Senior officials from the organization spoke to key players amid the growing Palestinian-Israeli conflict, a press release from the world’s largest political forum said today.
Meanwhile, UN peacekeepers discovered an exchange of rockets and artillery on the border between Israel and Lebanon shortly before the Security Council’s emergency meeting to analyze the crisis.
This morning, the UN Peacekeeping Mission in Lebanon (UNIFIL) detected “several rockets fired from the southeast of this country towards Israeli-occupied territory in the general area of Kafr Chouba, and in response, artillery fire from Israel into Lebanon,” according to the Mission.
“We are in contact at all levels with authorities on both sides of the Blue Line to contain the situation and prevent a more serious escalation,” the mission said in a statement.
“Our blue helmets remain in position and are functioning,” he added.
For his part, the UN envoy for the Middle East peace process, Tor Wennesland, stressed that he was “in close contact” with the United States, the European Union, Qatar, Egypt and Lebanon “to discuss the ongoing war.” Israel and Gaza.
In a post on his office’s social media, the representative recalled that the priority now is to “prevent further civilian casualties and bring urgently needed humanitarian assistance to the Gaza Strip.”
“The United Nations remains actively involved in advancing these efforts,” he added.
The day before, after Hamas’ surprise attack on Israeli cities and Israel’s aggressive response, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres called for “maximum moderation.”
The UN chief called for “all diplomatic efforts” to be encouraged to prevent a major conflagration.
“Civilians must be respected and protected at all times in accordance with international humanitarian law,” the UN chief said in a statement.
For their part, several aid organizations warned that as the conflict worsens, the needs of the civilian population, including children and vulnerable families, are increasing.
According to the World Food Program, these groups face increasing challenges in accessing essential food products as distribution networks are disrupted and production is significantly affected by hostilities.
jha/ebr