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Source: United Nations (video statements)

UNRWA Commissioner-General briefed the press on UNRWA’s services and ongoing operations and said that his agency is “extraordinarily operational.”

Philippe Lazzarini, Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) said, “There is a perception that the agency is not operational in Gaza or in the West Bank, and we even heard today at the 4th Committee, the representative of Israel saying that UNRWA has been fully replaced and other agencies have stepped in. And I think it’s important that we correct this perception.”

He continued, “It is true that there is today, 2 bills adopted by the Knesset – you are all very well aware -which started to be implemented as from the end of January. The impact was on the operational presence in East Jerusalem, primary our schools, and the second impact has been that we had to withdraw our international staff, both from the West Bank and Gaza.”

“But in reality,” he stressed, “we are extraordinarily operational. In Gaza, we still have 12,000 staff. They are primarily involved in providing, focusing in public health and in education. They have never ever stopped providing lifesaving assistance to the population, and since the ceasefire is in place, they have scaled up their activities across the Gaza Strip.”

He added, “Just to give you few examples, I shared, also examples this morning at the 4th committee. But we have currently, about 75,000 people were sheltered in hundreds of our premises across the Gaza Strip. We have, over the last two years, provided more than 15 million primary health consultations. Today, the average is about 14,000 a day.”

He said, “We have just started with UNICEF and WHO again, a vaccination campaign and I keep saying, you know that these are good examples of partnership on the ground. We have UNICEF bringing the supply to vaccine. We have WHO in charge of the cold chain, but the nurses, the staff providing to the children the vaccine, the health staff from UNRWA.”

He also said, “In the West Bank we are also very active. Our schools are open. We have about 50,000 children in our schools. By the way, the number of children has increased. We registered an increase of more than 3-4,000 kids coming from the PA schools back to UNRWA schools. And when it comes to primary health, we have also provided into 2025, more than 700,000 health consultations.”

He highlighted, “With 12,000 staff in Gaza, 4 to 5 into West Bank, – in West Bank, we are the second biggest employer of civil servant, and in Gaza, we are the main employer. So, we remain, despite, contrary to what it’s been conveyed, the main agency.”

He stated, “If you get rid of such expertise, such workforce, with an organization having very strong trust from the community, you can only weaken, in fact, any effort trying to promote stabilization.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1ZppI4z1cU

Source: United Nations (video statements)

Noon Briefing by Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.

Highlights:

– Deputy Secretary-General
– Health/COP30
– Refugees/COP30
– Food Waste/COP30
– Occupied Palestinian Territory
– Sudan
– Somalia
– AU-UN Annual Conference
– Event to Mark 20 Years of UNDSS
——————————————————–

DEPUTY SECRETARY-GENERAL

The Deputy Secretary-General, Amina Mohammed, is traveling to Kigali, Rwanda to participate in the Second Edition of the African Renaissance Retreat. This retreat will bring together some of Africa’s most prominent leaders from business, government and development to help shape and accelerate the continent’s transformation.

During her visit, the Deputy Secretary-General will be meeting with senior government officials to discuss advancing the implementation of Agenda 2030 and the African Union’s Agenda 2063. The Deputy Secretary-General will also speak at the African School of Governance – a pan-African institution shaping the next generation of policymakers.  She is expected to return back to New York on Monday.

HEALTH/COP30

At COP30 today, it is Health Day. In his remarks at the Health and Climate Ministerial Meeting, Simon Stiell, the UN Climate Change Executive Secretary, noted that in a big city like Belém, in the Amazon, we are reminded of the deep connection between human health and the health of our planet, and of our shared responsibility to take care of both. Mr. Stiell underscored that today’s launch of the Belém Health Action Plan is a vital step forward. Led by the Government of Brazil and the World Health Organization, it integrates adaptation, equity, and climate justice, the three pillars of a resilient society.

As the world faces record-breaking temperatures, an Extreme Heat Risk Governance Framework and Toolkit was launched today at COP30, and that toolkit was launched to help countries strengthen governance, coordination, and investment in response to escalating heat risks. The new Framework and Toolkit were developed by an international collaboration of national and global experts, led jointly by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), the Global Heat Health Information Network (GHHIN), and Duke University in the United States. It responds to the Secretary-General’s Call to Action on Extreme Heat.

WMO points out that extreme heat claims more than half a million lives every year and has resulted in a record 639 billion potential work hours lost in 2024.

OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY

Turning to the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Since the latest ceasefire, our colleagues at OCHA (Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs) have been leading a number of assessments across Gaza to areas where people are living or have moved, including those who are in close proximity to the so-called “Yellow Line,” where as you know Israeli ground forces remain present.

Our teams note that communities in these areas urgently need aid, and it is essential that services are restored quickly. These assessments will inform a rapid response by ourselves and our partners to the most critical needs, which include water, food, shelter, hygiene supplies, and healthcare. As winter takes hold, our partners working on shelter distributed thousands of tarpaulins, blankets, mattresses and clothing kits to vulnerable people across Gaza. That was done on Monday.

Our partners are reporting important progress in improving healthcare, with 27 health service points reopened or newly established across Gaza since the latest ceasefire came into effect. However, as we’ve warned many times, multiple impediments are still restricting our ability to scale up the response as quickly and efficiently as we have the capacity to do. Once again, we underscore the need to open additional crossings, to resolve bottlenecks, fully facilitate the operations of humanitarian agencies, and provide safety guarantees for our convoys.

Our partners working to support water, sanitation, and hygiene note that various equipment needed to improve critical infrastructure and address the public health risks remain blocked by Israeli authorities from entering Gaza. Such equipment includes machines that are urgently needed to contain and properly dispose of medical waste.

Full Highlights: https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/noon-briefing-highlight?date=2025-11-13

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25zBHZuHAPI

Source: United Nations (video statements)

Noon Briefing by Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.

Highlights:

– Deputy Secretary-General
– Health/COP30
– Refugees/COP30
– Food Waste/COP30
– Occupied Palestinian Territory
– Sudan
– Somalia
– AU-UN Annual Conference
– Event to Mark 20 Years of UNDSS
——————————————————–

DEPUTY SECRETARY-GENERAL

The Deputy Secretary-General, Amina Mohammed, is traveling to Kigali, Rwanda to participate in the Second Edition of the African Renaissance Retreat. This retreat will bring together some of Africa’s most prominent leaders from business, government and development to help shape and accelerate the continent’s transformation.

During her visit, the Deputy Secretary-General will be meeting with senior government officials to discuss advancing the implementation of Agenda 2030 and the African Union’s Agenda 2063. The Deputy Secretary-General will also speak at the African School of Governance – a pan-African institution shaping the next generation of policymakers.  She is expected to return back to New York on Monday.

HEALTH/COP30

At COP30 today, it is Health Day. In his remarks at the Health and Climate Ministerial Meeting, Simon Stiell, the UN Climate Change Executive Secretary, noted that in a big city like Belém, in the Amazon, we are reminded of the deep connection between human health and the health of our planet, and of our shared responsibility to take care of both. Mr. Stiell underscored that today’s launch of the Belém Health Action Plan is a vital step forward. Led by the Government of Brazil and the World Health Organization, it integrates adaptation, equity, and climate justice, the three pillars of a resilient society.

As the world faces record-breaking temperatures, an Extreme Heat Risk Governance Framework and Toolkit was launched today at COP30, and that toolkit was launched to help countries strengthen governance, coordination, and investment in response to escalating heat risks. The new Framework and Toolkit were developed by an international collaboration of national and global experts, led jointly by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), the Global Heat Health Information Network (GHHIN), and Duke University in the United States. It responds to the Secretary-General’s Call to Action on Extreme Heat.

WMO points out that extreme heat claims more than half a million lives every year and has resulted in a record 639 billion potential work hours lost in 2024.

OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY

Turning to the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Since the latest ceasefire, our colleagues at OCHA (Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs) have been leading a number of assessments across Gaza to areas where people are living or have moved, including those who are in close proximity to the so-called “Yellow Line,” where as you know Israeli ground forces remain present.

Our teams note that communities in these areas urgently need aid, and it is essential that services are restored quickly. These assessments will inform a rapid response by ourselves and our partners to the most critical needs, which include water, food, shelter, hygiene supplies, and healthcare. As winter takes hold, our partners working on shelter distributed thousands of tarpaulins, blankets, mattresses and clothing kits to vulnerable people across Gaza. That was done on Monday.

Our partners are reporting important progress in improving healthcare, with 27 health service points reopened or newly established across Gaza since the latest ceasefire came into effect. However, as we’ve warned many times, multiple impediments are still restricting our ability to scale up the response as quickly and efficiently as we have the capacity to do. Once again, we underscore the need to open additional crossings, to resolve bottlenecks, fully facilitate the operations of humanitarian agencies, and provide safety guarantees for our convoys.

Our partners working to support water, sanitation, and hygiene note that various equipment needed to improve critical infrastructure and address the public health risks remain blocked by Israeli authorities from entering Gaza. Such equipment includes machines that are urgently needed to contain and properly dispose of medical waste.

Full Highlights: https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/noon-briefing-highlight?date=2025-11-13

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25zBHZuHAPI