Iran, Palestine, Ukraine & other topics - Daily Press Briefing (20 May 2024)

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

Highlights:
-Iran
-Occupied Palestinian Territory
-Senior Personnel Appointment
-Trip Announcement
-USG/Qatar
-Ukraine
-Security Council
-Myanmar
-Abyei
-New Resident Coordinator
-World Bee Day
-Guest - Tomorrow

IRAN
The Secretary-General is saddened by the death of H.E. Mr. Sayyed Ebrahim Raisi, President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, H.E. Mr. Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, Minister for Foreign Affairs, and their colleagues in a helicopter accident on 19 May.
The Secretary-General expresses his sincere condolences to the families of the deceased and to the Government and people of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY
Turning to the situation in Gaza, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs say that Israeli bombardment continues to be reported across much of Gaza, as well as ground incursions and heavy fighting, especially in eastern Rafah in the south and Jabaliya in the north.
More than 900,000 people – about 40 per cent of Gaza’s population – have been displaced over the past two weeks – including some 812,000 people from Rafah and more than 100,000 others in northern Gaza.
To date, more than 75 per cent of the Gaza Strip – some 285 square kilometres – is under evacuation orders, amid escalating hostilities. Under international humanitarian law, civilians – whether they move or stay – must be protected. Wherever they are in Gaza, their essential needs, including food, shelter, water and health, must be met.
As the large-scale displacement of civilians in Gaza continues, hundreds of thousands of people are experiencing extremely poor living conditions.
UN humanitarian partners - working to provide shelter to people in Gaza - report that there are no tents and very few shelter items left for distribution.
OCHA says people displaced from Rafah are seeking shelter in Khan Younis and Deir al Balah on any open land available, including access roads and agricultural land, and damaged buildings that have not been structurally assessed.
Meanwhile, the UN has been working to provide water, sanitation and hygiene support in Gaza say that there are shortages of hygiene kits and water containers for households to collect and store water. This is especially critical given ongoing displacement.
As more people move to areas lacking basic necessities such as water and food, the UN’s partners trying to maintain health care in Gaza are bracing for a further surge in communicable diseases and malnutrition.
The escalating fighting in Rafah and in northern Gaza has severely disrupted nutrition services, according to the UN teams working on that part of the response.
In Rafah, the World Food Programme’s partners have lost access to more than 100 distribution points for malnutrition prevention activities.

Full Highlights:
https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/noon-briefing-highlight?date%5Bvalue%5D%5Bdate%5D=20%20May%202024