Iran-Israel crisis: Diplomatic push for peace shifts up a gear
Eight days since Israel launched massive airstrikes across Iran, UN chief António Guterres has warned that the world is racing towards crisis.
Speaking at the Security Council in New York on Friday, Mr. Guterres said that the confrontation between Israel and Iran is escalating rapidly, killing civilians, devastating homes and infrastructure, and even targeting nuclear facilities.
The Secretary-General urged all parties – and the Security Council too – to “give peace a chance” and move to prevent further escalation.
In Geneva, both warring parties defended their actions, as Israel accused Iran of targeting a major hospital, while the Iranian Foreign Minister insisted his country had been attacked while preparing to discuss a nuclear deal with the United States.
“It was a betrayal of diplomacy,” Foreign Minister Syed Abbas Araghchi told the Human Rights Council.
Gaza horrors continue amid new testimonies that people have been shot trying to get food
To Gaza, where hunger is so widespread that the enclave’s people now have little choice but to risk their lives fetching food, UN agencies said on Friday
From the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), spokesperson James Elder described meeting a 13-year-old boy who was wounded by a tank shell while seeking aid.
In an online video, the boy, Abed al-Rahman, explains that he has been asking for pain relief for his shrapnel wounds, but none is available. He has since died.
Speaking from Amman, Mr. Elder explained that many Gazans are too weak to reach the aid hubs which have been linked to repeated mass killings:
“I spoke to a grandmother in tears saying, how am I possibly to get to these sites? It’s the same people all the time that get them; it’s the same people; it’s the people with knives. I’ve met young men who’ve been seven times and never returned with anything. So, there’s a complete lack of equity. There’s a complete lack of sites. You cannot distribute aid in a militarized zone, in a combat zone, by one party to the conflict.”
In a related story, the UN human rights office (OHCHR) has condemned the “possible summary executions” of Palestinian workers at a non-UN aid hub supported by the US and Israel.
Information shared with OHCHR indicates that armed men “affiliated with Hamas” killed 12 Palestinians associated with the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation on 11 June.
According to reports, the workers were attacked, stripped and beaten, while some were also shot. “Such killings would amount to war crimes and violations of the right to life,” the UN rights office said.
WHO warns of a health financing emergency
The World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Friday that many developing countries face a health finance emergency as wealthier nations slash support for aid programmes.
WHO forecasts indicate that global health investment is likely to drop by up to 40 per cent this year, down from just over $25 billion in 2023.
The UN agency’s Dr. Kalipso Chalkidou, Director of Health Financing and Economics, highlighted the decision by the United States to freeze or discontinue aid programmes – along with several European governments and EU bodies.
This has created “significant disruption” in national health systems, Dr. Chalkidou said, adding that several sub-Saharan countries rely heavily on external aid.
She referred to a survey by WHO showing that countries today are reporting health service disruptions “not seen since the peak of COVID-19”.
Daniel Johnson, UN News
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