UN80, Gaza, Occupied Palestinian Territory & other topics - Daily Press Briefing

Enough collabors. In a short while we'll be joined by two guests from the World Food Program, Jean Martin Bauer, who you all know well, who is WFP's director of food Security Nutrition Analysis. He will provide an overview of WFP's report entitled A Lifeline at Risk, which is self explanatory and also with him will be Ross Smith, WFP's Director of Emergency Preparedness and Response, who will focus on the six countries that are at most critical risk this year due to lack of cash. Both of the guests will be joining us virtually. Then at 1:30pm There'll be a briefing here by Dr. Alice Jill Edwards, Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment or punishment this morning the Secretary General briefed the General assembly on the progress of the three work streams in his UN80 initiative.

Taken together, he told members States, the measures of the three work streams will produce a much more coherent and impactful and cost effective UN system as a whole. The Secretary General focused on the third work stream on structure changes, which was detailed in his recent report Shifting the Paradigm United to Deliver. He said that his vision of the UN system is clear entities that work together as one delivery better overcoming fragmentation, eliminating duplication, improving funding models and maximizing synergies regarding peace and security work. He said he proposes to consolidate and reconfigure teams at headquarters as well as special political missions in Yemen, Cyprus and Central Africa to eliminate duplication, increase coherence and in support of UN Member States. He warned that humanitarian action is on the brink of collapse.

To respond to challenges, he said that we've established a new UN Humanitarian Compact between UN humanitarian agencies which is a six point blueprint to deliver better, restore trust in multilateral action and maximize the impact of every dollar that is given to us. He said that we will cut coordination, bureaucracy and integrate the supply chain of the principal humanitarian agencies proposed to scale up the use of common services, strengthen our joint capacity to leverage data and align responsibilities to reduce programmatic overlaps in the field of food mobility, beneficiary data, health and nutrition. On development, Mr. Guterres said, we propose to conduct a thorough assessment of the potential benefits of a merger between UNDP and UNOPS UN Office for Project Services to create a stronger engine for sustainability, sustainable development with greater reach and scale. Similarly, we will conduct a thorough assessment on the benefits of merger of UNFPA and UN women and their respective mandates and capacities. Those remarks were shared with you and that meeting is going on now and then we'll continue in the afternoon with an interactive discussion between the Secretary General and member states on Gaza today.

I first want to flag a statement made by Tom Fletcher, our emergency relief coordinator, who said that earlier this week we were able to kick off our humanitarian scale up after months of frustration and blockages. But yesterday we faced further setbacks to that implementation, adding that we are now tested to see whether we can ensure that these do not prevent the progress on which President Trump, our Secretary General, and so many leaders have insisted, as Hamas have agreed, they must make strenuous efforts to return the bodies of all deceased hostages. We are of course gravely concerned by the evidence of violence against civilians that we've in Gaza, that we've witnessed since the ceasefire took effect. As Israel agreed, Mr. Fletcher added, they must now allow the massive surge of humanitarian aid, thousands of trucks a week on which so many lives depend and on which the world has insisted. We need more crossings to open and a genuine, practical, problem solving approach to removing the remaining roadblocks, be they physical or bureaucratic.

Throughout this crisis, he said, we've insisted that the withholding of aid from civilians can never be a bargaining chip and just to focus more on opt itself on more granularity of what's going on in Gaza. UNICEF said they are trucking water and supporting wells and desalination to reach 1.5 million people in Gaza, noting that the needs remain immense as our partners are also supporting the production of delivery in hundreds of thousands of meals and bread bundles every day.

Just to say that yesterday I was asked about the situation at the crossings and I can tell you that on the Israeli side of the Karim Shalom crossing and the Kisufim crossings were closed for us on Monday, with priority given to the exchange of Israeli hostages and Palestinian detainees, which meant that no cargo could be offloaded and only limited supplies could be collected. Yesterday, both crossings remain closed. Excuse me, Our teams were unable to collect cargo from those crossings inside Gaza to support health, water, hygiene, sanitation and food operations. We hope to have an update on what happened actually today, but I don't have that as of yet. Our teams are required, though, I can tell you, to coordinate their movements inside Gaza with Israeli authorities in fewer areas compared to the previous weeks.

Yesterday, all seven such humanitarian missions were facilitated with only one impeded on the ground, although that mission was nevertheless accomplished. Throughout those coordinated movements, teams collected supplies from crossings, as we said, and advanced the clearance of the road to Sikhim crossing in the north. In anticipation of that opening, A quick note from the office Sorry, turning to Yemen Just a quick note from the office of the special envoy, Mr. Hans Gruenberg, who concluded today a visit to Riyadh. There we met with both. He met both the Saudi and Emiratis ambassadors to Yemen, as well as ambassadors of the five permanent members of the Security Council and other members of the international diplomatic community.

During all his meetings, the special envoy discussed the continued detention of by Ansarala of our colleagues as well as those from diplomatic missions and NGO personnel. He stressed that such actions obstruct humanitarian operations and hinder peace efforts. And just a reminder that 53 of our colleagues continue to be detained arbitrarily by the Houthis. Mr. Gunberg also noted that recently brokered ceasefire in Gaza opens a window of opportunity, opportunity to reinforce regional stability. Just to note that Jean Pierre Lacroix, head of Peace operations, is visiting South Sudan in Abye from today until the 17th of October.

While in South Sudan, he will meet with senior government officials, leadership from the peacekeeping mission and staff, as well as members of the UN country team and civil society. Discussions are expected to focus on the implementation of the peace process and the role of the mission in supporting national priorities for peace and stability. He will also discuss the impact of the liquidity situation on miss Operations and the consequent impact on mandate implementation during his time in the region. Mr. Lacroix plans to travel to Abye to visit the interim security force in Abye, otherwise known as unisfa, and meet with peacekeepers and mission leaders leadership there. Turning north to Sudan and the deteriorating situation in that country where civilians continue to bear the brunt of the fighting, our colleagues at the Office of the Coordination of Humanitarian affairs warn of a worrying escalation of violence against civilians in Al Fasher, the besieged capital of North Darfur.

Al Fasher is now effectively under siege from all directions. And that's why what local sources are telling us the city's remaining residents are facing critical shortages of food and water. Markets are largely empty and prices of the few goods still available have skyrocketed. Humanitarian access remains extremely limited as earthen barriers around the city are preventing movements of both people and supplies. To make matters worse, earlier this year local responders in Al Fashr also reported the closing closure of additional community kitchens to which had been serving as a last line of support for many families.

Meanwhile, in other parts of Sudan, insecurity continues to displace families. In Blue Nile State, for instance, nearly 200 people fled their homes in the locality of Tademon on October 11th as fighting spread across the area. The Situation remains tense and remains fluid, with humanitarian partners closely monitoring conditions on the ground. At the same time, cholera crisis continues to claim lives. Since July of last year, the Ministry of Health has reported more than 3,400 deaths and nearly 122,000 suspected cases of this waterborne disease.

Infection rates of cholera are rising across all states. In the Darfur region, where cholera is spreading rapidly among communities already devastated by the conflict, by hunger and by collapsing health services, the fatality is well above the emergency threshold and funding for the response is running out. We once again urge all parties to the conflict to uphold their obligations under international humanitarian law, protect civilians, and allow safe, sustained and unimpeded humanitarian access to all those in need. We call on donors and the wider international community to urgently step up the support for the people of Sudan. And ocha says the $4.2 billion humanitarian appeal for this year in Sudan is less than 27% funded, $1.1 billion received.

And turning to Mozambique, our OCHA colleague tell us that in the north of that country, people continue to face a sharp rise in escalation in violence, with new waves of displacement in the provinces of Cabo Delgado and Nampula. According to our humanitarian colleagues, the number of incidents involving civilians has nearly doubled between this year and last year, with 633 incidents recorded so far since the beginning of January. Our humanitarian colleagues say that the sharp rise in kidnappings, in killings and in improvised explosive device explosions since the start of this year has put 2025 on track to surpass the previous year the number of incidents of violent attacks. This surge has also triggered new displacement. According to our partners, between 22nd September and yesterday, more than 90,000 people have been displaced across Cabo Delgado Province and some parts of Nempula Province.

Our humanitarian colleagues tell us that civilians have reported abductions, killings and widespread destruction of property across several districts. Earlier this month, armed groups looted food and other relief items and burnt more than 45 homes and a school, a health facility and shops in Nampula Province. Civilians were also reportedly abducted and killed during these attacks. We, along with our humanitarian partners, continue to support the response despite the challenges and limited funding. WFP provided food to newly displaced people and UNICEF provided therapeutic food to support hundreds of children experiencing severe acute malnutrition.

This renewed surge in conflict following months of intensified insecurity and three major cyclones earlier this year, has further stretched the humanitarian capacity. The $352 million humanitarian appeal for Needs and Response plan for Mozambique is Only just over 21% funded with only $75 million in cash received so far.

Also just turning to Ukraine, our humanitarian colleagues there tell us that hostilities are continuing to impact civilians and civilian infrastructure, including health facilities across Ukraine. On 13 October, a hospital in the city of Kharkiv was heavily damaged, it injuring seven patients and prompting an emergency evacuation. According to the World Health organization, more than 50 experienced acute stress reactions as the. Excuse me. More than 50 people experienced acute stress reactions as the hospital roof was destroyed, windows shattered and medical equipment damaged.

Nearly 100 patients had to be relocated to safer facilities. Our UN human rights monitoring mission in Ukraine, which visited the site, reported about 120 patients and 10 medical staff were present when a glide bomb struck. Our humanitarian partners quickly mobilized to assist, evacuating patients, offering support and distributing hot meals. Our humanitarian colleagues also note the conflict has had a devastating impact on the whole of Ukraine's health system. The country accounts for nearly half of all verified attacks on health care worldwide.

This year, who has verified 448 attacks on health care in Ukraine in 2025 out of 1070 globally. Meanwhile, intensifying Hostilities Authority Excuse me. Amid intensifying hostilities, authorities announced a mandatory evacuation of families with children from 40 settlements in the Kupyansk area of Kharkiv, where more than 600 children are expected to be relocated. Humanitarian organizations are supporting evacuation efforts, ensuring safe transport and providing aid at collective and collective sites. We, along with our partners, also continuing to support the response across the country.

From January to August of this year, our partners provided water, sanitation, heating for up to 3.2 million people. This included repairs to water systems serving 1.3 million people and emergency water for 800,000. Our humanitarian colleagues note that access to safe water remains critical in Ukraine as damaged systems threaten both drinking water and access to heating. And ahead of winter, turning to Haiti not far from these shores and also a grim situation there, the International Organization for Migration said the number of people displaced by violence and instability in Haiti has reached an unprecedented level, with more than 1.4 million people forced from their homes this year. The IOM's latest displacement tracking matrix says that this marks the highest figure ever recorded in Haiti and represents a 36% increase since the end of 2024.

The report shows that the crisis is spreading well beyond Port au Prince. IOM pointed out that 64% of new displacements have occurred outside of the capital city, particularly in the center and Arteboni departments, continuing a trend observed in previous assessment. IOM warns that the existing displacement sites are overcrowded and experience Shortage of these basic services and spontaneous displacement sites have gradually increased from 142 in December to 238 today. In response to this complex and rapidly evolving crisis, IOM has expanded its operations beyond the metropolitan area, strengthening its presence in provincial areas impacted by these displacements. Just want to flag a World Meteorological report today that shows that carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere soared by a record number to new highs in 2024, committing the planet to more long term temperature increase.

WMO Greenhouse Gas Bulletin says the continued emission of CO2 from human activities and an upsurge from wildfires were responsible as well as reduced CO2 absorption by sinks such as land ecosystems and the ocean. According to the report, concentration of methane and nitrous oxide, which are the second and third most important long lived greenhouse gases related to human activities have also risen to record levels. WMO's Deputy Secretary General Kobaret warned that the heat trapped by CO2 and other greenhouse gases is turbocharging our climate and leading to more extreme weather. He stressed that reducing emissions is therefore essential not just for our climate, but also for economic security and community well being. Lastly, today is the International Day of Rural Women.

On this day we celebrate the women and girls who feed communities, protect the environment, drive sustainable development. Advancing their rights and empowerment is not just justice, it is investing in a stronger and better future. On that note, I shall take your questions. Edie, then somebody else. Thank you.

Thank you, Steph.

Tom Fletcher said yesterday we faced further setbacks. And you talked about the difficulties at Kerem Shalom. Were there any other specific difficulties and set backs that happened yesterday?

Well, as I said, we were challenged in picking up things from the, from the crossings yesterday. I think we are in, I would say, increased discussions with Kogat and look forward on just having a system that allows for more aid to flow through more crossings.

I think we're still, everyone is still trying to adapt to the new realities on the ground, which I'd say the new positive realities, given that we have a ceasefire and we just hope that things can move forward at a better pace.

And was the UN given any reason for the closures yesterday? Was it Hamas, failure to return a significant number of bodies?

Well, I think as I said, part of it was that some of the crossings were used during the transfer of remains. Obviously there was the issue that was reported of the Israelis cutting down the number of aids.

So there's still challenges, there's still, let's be honest, quite a bit of confusion. But I think we, and we hope all the parties are Working together in the same spirit.

And a follow up on another item that you mentioned. You talked about what's happening in Cabo Delgado and Madagascar. Does the Secretary General have any reaction to the military coup that took place yesterday?

Yes, we're. We are. We're very concerned about what we've seen as the unconstitutional change of power in Madagascar. He calls on all the stakeholders in Madagascar to work together to reach a peaceful settlement to the ongoing crisis and its root causes. He reiterates the readiness of the UN to continue to collaborate with Madagascar, the African Union, the Southern Africa Development Community, for the restoration of peace and stability in the country.

I'll go to Michelle because I was so rude to you earlier.

Thank you, Stefan. Just follow up on Gaza. When it comes to the area inside the yellow line controlled by Hamas, what is the UN involvement with Hamas? Has Hamas kind of asserted control over this area?

Are they requiring the UN to. To coordinate with them on what you're doing? What's the situation?

Look, as anywhere in the world, we have to work with the de facto authorities, which we do. There, obviously, things are simpler because, as mentioned, we do not have to do the security coordination with the Israeli security authorities.

So our movements are much more free. Though obviously the physical challenges remain, given the state of the roads, the rubble and. And so forth. So what coordination is required? I don't think.

There's not. There's nowhere. I'm not. I'm not aware of any real coordination that is. That is needed with the de facto authorities on that.

Gabriel, then, Deji and Abdel Hamid.

Thank you, Steph.

Oh, and Amelie, did you have a. Oh, she asked. Okay, sorry, go ahead. That's right.

Thank you, Steph. A U.S. official in Washington tells Al Jazeera that despite threats by Israel to lower the number of trucks going into Gaza, that more than 600 got in today. You cannot confirm that. I don't. We just.

Those numbers have just not percolated up to us in New York at this point.

Okay, thank you. And as you know, the. The ceasefire agreement calls for the establishment of an international stabilization force. I know you've been asked about this.

We're very early on in the process. However, there are many member states that want the Security Council to legitimize this force. Was. Was the Secretary General able to get any clarity. Clarity on that when he was in charge?

Well, I mean, we've. We've seen the reports of a push by a number of member states to do exactly what you said. It is clear that any decision by the Security Council is up to member states themselves. It is also clear at the same time that any unified voice and mandate or endorsement, whatever word you want to use by the Security Council on such a force would vastly increase its legitimacy. Craig, one more.

Why should you be different than anyone else? Gabriel, as you know, tomorrow is World Food Day. A General assembly mandated a day of observance. A group of UN employees that work in this building, most of them work in this building. A United Staff for Gaza wanted to hold a small commemoration for this day tomorrow in the Garden, the North Garden area.

They were told by the UN they're not allowed to. General, what does a Secretary General feel about that decision?

The Secretary General appreciates the sentiments. I think that a lot of UN staff about what is happening in Gaza. UN staff are international civil servants.

They have to observe a number of staff rules in their. When they work for the union. And I think our focus is on doing whatever we can in our jobs for the people of Gaza. And we'll continue to do that. Deji, then Abdul Hamid and Linda, first.

Few very quick follow up. As I understand, there's no very pretty much significant surge of humanitarian aids inside Gaza so far. Is that correct? There is more humanitarian, but there's no significant surge?

You know, I think we're arguing over words.

There's more aid. More aid is coming in. We're trying to get even more aid in. I mean, I mean the, but Obviously the last two, the last 24 hours, 36 have been, have been challenging. I think I'll go back to my answer to, to edi.

We're all trying to live with this new situation and we're trying to find ways to severely increase the aid that goes in through more crossings with more volume.

Two things. First, there's a report that Israel might agree to open Rafah border crossing. Is that what's happening now?

I have no information about UN trucks going through Rafah today.

Okay. I can only speak about today. I think it's very. It's unwise to predict what will happen tomorrow. But we would of course would like to see Rafah and other crossings open.

So far, 300 trucks. Is that still the limitation?

Again, I understand your need for facts. I think there is still a lot of uncertainty out there. As I said, I hope as the days go by, we will be able to have a better stream of information and of facts that can come up here from the region.

One last thing. You are in Egypt. You were in Egypt.

People now talking about the second phase of this ceasefire deal, the disarmament of Hamas? What is the sentiment in Shamashayikh in Egypt about the disarm of Hamas and what's the position from the un?

Look, I'm not a, I was not in Egypt as a reporter, so I'm not going to talk to you about what the sentiment was in the room. There was an agreement that the parties agreed to. It is important that the parties live up to that agreement.

Abdel Hamid.

Thank you, Stephane. I have also three questions. First, we start with the Secretary General visit to Egypt. If you can tell us a little bit more details. Whom he met, how did he talk, what is his impression about the seriousness of the parties and the visit to Gaza occur to him while he was there?

Yes, of course. I mean, listen, a visit to Gaza has occurred to him since the beginning of this conflict. As you know, he had been, he'd been to Gaza, I think 2017. We went in the fall of 2017.

So he's been there and of course he would like to go the first available opportunity.

You know, the parties were not, I mean President Abbas was in charm, but there was no Israeli representation, there was no Hamas representation. I think there is what he came out of it was a seriousness of the international community to ensure that this moves forward in a positive manner.

My second question about shooting. I mean Israel shot and killed three Palestinians today in Shujair neighborhood of Gaza. And yesterday or the day before, they killed five. So in fact, as some reports came from Gaza, there is no real we had percent ceasefire. Israel is still shooting and killing Palestinians. Are you aware of?

We've seen the reports from our human rights colleagues.

No one, I think, least of all us, have said that, you know, the situation is rosy. There are still Israeli troops in Gaza. We've also seen some actions by the de facto authorities against other Palestinian civilians, which we're very concerned about. These are the first days of a ceasefire after a brutal, brutal two year conflict.

Last two Moroccans from the Samud flotilla still held by Israel, one called Aziz Ghali and the other called Abdel Adim bin Abdul Rawi. They're still held arrested in Israel. Many of those who participated in the flotilla had been let go. Except those two.

I haven't seen those reports. I do hope, if they are correct, that everybody who is involved will be able to go home.

Linda, apropos these questions, your microphone a little closer. Thank you.

Excuse me. You mentioned that human rights organizations are monitoring what's going on in Gaza. Are they also monitoring now that Hamas is in charge of, you know, certain part of It.

Are they monitoring the.

I mean our human rights colleague will continue to report on the human rights situation in Gaza.

I'm going to get to you in a second. Yes, go ahead, Nemo.

Okay. And then I can.

Thank you.

Steph. I have two questions. The first one on climate change. I don't know if you have seen that editorial in the Wall Street Journal yesterday. It's basically lambasting the United nations for levying the ultimate in taxation without representation on everyone around the world.

A climate. Global climate tax. That's what it says. And this has gone viral on social media with the US officials retweeting it. What is this global climate tax exactly?

Look, any decisions on levies would be taken have to be taken by Member states. It is not up to the Secretary General as the UN to impose, to impose a tax. What is clear is that we will need sustained financing to deal with climate mitigation and with the impact of climate, especially in the world's poorest countries. My second question. Sorry.

It's been on Turkey. It's been a few months since the PKK decided to or responded to a call from its jail leader to lay down its weapons. But no real progress has happened since then and the PKK is yet to disarm. I'm just wondering if the Secretary General has been in touch with Turkish officials to encourage them to put an end to this decades long conflict.

I don't have an update for you on that.

We will try to get something you. Yes sir.

Thank you so much. My name is Prosper Harry. I'm a reporter from Goma, Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and I'm Doug Hammock's Jolt fellow. I want to know. Peace initiatives are underway to defuse the security and humanitarian crisis in eastern drc. But violence continues in the Eastern Congo and rebels are taking large swathes in the eastern of drc. More recently they have taken a decision to ban all visas issued by Kinshasa in areas that they occupy. Meaning they have said that all visas that are issued by Kinshasa are invalid in their zones, especially in Eastern drc.

How will UN agency, especially humanitarian ones will deal with this situation? Have you any worry when Anthony Three Balls said that all visas that will be issued by Kinshasa are invalid? Thank you.

Thank you and welcome.

I can tell you that obviously we continue to be concerned by the M23 presence in parts of the eastern DRC. Our humanitarian colleagues and our peacekeeping colleagues deal with the M23 as de facto authorities. Like I mentioned about other parts of the World, we very much hope that the UN will be able to do its work, especially its humanitarian work, wherever it needs to and however it needs to.

Alex.

Thanks, Steph. Firstly, do you have anything to share on this ceasefire agreement between Pakistan and Afghanistan?

I had not seen that report, but I will get back to you on that.

You're one leg on top of me. Sure.

May I have one more?

All right.

The President of Syria said no. Maybe the President of Syria is in Moscow. Got any comments on that?

Look, I think Mr. Alshar's presence in Moscow is an important one. It is important that I think Syria stabilize its relations not only with its neighbors, but with all countries that have had relations with and influence in Syria. Yes, sir.

Thank you. Steph. Israel said yesterday that one of the bodies Hamas handed over to Israel was not that of a hostage. And Israel halted the opening of Rafah Crossing. So does the United nations consider that a violation of the ceasefire?

Look, we are not. We are not an official monitor of the ceasefire. So it's not for us to say what is a violation, what is not a violation. My understanding is that this was, at least from media reports, that this was done in error. And we very much hope that the deceased, the bodies of the remains of deceased hostages, Israeli deceased hostages and other nationalities will be returned as quickly as possible in the most dignified manner.

Thank you, Steve. And a second question, please.

Yeah, please.

Is Hamas still active in Gaza? And is Hamas involved in the disputing of the aid?

UN aid is distributed by the UN or trusted partners that we've worked with. Farnoosh,

I just wanted to ask, since. The start of the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas and the plea that you. And Tom Fletcher have made for member states to. To give more money to this effort.

Has there been any donations from members?

I will check. On the donation side, we have seen that there is more aid going in, you know, from Turkey, from Jordan, from Egypt that doesn't go through the UN system. And as we've always said, there's more than enough work for everybody. And we welcome the.

The bilateral aid that is also being distributed as well as private sector activities outside of the UN system. Okay, Any iftikar? And then we'll go to our guest.

My question has been asked. Thank you very much.

Okay, we'll go to our guests. I'm told that Mr. Ross from WFP will also take questions on Gaza and the logistics as well.