The UN and the crisis in the Middle East: What you need to know (2023)

What you need to know about the United Nations response to the conflict in the Middle East.

27 November

UN experts today called for prompt, transparent and independent investigations into allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity, perpetrated in Israel and in the Occupied Palestinian Territory on 7 October 2023 and thereafter.

25 November

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs confirms that 61 trucks of aid were delivered to northern Gaza today, the largest number since 7 October. They included food, water and emergency medical supplies. Eleven ambulances, 3 coaches and a flatbed were delivered to Al Shifa hospital to assist with evacuations.

Another 200 trucks were dispatched from Nitzana. Of them 187 entered Gaza by 19:00 local time.

In addition, 129,000 liters of fuel crossed into Gaza.

22 November

The Secretary-General welcomes the agreement reached by Israel and Hamas, with the mediation of Qatar supported by Egypt and the United States. This is an important step in the right direction, but much more needs to be done.

21 November

UNICEF Statement – If children’s access to water and sanitation in Gaza continues to be restricted and insufficient, we will see a tragic – yet entirely avoidable – surge in the number of children dying.

“It is also now raining in Gaza. Combined, children face a serious threat of mass disease outbreak. It will be lethal.”

WHO spokesperson Christian Lindmeier – “About 160 children are killed every day; that’s one every 10 minutes,”

WHO Statementannounced the death of one of its staff in Gaza. Dima Abdullatif Mohammed Alhaj, 29 years old, had been with WHO since December 2019. She worked as a patient administrator at the Limb Reconstruction Centre, a critical part of the WHO Trauma and Emergency Team.

20 November

The thousands of injuries sustained by civilians across Gaza combined with a burgeoning public health crisis is a ‘recipe for epidemics’, the World Health Organization’s emergency response director said on Monday.

The UN Charter remains humanity’s best hope for peace.

Amid geopolitical divisions, member countries must uphold it & ensure that the UN lives up to what it was meant to be:

A forum for solutions.

A guardian of international law.

And a force for peace and security.

António Guterres

Secretary-General of the United Nations (27 May 2026)

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