Tajikistan, Palestine & other topics - Daily Press Briefing (27 May 2025) | United Nations

Noon Briefing by Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General. Highlights: Deputy Secretary-General Occupied Palestinian Territory UNIFIL Sudan Myanmar Cyprus Ukraine Briefing DEPUTY SECRETARY-GENERAL The Deputy Secretary-General is travelling to Dushanbe, Republic of Tajikistan, later today to take part in the International Conference for Glaciers’ Preservation on behalf of the Secretary-General. At the conference, Ms. Mohammed will emphasize the need to accelerate climate action to achieve the 1.5 degree target, in order to reduce the negative impact of melting glaciers on people and planet. During the trip, the Deputy Secretary-General will also meet with senior government officials to strengthen the UN-Tajikistan partnership, youth and women’s groups and other constituencies to discuss priority action to support SDG acceleration. On 31 May, she will travel to Marrakech, Morocco, to attend the 2025 Ibrahim Governance Weekend where she will deliver a keynote address at the Opening Ceremony and meet with senior government officials and other stakeholders. The Deputy Secretary-General will then travel to Geneva, Switzerland, to deliver opening remarks at the Global Platform on Disaster Risk Reduction 2025. The platform is a critical mechanism, held every two years, to identify ways to further accelerate the implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction. She will also meet with senior government officials of Switzerland and heads of delegation at the Global Platform. The Deputy Secretary-General will return to New York on 4 June. OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY Turning to the situation in Gaza. We have been watching the video coming out of Gaza around one of the distribution points set up by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, and frankly these video images are heartbreaking to say the least. As the Secretary-General noted last week, we and our partners have a detailed, principled, operationally sound plan – supported by Member States – to get aid to a desperate population. We continue to stress that a meaningful scale-up of humanitarian operations is essential to stave off famine and meet the needs of all civilians, wherever they are. Meanwhile, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that continued bombardment and shelling across the Strip has had horrific impacts on civilians. Today, the Ministry of Health reported dozens of people killed and over 150 injured in the past 24 hours. On Sunday night, a school sheltering displaced people in Ad Daraj, in eastern Gaza city, was hit, with the attack igniting a fire and reportedly killing 36 people, including women and children. Many of the bodies were reportedly severely burned. Amid ongoing hostilities, thousands of people continue to be displaced. Yesterday, another Israeli displacement order was issued, covering about 155 square kilometres in Rafah, Khan Younis and central Gaza and affecting more than 60 neighbourhoods. This represents over 40 per cent of the Gaza Strip, which overlaps with previous displacement orders. In North Gaza, our partners tell us that sites for internally- displaced people in Beit Hanoun, Izbat Beit Hanoun and Beit Lahiya, are nearly empty, in the wake of Israeli displacement orders issued for these areas. In Khan Younis, displaced people continue to live in the open, where they are exposed to the heat and elements. Many are physically exhausted and frail after having walked long distances on damaged roads with no food to sustain them. Since the renewed escalation of hostilities in March, our partners estimate more than 632,000 people have been forced to flee yet again. They are left to survive on very small areas of the territory, with barely anything to survive on. OCHA underscores that civilians must be protected, including those fleeing and forced to leave through displacement orders and those who remain despite those orders. Civilians who flee must be allowed to return as soon as circumstances allow. OCHA reiterates that civilians must be able to receive the humanitarian assistance they need, wherever they are. All of this is required by international humanitarian law.  Meanwhile, our partners working in health report that there are even fewer health facilities operating this week. Since last Monday, more than two dozen health centres and mobile clinics and one hospital have suspended their services because of hostilities, attacks or displacement orders in their areas. On the water and sanitation front, some 200 thousand litres of fuel are needed per week across Gaza to sustain those critical facilities. However, the situation in the south of Gaza is particularly concerning, as no fuel is currently available there, and only one third of the required supply was received last week. (...) Full Highlights: https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/noon-briefing-highlight?date%5Bvalue%5D%5Bdate%5D=27%20May%202025


For more information or to watch video on YouTube, click here!