"MARTIN GRIFFITHS"

The UN Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Syria, Geir Pedersen, said that the tensions in the region need to be urgently de-escalated, “starting with the immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza” and that “we equally plainly need urgent de-escalation inside Syria.” UNIFEED

The United Nations urged countries not to forget millions of people caught up in the conflict in Sudan as it called for USD 4.1 billion to help stave off famine fears and assist those who fled abroad to bordering States. UNTV CH

Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths told the Security Council that Israel continues to reject entry of humanitarian goods into Gaza “for reasons which are, at least to us, unclear and inconsistent.” UNIFEED

The situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question.

“The United Nations is taking swift action following the extremely serious allegations made against several staff members from the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). The contracts of the staff members directly involved have been terminated and an investigation by the UN’s Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) was immediately activated," a UN Spokesperson said. UNIFEED

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) declared that Palestinians had a right to be protected from acts of genocide, calling on Israel to “take all measures within its power” to prevent such actions and allow the entry of desperately needed humanitarian aid into the war-shattered enclave. ICJ

The UN and humanitarian partners launched a combined USD 4.2 billion appeal to donors to bring aid to some 10.8 million people in the war-affected communities in Ukraine but also to Ukrainian refugees and their host communities in the region throughout 2024. UNTV CH

The United Nations top humanitarian official said he was “deeply alarmed by recent statements by Israeli ministers regarding plans to encourage the mass transfer of civilians from Gaza to third countries.” UNIFEED

Briefing the Security Council on the situation in Ukraine, Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, Rosemary DiCarlo, said, “the new year has brought no respite to Ukraine, on the contrary, in recent weeks, the country has been suffering some of the worst attacks since the beginning of the illegal war.” UNIFEED

Quoting Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Martin Griffiths, a United Nations spokesperson said the humanitarian community in Gaza “has been left with the impossible mission of supporting more than two million people, even as its own staff are being killed and displaced, as communication blackouts continue, as roads are damaged and convoys shot at, and as commercial supplies vital to survival of people there almost non-existent.” UNIFEED