Evacuation of patients in Gaza. Main news of the day | Friday: Ukraine, Gaza, Lebanon, Russia UN
The main news of the day in the UN and in the world: humanitarian aid to residents of frontline areas of Ukraine, storming of a hospital in northern Gaza, strikes on border crossings between Lebanon and Syria, meeting of the Secretary-General with the President of the Russian Federation.
Humanitarian aid in Ukraine
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports that the UN and partners continue to support civilians in the frontline regions of Ukraine. On Friday, an interagency convoy delivered humanitarian aid to the Mykolaiv region, including food, mattresses, diapers and hygiene products. In the Donetsk, Kharkiv and Kherson regions, according to authorities and humanitarian organizations, civilians were injured and civilian infrastructure was damaged as a result of attacks today and the day before. On Wednesday, the office of a local humanitarian organization in the city of Kurakhovo was damaged in the Donetsk region, the UN press service reported.
Storming a hospital in Gaza
Reports of Israeli forces storming one of the last functioning hospitals in the northern Gaza Strip are deeply worrying, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday. Contact with staff at Kamal Adwan Hospital had been lost, the WHO chief said. The Israeli raid came a day after WHO and partners managed to reach the facility amid ongoing fighting. The UN team evacuated 23 patients and 26 caregivers to a hospital in Gaza City.
Lebanon crisis
A displacement crisis is unfolding in Lebanon and neighboring countries, Rula Amin, a spokesperson for the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), told reporters at a briefing in Geneva on Friday. According to her, this morning Israel struck two border crossings between Lebanon and Syria. This threatens the main “lifeline” for people fleeing the conflict in Lebanon, Amin emphasized. According to the UN Office, more than 430,000 people crossed the border between Lebanon and Syria.
UN Chief Meets Putin
On the sidelines of the BRICS summit, the Secretary-General met with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday. The UN chief reiterated his position that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is a violation of the UN Charter and international law, and expressed support for peace in the region. Guterres said he was convinced of the paramount importance of establishing freedom of navigation in the Black Sea for Ukraine, Russia, and for global food and energy security. The UN chief and the Russian president also discussed the situation in the Middle East, in particular the need to cease fire in Gaza and Lebanon and avoid regional escalation.