Palestine, Colonialism & other topics - Daily Press Briefing | United Nations

Noon briefing by Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesperson for the Secretary-General. Highlights: - Occupied Palestinian Territory - Colonialism - Syria/Security Council - Sudan - Haiti - Venezuela - Aviation - International Days - Guest Today OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs tells us that UN agencies and more than 200 international and local non-governmental organizations issued a statement yesterday urging the international community to take immediate and concrete actions to press the Israeli authorities to lift all impediments to NGO operations and humanitarian access across the Occupied Palestinian Territory, especially in the Gaza Strip. They warned that restrictive policies – including a new registration system for international NGOs that relies on vague and politicized criteria – are undermining relief efforts and risk the collapse of the humanitarian response. They also stress that many essential supplies such as food, medicine, hygiene items and shelter materials remain stuck outside Gaza - and that dozens of international NGOs face deregistration and forced closure by year’s end. The loss of NGO capacity would severely disrupt life-saving services including healthcare, nutrition treatment, water and sanitation, and emergency shelter at a time when needs are acute and alternatives cannot fill the gap. The UN and our partners continue our efforts to scale up assistance across the Gaza Strip despite these challenges, with a focus on providing winter support to mitigate the impact of harsh weather conditions. Our partners say that since the ceasefire came into effect in mid-October and as of Tuesday, they have distributed multi-purpose cash assistance to nearly 139,000 households, compared with over 40,000 in September. Each household received digital payments equivalent to about 378 US dollars. Altogether, more than 305,000 households in the Gaza Strip have received at least one payment this year. Our partners providing education services report that on Tuesday, they distributed hygiene materials to more than 90 temporary learning spaces across the Strip, benefiting nearly 115,000 school-age children. These supplies are particularly critical during the winter rainy season, as they improve sanitation conditions and reduce health risks in overcrowded spaces. Also on Tuesday, three new temporary learning spaces were established in northern Gaza – two in Gaza City and one in North Gaza governorate – bringing the total number of operational learning spaces across the Strip to more than 400. Several multi-purpose tents were also installed to foster safer learning environments for enrolled students, many of whom are receiving education for the first time. Finally, our health partners report that constraints affecting the entry into Gaza of emergency medical teams have eased somewhat in recent weeks. Denial rates have fallen to about 20 per cent, compared with 30 to 35 per cent before the ceasefire. There are currently more than 340 emergency medical team staff in Gaza. Full Highlights: https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/noon-briefing-highlight?date=2025-12-18


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