UN spokesperson urges renewed push for permanent Gaza ceasefire, outlines humanitarian scale-up and wider crises

United Nations spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said the secretary-general will urge a permanent ceasefire in Gaza and the immediate release of all hostages, and he previewed humanitarian and political work under way across multiple crises.

Dujarric told reporters that in remarks to the U.N. Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People the secretary-general will say “we must keep pushing for a permanent ceasefire and the release of all hostages without delay. We cannot go back to more death and destruction.” He added the secretary-general will “reaffirm the two-state solution” and that responses must be “anchored in the bedrock of international law.”

The comments came as U.N. humanitarian staff reported a gradual scale-up of aid deliveries in Gaza and highlighted specific needs. Dujarric said more than 22 World Food Programme–supported bakeries were operating, and UNICEF and health partners were providing services in parts of the Gaza Strip. "Our partners say they've transported 22 truckloads of tents from southern to northern Gaza," he said, while adding that "we need to get more tents in." He said U.N. partners have screened more than 30,000 children under age 5 for malnutrition since the ceasefire and identified about 1,000 cases of acute malnutrition, including roughly 30 cases of severe acute malnutrition. He also said three temporary learning spaces were established yesterday in Gaza, Rafah and Khan Yunis, benefiting about 200 children.

Dujarric described a recent visit by Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Tom Fletcher to Israel, the West Bank and Gaza, and said Fletcher met with Israeli authorities including President Isaac Herzog and with Palestinian national NGOs in Ramallah to discuss humanitarian access and aid delivery. Dujarric said Fletcher visited East Jerusalem’s Silwan neighborhood and parts of Area C of Ramallah governorate to hear about the humanitarian impact of checkpoints, access restrictions and the 712-kilometer barrier.

U.N. humanitarian offices also briefed on crises beyond Gaza. Dujarric said U.N. teams and partners are ‘‘very concerned’’ in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, where looting of humanitarian facilities and access constraints have hampered assistance; he reiterated a call for the reopening of Goma airport to evacuate wounded people and move supplies and personnel. On Sudan, Dujarric said artillery struck a hospital in Omdurman, reportedly killing six people and injuring about 60, and warned that attacks on hospitals ‘‘must stop.’'

Nicholas Haysom, head of the U.N. mission in South Sudan, briefed Security Council members in New York, Dujarric said, and urged the government to meet outstanding peace benchmarks so elections can be held in December of next year and to avoid an extension of the transitional period.

Dujarric also noted the secretary-general’s condolences for a shooting in Sweden and for the death of Aga Khan IV, calling the Aga Khan a "global spiritual leader" and partner on development and sustainable-development goals. Separately, Dujarric said UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay, with Iraqi authorities, inaugurated monuments in Mosul as part of the Revive the Spirit of Mosul initiative, which he said has mobilized about $115,000,000 and 15 partners to rehabilitate historic homes and schools.

On questions about recent U.S. executive orders and comments by President Donald Trump targeting U.N. agencies, Dujarric said the secretary-general ‘‘looks forward to speaking’’ with President Trump and that the U.N. is strongest when member states work together. Asked whether the secretary-general had had contact with the U.S. president since the inauguration, Dujarric said there had been contact between U.N. officials and the U.S. government but that he would inform the press when direct contact between the secretary-general and the president occurred.

The briefing included repeated appeals to protect civilians and humanitarian workers. "OCHA stresses once again that civilians, including frontline aid workers, are not a target and must be protected," Dujarric said. He repeatedly framed U.N. responses in humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality and independence.

The briefing was largely informational and preparatory: Dujarric repeatedly previewed the secretary-general’s planned remarks to the committee at 3 p.m. (U.N. Web TV). There were no formal U.N. decisions or votes reported during the session.

Details provided by the U.N. spokesman signaled pressing shortfalls on the ground, including tents, medical supplies and malnutrition treatment, and underscored the U.N.’s calls for safe humanitarian access and respect for international law in active conflict zones.