Blurb: Thousands of Palestinians in Gaza, including a record number of children, are living with amputations amid severe shortages of medical care and supplies. Gaza has the world’s largest population of child amputees, many facing dire health conditions and limited access to treatment or rehabilitation. Amputations are often performed as life-saving measures due to the lack of medical resources. Ongoing evacuation orders in parts of Gaza City, combined with escalating violence, have forced residents into increasingly small areas, adding immense pressure on hospitals. Al-Shifa Hospital is operating at nearly 300 percent capacity, with a constant influx of complex trauma injuries.
With intensifying Israeli activity in and around Gaza City reportedly continuing Thursday, Secretary-General António Guterres renewed his urgent call for a ceasefire, as Palestinians fled intense airstrikes, artillery shelling and gunfire.
Speaking today (21 Aug) at a press conference on the sidelines of the International Conference on African Development (TICAD) in Yokohama, Japan, the UN Chief said, “I must reiterate that it is vital to reach immediately a ceasefire in Gaza, and the unconditional release of all hostages and to avoid the massive death and destruction that a military operation against Gaza City would inevitably cause.”
Guterres also condemned the Israeli Government’s decision to approve a long-shelved settlement expansion project in the occupied West Bank. He said, “the decision by the Israeli authorities to expand illegal settlement construction, which would divide the West Bank, must be reversed.” He added that all settlement construction “is a violation of international law.”
The UN chief also noted that around the world, “war rages – from Gaza to Sudan to Ukraine and beyond,” adding that “climate chaos is destroying lives and livelihoods.”
He also said that economies are straining under debt, uncertainty, and inequality. Guterres added, “in this time of fracture and fragility, we need collective action to restore trust and deliver global progress.”
Guterres also told reporters that discussions at the TICAD Summit focused on how partnership with Africa can strengthen solutions the whole world needs “ – in peace, in global governance, finance, climate action, and digital transformation.”
“The threat posed by Da’esh remains volatile and complex,” UN counter-terrorism chief Vladimir Voronkov told the Security Council, as members convened to discuss the Secretary-General’s latest report on the extremist group.
The Council met today (Aug 20) for a briefing on António Guterres’ 21st biannual strategic-level report on Da’esh (S/2025/496), which concludes that the group remains resilient despite sustained counter-terrorism pressure. The report highlights Africa as the epicentre of Da’esh activity, with Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) estimated to have 8,000 to 12,000 fighters and Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS) consolidating itself in the Niger-Nigeria border area.
Voronkov said affiliates are demonstrating “resilience despite sustained counter-terrorism efforts,” noting a resurgence in ISGS activity and ISWAP’s growing propaganda output, which has drawn in foreign fighters. He added that reports suggesting Da’esh is seeking to recruit cyber security experts are “gravely concerning.”
The Secretary-General’s report also warns that Da’esh-Khorasan, with some 2,000 fighters, remains one of the most serious threats in Afghanistan and Central Asia, while in Iraq and Syria the group maintains up to 3,000 fighters and has staged major attacks, including a June assault on a church in Damascus that killed more than 80 people. Camps in northeastern Syria continue to house nearly 35,000 people, mostly women and children, under dire conditions that the UN says risk becoming incubators of radicalization.
“Focusing solely on the leadership of groups such as Da’esh is not sufficient,” Voronkov told the Council. “Prioritizing long-term, principled responses that tackle the drivers of terrorism and the conditions conducive to its spread remain the most effective response.”
Natalia Gherman, head of the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate, warned of Da’esh’s exploitation of artificial intelligence. “Da’esh’s use of artificial intelligence and social media for recruitment, fundraising and propaganda demands innovative responses,” she said, while stressing the same tools could help states disrupt terrorist activities.
Elisa De Anda Madrazo, President of the Financial Action Task Force, said the financing threat has shifted dramatically since 2001 but remains central to countering terrorism. “By turning off the money tap, we can cut off the blood supply of terrorism,” she said. She added that digital platforms are increasingly abused for financing and that younger lone actors are relying on microfinancing and “technology-enabled methods, including gambling online” use of social media.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres attends and speaks at the opening of the ninth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) in Yokohama, Japan.
Yacoub El Hillo spent more than thirty years serving refugees and displaced people in some of the world’s worst conflict zones. But when cataclysmic war erupted in his hometown of Khartoum, Sudan, the Regional Director for Africa at the United Nations Development Coordination Office (DCO) had to help his own family flee the violence.
“I don’t think there’s any home in Khartoum that was spared … the assumption is that everything is gone.”
Having served in more than 16 duty stations, from Liberia to Syria, Somalia and Afghanistan, Yacoub El Hillo has rarely seen any conflict as devastating as the one currently decimating Sudan.
In this episode, he reflects on the scale of the human suffering there, looks back on a rich and varied career with the UN, and shares why all nations deserve a chance to strive for a brighter future.
[00:00] Introduction
[01:21] A war like no other
[06:04] When war comes home
[11:21] His family’s flight to safety
[15:27] What’s left behind
[16:28] What keeps Yacoub awake at night
[17:36] Holding onto hope
[19:08] Returning to serve after retirement
[21:23] Yacoub’s starting point
[23:54] A mission, not a job
[24:50] Liberia’s transformation
[27:26] Darkest days in Syria
[30:38] Taking risks to save lives
[32:45] His hopes for Syria’s future
[33:59] Family and sacrifice
[37:36] Closing remarks
Listen to more Awake at Night episodes https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwoDFQJEq_0b6hu1e8oxsch9W0D7vkNqt
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About Awake at Night
Hosted by Melissa Fleming, UN Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications, the podcast ‘Awake at Night’ is an in-depth interview series focusing on remarkable United Nations staff members who dedicate their career to helping people in parts of the world where they have the hardest lives – from war zones and displacement camps to areas hit by disasters and the devastation of climate change.
Noon Briefing by Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.
Highlights:
Secretary-General/Travels
Occupied Palestinian Territory
Sudan
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Security Council
Financial Contribution
SECRETARY-GENERAL/TRAVELS
This morning, the Secretary-General addressed the 9th Tokyo International Conference on African Development, which is taking place in Yokohama this year. The Secretary-General said that for more than three decades TICAD, as the Conference is known, has embodied the spirit of multilateralism grounded in mutual respect, shared responsibility and a deep belief in Africa’s potential.
This meeting, he added, comes at a time of interconnected crises and deep inequalities. Tackling these crises, he said, "requires a clear focus not only on development for Africa, but development with Africa."
On the sidelines, he met with the Prime Minister of Japan, Ishiba Shigeru. They exchanged views on a number of issues, including global and regional issues.
Mr. Guterres also met with Dr. Tanaka Akihiko, the President of the Japan International Cooperation Agency, which is the organizer of the Conference.
In all his meetings and exchanges, the Secretary-General emphasized that enhanced cooperation needs to focus on areas where strategic partnerships can drive inclusive growth in Africa, creating decent jobs and accelerating progress towards Agenda 2063 and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
His schedule for tomorrow in Yokohama includes more bilateral meetings with attendees of the Conference, and a press encounter in Yokohama.
OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says that the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory is increasingly dire, with children and adults killed, injured and displaced every single day. Starvation and malnutrition continue to deepen.
And as an example, the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) has just shared the latest malnutrition data. They are the largest provider of nutrition screening and treatment in Gaza. They have, since March of this year, when the ceasefire collapsed, UNRWA has screened over 95,000 children aged 6 months to 5 years old for malnutrition across the Gaza Strip. The prevalence of acute malnutrition has risen 15.8 per cent in the first half of August. This means that according to UNRWA’s data, malnutrition has tripled across the Gaza Strip since the ceasefire collapsed. And in Gaza City, acute malnourishment has reached 28.5 per cent, meaning more than one in four children in Gaza City is now considered malnourished.
According to UNRWA screenings, malnutrition in Gaza City is now almost six times the level it was since the ceasefire.
But despite the impediments and the systematic restrictions, the UN and its partners are sparing no effort to bring critical food and supplies into the Gaza Strip to avoid an even further deterioration of the situation.
Today, OCHA released an update on what we delivered in Gaza between August 3rd and 16th. A few highlights:
On food: Teams brought in about 12,000 metric tons of wheat flour and other supplies and supported more than 80 community kitchens providing over 400,000 meals every day.
That’s twice as much as in late July but less than half of what we were able to bring in April.
On nutrition: the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) brought in enough therapeutic food for 30,000 acutely malnourished children for one month; infant formula sufficient for 1,250 babies; and over 3,500 cartons of high-energy biscuits. Partners also continued screening thousands of children for malnutrition.
Full Highlights: https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/noon-briefing-highlight?date%5Bvalue%5D%5Bdate%5D=20%20August%202025
“In the course of 2024, more than 4,600 cases of conflict-related sexual violence, including as a tactic of war, torture, terror and political repression, were documented, marking a staggering 25 percent increase from 2023, which was itself a 50 percent increase from the previous year,” the UN’s envoy on sexual violence in conflict told the Security Council.
Briefing the Council today (Aug 19), Pramila Patten, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, warned that even as needs rise, funding for women’s frontline organizations is collapsing. “We are told there is no money for lifesaving aid, even as military expenditure soars, and the world spends more in 24 hours on arms than it does in a year on addressing gender-based violence in conflict,” she said.
Patten’s remarks drew on the Secretary-General’s latest annual report on conflict-related sexual violence, published on 14 August and covering the period from January to December 2024.
She noted that women and girls accounted for 92 percent of verified cases last year, with victims ranging in age from one to 75 years old. “Sexual violence against children increased by a shocking 35 percent over the past year, with incidents of gang-rape rising dramatically, inflicting enduring, generational harm,” she said.
From Darfur, Ikhlass Ahmed of the Darfur Advocacy Group described how sexual violence remains widespread. “Hardly a day goes by without a new report of rape of a woman or girl,” she told the Council, adding that more than 30 women and girls have been detained by the Rapid Support Forces in El Fasher for over seven months. “These stories and these numbers are just the tip of the iceberg, as survivors often remain silent due to stigma and fear of retaliation,” she said.
Ahmed also reported at least 174 attacks on health providers and facilities since the conflict began, including clinics serving survivors of sexual violence. “In April, the RSF burned down a women-led community kitchen in Zamzam Camp, deliberately killing volunteers Hasanat Musa, who was pregnant, and Nana Bahar Idris,” she added.
Before the debate, the signatories to the Shared Commitments on Women, Peace and Security – Denmark, France, Greece, Guyana, Panama, the Republic of Korea, Sierra Leone, Slovenia, the UK, and the US – delivered a joint statement on conflict-related sexual violence, at a stakeout ahead of the meeting.
Speaking on behalf of the group, Panama’s ambassador to the UN, Eloy Alfaro de Alba, called for accountability and greater support for survivors. “We call for an end to impunity for sexual and gender-based violence and demand accountability as the norm for these crimes,” he said. “We stress the urgent need for sustained, flexible and predictable funding for victims and survivor-centered responses, including through a multi-partner Trust Fund on CRSV.”
The commemoration of the bombing of the United Nations headquarters in Baghdad will be observed with a brief ceremony organized by the UN Staff Union’s Standing Committee on the Security and Independence of the International Civil Service.
Mr. Atul Khare, Under-Secretary-General, Department of Operational Support (accompanied by survivors of that bombing) will lead the Wreath-laying ceremony, he will lay a wreath in front of the plaque honouring those who lost their lives in Baghdad, followed by a moment of silence.
The ceremony also marks the observance of World Humanitarian Day designated by the General Assembly in 2008 to coincide with the date of the bombing in Baghdad. The Day also honours humanitarian aid workers who have been killed or injured in the course of their work.
On World Humanitarian Day, USG Gilles Michaud speaks from Gaza, honoring humanitarian workers and calling for their protection. Local colleagues—who make up 90% of the workforce—are the backbone of life-saving operations worldwide.
Comments to the media by Eloy Alfaro de Alba, Permanent Representative of Panama to the United Nations, and Security Council President for the month of August, on behalf of the signatories of the Shared Commitments on Women, Peace and Security (WPS), on Conflict-Related Sexual Violence.
