U.N. officials met with key players in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on Sunday, shortly after U.N. agencies reported that hundreds of people had been killed and thousands injured following a new exchange of blows between Palestinians and Israelis in a conflict that has raged since 1948.
These attacks were compounded by further artillery battles on the border between Israel and Lebanon, UN peacekeepers stationed in the region confirmed.
Shortly after the meetings of UN officials with the parties and the various attacks The 15 members of the Security Council met behind closed doors in New York to investigate the current crisis.
The latest escalation of violence occurred in the early hours of Saturday with the firing of rockets into Israel by Palestinian militants and the immediate Israeli response with airstrikes on the Gaza Strip.
The UN relief agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, which operates in the Gaza Strip, announced after the attacks that it is currently hosting 73,538 internally displaced people in 64 of its schools in all areas of the Gaza Strip. One of these schools, which housed 225 people, was “directly hit” by the bombings, but although it was badly damaged, no casualties were reported.
As of last August, the number of victims in demonstrations, clashes, military operations, attacks and other incidents this year reached more than 200 Palestinian deaths and almost 30 Israelis, already exceeding the death toll of the previous year made 2023 the deadliest year of conflict since 2005.
Border between Israel and Lebanon
Early Sunday, the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) “detected the launch of several rockets fired from southeast Lebanon into Israeli-occupied territory in the Kafr Chouba area and subsequently recorded artillery fire from Israel into Lebanon in response .”
The mission, which operates along an area known as the Blue Line, was established in 1978 on behalf of the UN Security Council with the aim of restoring peace between Israel and Lebanon.
“We are in contact at all levels with the authorities on both sides of the Blue Line Contain the situation and avoid escalation (of severe violence), UNIFIL officials said in a statement, reporting that their troops remained in their positions and on their duties, working for peace, “some from shelters, for their safety.”
“We call on everyone to exercise restraint and use UNIFIL’s liaison and coordination mechanisms.” to defuse the situation and to prevent a rapid deterioration in security,” said mission leaders.
Men walk through a heavily damaged area in the Gaza Strip.
In close contact with key players
At the same time, the UN envoy for the Middle East peace process, Tor Wennesland, is “in close contact” with the United States, the European Union, Qatar, Egypt and Lebanon “to discuss the ongoing war” between Israel and Gaza. This emerges from a message distributed by his office on social networks.
“The priority now is to prevent further civilian casualties and provide urgently needed humanitarian assistance to the (Gaza) Strip,” the message said, adding that “the United Nations remains actively involved in advancing these efforts.”
Calls to protect civilians
On the other hand, senior UN officials called for an immediate end to the violence. Among them was UN Secretary-General António Guterres, who, after condemning Hamas’ attacks on Israel, called for “maximum moderation” and that “all diplomatic efforts“to prevent a major conflagration.”
“Civilians must be respected and protected at all times in accordance with international humanitarian law,” the U.N. official said in a statement.
Food shortage alert
According to the World Food Program (WFP), as the conflict escalates, civilians, including children and vulnerable families, are experiencing increasing difficulties in accessing essential food products, with distribution networks disrupted and production significantly affected by hostilities.
The UN agency “calls for the safe and unhindered humanitarian access to affected areas and calls on all parties to respect the principles of humanitarian law and to take all necessary measures to protect the lives and well-being of civilians, including access to food,” the agency said.
From Gaza, UNRWA reported that food supplies remain suspended until further notice. 14 distribution centers are now closed and around 112,759 families or 541,640 people are not yet receiving food aid.