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UN spokesperson summarizes global crises: Yemen detentions, Gaza aid limits, Ukraine damage and Madagascar cyclone response
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Summary
A UN spokesperson outlined updates on multiple international crises including arbitrary detention of UN personnel in Yemen and an 18 million-people food-insecurity figure; constrained humanitarian access in Gaza and monitored movements through Rafah; attacks that damaged Ukraine's energy and water services; and Cyclone Ghazani's death and displacement toll in Madagascar and a $3 million CERF allocation.
A United Nations spokesperson provided a round-up of international developments, stressing humanitarian needs, detainee concerns and operational constraints across several crises.
On Yemen, the spokesperson said the Security Council heard a briefing from Special Envoy Hans Gruenberg (as named in the transcript) that underscored "the need for an inclusive political process under UN auspices" to reach a negotiated settlement. The spokesperson added that "73 UN personnel along with civil society members and individuals linked to diplomatic missions remain arbitrarily detained," and noted that no investigation has been conducted into the death last year of a World Food Programme colleague while detained by the Houthis.
The briefing warned of a severe humanitarian toll: Lisa Dalton, identified in the transcript as director of financing and outreach at OCHA, reported that "over 18,000,000 people face acute food insecurity in Yemen." The spokesperson said UN agencies, donors and international NGOs will meet in Amman next week to refine aid delivery amid growing operational constraints and that partners active in areas held by de facto authorities will assume more frontline operations.
On Gaza, the spokesperson said UN teams coordinated 10 humanitarian missions with Israeli authorities to collect incoming relief items at several crossings, including the Karim Shalom/Karim Abu Salam and Zakeem crossings. He said UNDP teams began removing solid waste from dumping sites in Gaza City and moved waste to a "temporary site covering nearly 75,000 square meters" to help public health and environmental conditions. Since Rafah reopened in early February, the UN has "facilitated movements of over 500 people, 273 patients and their companions, and 269 Gazans trying to return home," the spokesperson said, adding that those are movements the UN monitored and that other movements could not be counted.
Responding to a question about restrictions on aid, the spokesperson said some items are being treated by Israeli authorities as "dual use," citing heavy rubble-clearing equipment and more permanent shelter materials as examples that have been restricted, and confirmed ongoing discussions about opening Rafah for cargo deliveries but said objections would need to be addressed by the other side.
Turning to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the spokesperson relayed that Vivian Vanderpierre (acting head of the UN mission in the transcript) arrived in Goma to advance preparations for ceasefire monitoring and verification following consultations with Congolese authorities. The mission said this visit is an operational step after prolonged air-traffic disruption and that, under Security Council guidance cited in the briefing, the mission is authorized to provide technical and logistical support for a permanent ceasefire while respecting DRC sovereignty.
From Ukraine, the spokesman cited coordination with humanitarian partners reporting that a large-scale attack damaged energy infrastructure across Kyiv, Kharkiv and Odessa. He said nearly 5,000 multi-story residential buildings were left without heating and that water supplies to nearly 300,000 residents in Odessa were disrupted; partners are distributing construction materials, hot meals and registering affected residents for cash assistance.
On Bangladesh, the UN country team urged safe, inclusive participation in parliamentary elections and raised "concerns about reported intimidation, harassment, and violence affecting women candidates and women voters, including in the digital space," the spokesperson said.
The briefing closed with an update on Tropical Cyclone Ghazani in Madagascar. The spokesperson reported preliminary official figures that the cyclone caused 31 fatalities, with 4 people missing and 35 injured, and that more than 250,000 people had been impacted with nearly 7,000 displaced. He said over 65,000 homes were flooded, damaged, or destroyed and around 600 classrooms rendered partially or completely unusable. The Central Emergency Response Fund was allocated $3,000,000 to help more than 90,000 people as part of initial relief efforts, with additional donor funding expected.
The spokesperson framed these updates as operational briefings and indicated that further details (for example, on logistics for UNDP's rubble removal in Gaza) would be provided by the relevant UN country or agency teams.
