Noon Briefings

In Gaza, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports that Israeli bombardments are continuing from the air, land and sea, which has resulted in civilian casualties, displacement and destruction of civilian infrastructure.

In Haiti, half of the country’s population, 5.4 million people face acute hunger, according to new analysis by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification. Two million are in the grips of emergency levels of hunger and at least 6,000 displaced people face catastrophic levels of food insecurity.

The Secretary-General’s annual report on intimidation and reprisals for cooperation with the UN, was issued today, documenting how human rights defenders, activists, journalists, victims and witnesses, among others, continue to experience reprisals for actual or perceived cooperation with the United Nations.

The Special Coordinator for Lebanon is in Israel where she is meeting with Israeli authorities to discuss the latest situation and the Head of the UN Peacekeeping Mission is in contact with both Lebanese and Israeli parties, stressing the urgent need for de-escalation. Efforts are ongoing to reduce tensions and halt shelling.

In Somalia, the Acting Emergency Relief Coordinator has allocated $3 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund for an urgent response to displacement in the country.

The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) issued a statement today — jointly with the African Union and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) — noting the presidency’s decision to extend the country’s transitional period by 24 months until February 2027.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) today issued its latest report on Myanmar, detailing a range of serious human rights violations that continue to underscore the deepening crisis and lack of rule of law throughout the country.

In a statement issued on 15 September, the Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Sudan called for the warring parties to refrain from targeting El Fasher and protect civilians. The International Organization for Migration estimated that at least 250 people were displaced in the latest round of fighting there.

The World Health Organization (WHO) just announced the first prequalification approval of a vaccine against mpox, stating that the MVA-BN vaccine is an important step to fight the disease in both current and future outbreaks. Now, urgent scale-up of procurement, donations and rollout are needed.

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said today that they are stepping up their support to the Government to protect the lives of children under 15, who account for about 60 per cent of the suspected cases of mpox and 80 per cent of the deaths in the country this year.