). 

The head of the UN agency that assists Palestine refugees, UNRWA, on Tuesday reiterated that he welcomed the recommendations of a much-awaited report on its efforts to ensure neutrality and to respond to allegations of serious breaches when they arise. 

UN chief António Guterres issued an appeal on Monday to “actively support” the UN agency for Palestinians, UNRWA, adding that he accepted the final findings of an independent probe into the organisation, launched amid serious unconfirmed allegations of UNRWA collusion with Hamas fighters and as part of efforts to assess whether the agency was doing everything within its power to ensure neutrality.

An independent panel released its much-awaited report on Monday about the UN relief agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA), providing 50 recommendations and noting that Israeli authorities have yet to provide proof of their claims that UN staff are involved with terrorist organisations.

Following reports of alleged Israeli strikes inside Iran near a nuclear power station early Friday, the UN Secretary-General António Guterres issued a new appeal to all parties to “stop the dangerous cycle of retaliation in the Middle East”.

What will it take for Palestine to become a full UN Member State? As the Security Council takes up the matter while the devastating war in Gaza enters its seventh month, we looked at Palestine’s current status and what it takes to become a UN Member State.

UN independent human rights experts on Thursday raised alarm over the “systematic destruction” of the Palestinian education system in the Gaza Strip as Israel’s military operation continues unabated.

The Security Council rejected Palestine’s request for UN membership on Thursday, with the United States casting a veto.