Source: United Nations (video statements)
Noon briefing by Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.
Highlights:
Yemen
Occupied Palestinian Territory
Deputy Secretary-General
Sudan
South Sudan
Haiti
Financial Contribution
YEMEN
The Secretary-General this morning briefed the Security Council on the situation in Yemen in closed consultations, following his recent visit to the region, including Saudi Arabia and Oman.
Mr. Guterres spoke to the press afterward, and said, following the recent offensive by the Southern Transitional Council, that unilateral actions will not clear a path to peace. A full resumption of hostilities could have serious ramifications on regional peace and security, he said, including on the Red Sea, in the Gulf of Aden, and in the Horn of Africa.
The Secretary-General urged all parties to exercise maximum restraint, de-escalate tensions, and resolve differences through dialogue. Yemen needs a sustainable, negotiated political settlement and its sovereignty and territorial integrity must be preserved, he said.
The Secretary-General once more strongly condemned the continued arbitrary detention of 59 UN colleagues and partner personnel – as well as staff from NGOs, civil society organizations, and diplomatic missions.
He added that in recent days, Houthi de facto authorities referred three of our colleagues to a special criminal court. This referral must be rescinded and these charges must be dropped, he said.
OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY
Turning to the situation in Gaza, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports that we and our humanitarian partners continue to focus our efforts on providing assistance to prepare for the winter to the most vulnerable families across the Strip.
OCHA estimates that nearly 55,000 families have been affected so far by the most recent rains across Gaza, with their belongings and shelters damaged or destroyed in the storm.
The rainstorm has also damaged dozens of child-friendly spaces, disrupting or suspending activities related to child protection. The disruption has affected approximately 30,000 children across Gaza. Urgent repairs are needed to ensure that these activities can resume without delay.
Over the past three days, our partners working to address gender-based violence report that they delivered 3,000 dignity kits to vulnerable women and girls across the Strip.
Our partners dealing with water, sanitation and hygiene report that repairs are ongoing in multiple locations to reduce the overflow of sewage in the streets and improve public health. Teams are working to fix a sewage pipeline in Saeed Al Aas Street and the Nafaq area in Gaza City, as well as the Wafia and Hamad sewage pump stations in Khan Younis.
In terms of water supply, 38,000 people sheltering at displacement sites in Al Mawasi are now able to collect water from community water tanks that have been directly connected to these sites, thanks to efforts by the UN and our partners. The second phase of this project, which will reach another 40,000 people, is now underway. This initiative makes water collection easier and safer and reduces the burden of using water trucks.
However, OCHA warns that ongoing impediments continue to hamper humanitarians’ efforts to more quickly scale up the response.
Full highlights:
https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/noon-briefing-highlight?date=2025-12-17