GAZA, PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES - Bombed-out neighborhoods, mass graves dug in the sand, spreading hunger and disease -- as the bloodiest ever Gaza war nears 100 days, besieged Palestinians have endured ever new horrors. More than three months of relentless Israeli bombardment since the October 7 Hamas attack have taken a...

"I think that hardly anyone of our counterparts will deny the fact that developments in the Red Sea are the direct projection of violence in Gaza, where the cruel operation of Israel continues already for three months," the Russian diplomat said at the meeting of the UN Security Council.

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus reiterated his call for an immediate ceasefire, alongside urgent action to get food, medical supplies and water to Gazan civilians "forced to live in unspeakable conditions of hunger, disease spread, and lack of hygiene and sanitation". Tedros added that only a "fraction" of Gazans needing...

NEW YORK, US – The Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC) of the UN Security Council adopted the "Abu Dhabi Guiding Principles" and published them as an official document of the Council during the United Arab Emirates’ presidency of the CTC. This important achievement establishes a set of guidelines that address the challenges...

"The United Nations will keep rallying the world for peace, sustainable development and human rights. Let’s resolve to make 2024 a year of building trust and hope in all that we can accomplish together. I wish you a happy and peaceful New Year," the United Nations Secretary-General adds.

The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said at least 21,507 people have been killed in the Palestinian territory since war with Israel broke out nearly 12 weeks ago. The figure includes 187 fatalities over the past 24 hours, a ministry statement said. It added that 55,915 people have been wounded...

Gaza City, Palestinian Territories - The United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees said on Friday an aid convoy came under fire by the Israeli military in the Gaza Strip, without causing any casualties. "Israeli soldiers fired at an aid convoy as it returned from northern Gaza along a route designated by...

A report released Thursday demanded an immediate end to the use of military weapons and means during law enforcement operations, an end to arbitrary detention and ill-treatment of Palestinians, and the lifting of discriminatory movement restrictions. "The use of military tactics and weapons in law enforcement contexts, the use of...

GENEVA, SWITZERLAND - The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor documented, in a preliminary file submitted to UN special rapporteurs and the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, dozens of field executions cases carried out by the Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip. It also called for immediate investigation to hold the...

GAZA, PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES-  A relentless Israeli military campaign, in response to deadly Hamas attacks on October 7, has upset the lives of most, if not all, residents of the Gaza Strip. Israeli forces have launched a bombardment campaign and ground invasion of Gaza ever since Hamas launched its attack --...

NEW YORK, US - UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Sunday that 136 United Nations employees in Gaza Strip had died in 75 days, something the global organization had "never seen" in its history. "Most of our staff have been forced from their homes," the UN chief added in a...

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi slammed the "inefficacy" of international bodies to halt fighting between Israel and Palestinian group Hamas which has ravaged the Gaza Strip. Raisi's remarks came a day after the United Nations Security Council approved a much-delayed resolution demanding aid be allowed into the besieged Hamas-run territory "at...

The Israel-Hamas war is pushing Gaza towards famine, the United Nations warned ahead of an expected Security Council vote on a resolution to boost aid to the Palestinian territory but not call for a ceasefire. Separate diplomatic efforts were also underway for a fresh pause in the worst-ever Gaza war.

The impact of the conflict had reversed a slight recovery for Lebanon, which has battled a deep economic crisis for years, the Washington-based bank said in a report. "Prior to October 2023, economic growth was projected -- for the first time since 2018 -- to slightly expand in 2023," by...

Over half a million people had sought shelter in Al-Jazirah state before the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces began advancing on the villages lining the highway between Khartoum and Wad Madani. By Tuesday, the fourth day of fierce battles in the state capital, at least 250,000 people had fled Al-Jazirah, "many...

"Delivering food from Jordan, to Gaza through Kerem Shalom crossing, will increase the volume and speed of food reaching the Gaza Strip, as millions face the risk of starvation," WFP said. Israel last Friday approved the temporary delivery of aid into Gaza via its Kerem Shalom border crossing, opening a...

The United Nation says children make up half of the 1.9 million displaced Palestinians and a sizable number have been killed in Israeli strikes.

This week's back and forth comes after an impasse earlier this month, when the United States, despite unprecedented pressure from UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, blocked the adoption of a Security Council resolution on the war. It had called for an "immediate humanitarian ceasefire" in the Gaza Strip.

Israel -- backed by its ally Washington, a veto-wielding permanent Security Council member -- has opposed the term "cease-fire." This is one of the sticking points for the divided body to navigate as diplomats call for a "pause" or a "truce," or try to qualify any cease-fire as "humanitarian."

The Security Council has faced sharp international opprobrium as it has managed to pass only one resolution on Gaza since the start of the war, in which the 15-member body called for "humanitarian pauses" -- after five other resolutions were rejected, including two thanks to American vetoes.

The MENA Oceans Network, launched at the COP28, marks a pivotal step in addressing urgent ocean-related challenges in the region, says Tatiana Antonelli Abella of Goumbook.

The latest death was a 17-year-old boy who the ministry said was shot in the chest by the Israeli army in Jenin. In addition to 11 killed by Israeli forces, Palestinian health officials said a sick 13-year-old boy also died after Israeli forces prevented him from reaching hospital.

Beirut, Lebanon - Lebanon's compounding crises are having a "devastating" impact on children and their education, a United Nations agency said Wednesday, warning of additional pressure as the Israel-Hamas war spills over into the country. UN children's agency UNICEF said more than a quarter of households surveyed last month reported children...

With calls for a ceasefire multiplying, "it is safe to assume that the majority will be greater" this time, Richard Gowan of the International Crisis Group told AFP. This may bring the Assembly closer to the 140 or so countries (out of 193 member states) that have repeatedly denounced the...

DOHA, QATAR - Prime Minister of Palestine Mohammad Shtayyeh called for holding Israel accountable, imposing sanctions and not allowing it to continue violating international laws. Addressing a session within the Doha Forum 2023 on Sunday, Shtayyeh called for an “urgent investigation into its crimes against the Palestinian people”. “What is...

Tehran, Iran - Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian held a phone conversation with Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh on Friday night to discuss the latest developments in the Gaza Strip. During the call, Amir-Abdollahian praised the invocation of Article 99 of the UN Charter by the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' as...

Guterres had convened an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council after weeks of fighting left more than 17,487 people dead in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the latest toll from the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza."The United Arab Emirates is deeply disappointed," said the representative of the...

In a letter to the council on Wednesday, Guterres took the extraordinary step of invoking the UN charter's Article 99, which states that the secretary-general may bring to the attention of the council "any matter which in his opinion may threaten the maintenance of international peace and security."

Fatah chief Mahmud Abbas has led the Palestinian Authority -- which has partial administrative control in the Israeli-occupied West Bank -- since its creation in 1994. But the PA is now weakened like never before, and Palestinian political divisions run deeper than ever since the Israel-Hamas war began on October...

"The so-called safe zones... are not scientific, they are not rational, they are not possible, and I think the authorities are aware of this," James Elder, spokesman for the UN children's agency UNICEF, told reporters in Geneva.

Richard Peeperkorn, the WHO's representative in the occupied Palestinian territories, said that since the start of the war, there had been 120,000 acute respiratory infections; close to 26,000 people with scabies and lice; 86,000 cases of diarrhea, including 44,000 among children aged under five, which he said was 20 to...

DUBAI, UAE - Fifty oil and gas companies representing 40 percent of global production pledged to decarbonize their operations by 2050 at the UN's COP28 climate talks in Dubai on Saturday. Saudi giant Aramco and ADNOC of the UAE were among 29 national companies to sign a non-binding agreement that also...

The spotlight now turns to more than 140 kings, presidents and prime ministers who will address delegates at the sprawling Expo City Dubai complex on Friday and Saturday. Britain's King Charles III will kick off those addresses, followed by leaders from nations including the likes of Brazil, Kenya, Tonga and...

Oslo, Norway - Oslo's city hall on Wednesday raised the Palestinian flag in a show of solidarity with the people of Gaza, where thousands have lost their lives as Israel bombarded the area in retaliation for the October 7 attack by Hamas. The initiative coincides with the International Day of Solidarity with...

The SUVs produced by Toyota, Volkswagen, and Hyundai-Kia have all posted sales increases of more than 150% over the past decade, meaning the companies are moving "in the opposite direction" of efforts to curb CO2 emissions, Greenpeace said. The analysis came out a day before the COP28 climate summit is...

DUBAI, UAE: Governments and the United Nations should create an internationally adopted framework specifically designed to help solve global challenges, a world-leading futurist on Tuesday told the Dubai Future Forum 2023 here. Dr. Jamie Metzl, founder of ‘OneShared.World’ and author of Hacking Darwin, said the world is struggling to address...

As global temperatures tick higher, with this year on course to be the hottest on record, the UAE is changing its building designs and urban planning to create cooler living environments, even outdoors, Almheiri said.

Jerusalem -  Plans to release another group of Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners suffered a setback on Saturday, the second day of a four-day truce after seven weeks of war. On Friday evening the Palestinian group freed 13 Israelis, along with an unexpected 10 Thais and one Filipino,...

Cairo, Egypt - Tunisian film star Hend Sabri has resigned as World Food Program goodwill ambassador in protest at what she called the use of starvation as a weapon of war in Gaza. Sabri, a leading figure in Arab cinema, said that she had decided with "a heavy heart and deep...

Moscow, Russia - President Vladimir Putin will take part in an online BRICS summit on the escalation of the situation in the Middle East, the Kremlin press service said on Monday. "On November 21, Russian President Vladimir Putin will take part in an extraordinary BRICS summit (in the videoconference format)...

Beirut, Lebanon - In a ramshackle Palestinian refugee camp here, Hayat Shehadeh wrings her hands as she watches the Israel-Hamas war. Her daughter is in Gaza, and she has not spoken to her for a week. "I can't sleep. I get up at 3:00 am... I go to watch the television,"...

"The amount of humanitarian aid sent to Gaza is very small and almost zero, and it is necessary for the United Nations to take immediate and serious action in this regard," Amir-Abdollahian said in a meeting in Geneva with UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths.

The Israeli army said its forces conducted "counterterrorism activities" in the city, during which "engineering vehicles uncovered explosive devices planted on routes to attack the forces". "In addition, soldiers questioned and apprehended wanted suspects, and during exchanges of fire with armed assailants, a number of the assailants were killed," the...

Geneva, Switzerland - The El Nino weather phenomenon, which triggers higher global temperatures, is expected to last until at least April 2024, the United Nations said on Wednesday. El Nino is a naturally occurring climate pattern typically associated with increased heat worldwide, as well as drought in some parts of the...

Beirut, Lebanon - Visiting US envoy Amos Hochstein on Tuesday urged for calm to return to Lebanon's southern border with Israel, after weeks of skirmishes following the start of the Israel-Hamas war. "The United States does not want to see conflict in Gaza escalating and expanding into Lebanon," Hochstein told a...

Over 760,000 Palestinians fled or were driven from their homes in what is referred to by Palestinians as the "Nakba" (catastrophe in Arabic). Around 180,000 fled to Gaza, with the rest scattered across the West Bank and neighboring Arab countries, specifically Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.

His wearing of the badge, which has come to symbolize the oppression of Jews since its imposition in Nazi-occupied Europe, was swiftly criticized by Yad Vashem, Israel's Holocaust memorial, which urged him to wear the Israeli flag instead.

United Nations, New York - A humanitarian catastrophe on a biblical scale is unfolding in the Gaza Strip, Russia’s Permanent Representative to the UN Vasily Nebenzya said at a session of the UN Security Council. "It’s time to call it what it is: a humanitarian catastrophe on a biblical scale...

United Nations - The United Nations on Monday warned that Syria was at its "most dangerous" point in a long time as violence surges and as "spillover" from the Israel-Hamas war starts to have an impact. Syria has "seen growing instability and violence, exacerbated by the lack of a meaningful...

"Impeding relief supplies as provided by the Geneva Conventions may constitute a crime within the court jurisdiction," chief prosecutor OF ICC Karim Khan told reporters in Cairo. He was speaking after a visit to Egypt's Rafah crossing, where he said trucks full of desperately needed goods remained stuck and unable...