Palestinians, Occupied Palestinian Territory, Gaza & other topics - Daily Press Briefing

Noon Briefing by Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.

Palestinians
Occupied Palestinian Territory
Gaza
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Sudan
South Sudan
Sweden
Aga Khan
Iraq
Senior Appointment
Financial Contribution
Guest

PALESTINIANS
This afternoon, the Secretary-General has a scheduled appearance at the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People. In his remarks, he will tell the committee, following the agreement that has been in effect, that we must keep pushing for a permanent ceasefire and the release of all hostages without delay. We cannot go back to more death and destruction.
In speaking to the broader situation, the Secretary-General will say that in the search for solutions we must not make the problems worse. It is vital to stay true to the bedrock of international law. It is essential to avoid any form of ethnic cleansing and, of course, he will reaffirm the two-state solution. And you can follow those remarks on UN WebTV starting at 3 p.m.

OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY
Our Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Tom Fletcher, is continuing his visit to Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory. On the political level, Mr. Fletcher held discussions over the past two days with Israeli authorities, including President Isaac Herzog, as well as officials from the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Mr. Fletcher described these engagements as practical, emphasizing the need to build on the progress since the ceasefire and sustain the large-scale delivery of UN aid into Gaza. On the ground, Mr. Fletcher visited today different areas of the West Bank.
In East Jerusalem, he visited Silwan neighbourhood where he met with residents facing home demolitions and the threat of forcible eviction by Israeli authorities.
Mr. Fletcher also toured what is known as Area C of the Ramallah governorate, where he heard and saw the humanitarian impact of access restrictions on the livelihoods of Palestinian and their daily lives. These restrictions include Israeli checkpoints and of course the 712-kilometre-long barrier.
And just a short while ago in Ramallah, Mr. Fletcher held discussions with national Palestinian NGOs, who are at the heart of humanitarian response efforts across the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

GAZA
In Gaza, our humanitarian colleagues report that our aid operations – together with our partners - continue to scale up across the Gaza Strip. We are also carrying out assessments to determine the needs of impacted and displaced families, particularly the most vulnerable.
Across Gaza, 22 bakeries supported by the World Food Programme are now operational. And our health partners continue to provide health services as well. We and our partners estimate that more than half a million displaced Palestinians have now returned to the governorates of both Gaza and North Gaza, where there is an urgent need for tents and shelter materials. Our partners say they’ve transported 22 truckloads of tents from southern to northern Gaza yesterday to address these needs but we need to get more tents in.
For its part, UNICEF continues to distribute nutrition support for infants. Across Gaza, the World Food Programme has provided lipid-based nutrient supplements to more than 80,000 children and pregnant or breastfeeding women since the ceasefire took effect. Humanitarian partners have screened more than 30,000 children under the age of five for malnutrition since the ceasefire took effect. Of those children under five screened, over 1,000 cases of acute malnutrition have been identified, including 230 cases of severe acute malnutrition.
And to sustain learning activities across the Gaza Strip, education partners established three new temporary learning spaces yesterday in Gaza, Rafah, and Khan Younis governorates, benefiting some 200 children.

Full Highlights: https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/noon...