The UN and the crisis in the Middle East: What you need to know (Jan-Jun 2025)

30 June

• Refugees escaping Sudan face escalating hunger and malnutrition as food aid risks major reductions (WFP)
• ‘Unbearable’ suffering continues, UN official tells Security Council (UN News)
• UN urges Israel to allow fuel into Strip (UN News)

28 June

• Gaza: Israel continues to kill entire displaced families in area it designated as “safe” (OHCHR – OPT)

27 June

Guterres calls for immediate Gaza ceasefire as humanitarian crisis reaches ‘horrific proportions’ 

UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Friday reiterated his call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, warning that the humanitarian crisis has reached “horrific proportions” and that the world must not let the suffering of Palestinians be overshadowed by other regional conflicts (UN News).

• Gaza: Health system crumbles amid growing desperation over food, fuel (UN News)
• Lacroix upholds role of UN Peacekeeping in Lebanon and Syria (UN News)
• Secretary-General’s Press Encounter on Gaza (OSSG)
• UNRWA Commissioner-General on Gaza: the new aid distribution system has become a killing field (UNRWA)

26 June

• UN rights office sounds the alarm over forced displacement in the West Bank (UN News)
• Despite the fall of Assad, the illicit drug trade in Syria is far from over (UN News)
• ‘Our kids cry for food’: Most Gaza families survive on one meal a day (UN News)
• Palestinians subjected to increased forced displacement and land grabs in the Occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem (OHCHR – OPT)

25 June

• SRSG Gamba’s Remarks at the Security Council Open Debate on Children and Armed Conflict (SRSG CAAC)
• “World is failing to protect children from the horrors of war” (UNICEF)
• Statement by Philippe Lazzarini at the Meeting of the Advisory Commission (UNRWA)
• ‘Massive response’ needed following Gaza conflict’s ‘horrific toll’ on children (UN News)

24 June

Over 400 Palestinians killed around private aid hubs, UN rights office says

At least 410 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli military while trying to fetch from controversial new aid hubs in Gaza – a likely war crime – the UN human rights office, OHCHR, said on Tuesday (UN News).

• Palestinians seeking food continue to be killed by Israeli military (OHCHR)
• Press Conference by Commissioner General Philippe Lazzarini in Berlin (UNRWA)
• Iran: USG DiCarlo underscores need to return to diplomacy on Iran’s nuclear issue, welcomes ceasefire as opportunity to avoid catastrophic escalation (UN DPPA)

23 June

• Syria: Statement by UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Syria, Adam Abdelmoula, on the Suicide Bombing at St. Elias Church in Damascus (OCHAUN RC/HC Syria)

22 June

• Briefing by Jonathan Whittall, Head of OCHA OPT, to journalists in Deir al Balah (OCHA)
• Iran: IAEA Director General Grossi’s Statement to UNSC on Situation in Iran (IAEA)
• Iran: Update on Developments in Iran (IAEA)

21 June

• Iran: UNHCR calls for de-escalation as Israel-Iran strikes create humanitarian fears (UNHCR)

20 June

• Gaza’s Taps Running Dry: Fuel Crisis Deepens Daily Struggle for Families (UNICEF)
• Killings of Gaza Humanitarian Foundation workers (OHCHR – OPT)
• Iran: Statement by UNICEF ad interim Representative to Iran, Monika Oledzka Nielsen, on the Impact of escalating hostilities on children in Iran (UNICEF)

19 June

• More than 5,000 children diagnosed with malnutrition in the Gaza Strip in May (UNICEF)
• Against the backdrop of the escalation between Israel and Iran, West Bank situation further deteriorates – occupied Palestinian territory (OHCHR – OPT)
• 22,495 Haunting Cries: Children Affected by Conflict Endured an Unconscionable Number of Grave Violations in 2024 (SRSG CAAC)
• Iran: Update on Developments in Iran (IAEA)

18 June

• Gaza Statement | World Food Programme, 18 June 2025 (WFP)
• Desperate Palestinians seeking food killed in Gaza (OHCHR – OPT)
• UN rights office ‘horrified’ by deadly violence at Gaza food distribution sites (UN News)

17 June

• Israeli actions in Palestinian territories constitute war crimes, Human Rights Council hears (UN News)
• More Gazans killed trying to get food, healthcare near to ‘full disaster’ (UN News)

16 June

• Statement by UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell on the children killed by the alarming escalation of violence in the Middle East (UNICEF)
• FAO and WFP early warning report reveals worsening hunger in 13 hotspots; five with immediate risk of starvation (FAO/WFP)
• UNRWA Commissioner-General on Gaza: tragedies go on unabated while attention shifts elsewhere (UNRWA)

13 June

• Iran: Director General Grossi’s Statement to UNSC on Situation in Iran (IAEA)
• Iran: Security Council meets in emergency session over Iran-Israel conflict, amid strikes and counterstrikes (UN News)
• Iran: Meeting in Wake of Israeli Air Strikes on Iran, Delegates in Security Council Urge De-escalation, Diplomacy to Prevent Further Strain in Conflict-Ridden Region (OSSG)