{"id":299470,"date":"2024-07-31T10:26:53","date_gmt":"2024-07-31T14:26:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/?post_type=document&#038;p=299470"},"modified":"2024-08-01T14:10:57","modified_gmt":"2024-08-01T18:10:57","slug":"briefing-sc-31jul24","status":"publish","type":"document","link":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/document\/briefing-sc-31jul24\/","title":{"rendered":"Under-Secretary-General Di Carlo&#8217;s Briefing to the Security Council on Escalations in the Middle East: &#8220;We need swift and effective diplomatic efforts for regional de-escalation&#8221; in the Middle East &#8211; Briefing to the Security Council&#8217;s 9696th Meeting"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>31 July 2024<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center\"><strong>Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs Rosemary Di Carlo remarks to the Security Council on the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"video-shortcode\"><iframe title=\"Middle East: Negative trajectory has continued - Briefing | Â鶹APP\" width=\"1320\" height=\"743\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/HlVhwx8Jb_8?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong><span lang=\"EN-GB\" xml:lang=\"EN-GB\">Mr. President, Members of the Security Council,<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN-GB\" xml:lang=\"EN-GB\">Once again, the Council is holding an emergency meeting to discuss alarming developments in the Middle East. This is just a little over a week after I briefed on the Houthi attack on Tel Aviv and Israel\u2019s strikes in response that targeted Hudaydah. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN-GB\" xml:lang=\"EN-GB\">Earlier today, we all saw the news that Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of Hamas\u2019 political bureau, was killed, together with a bodyguard in Tehran. Mr. Haniyeh had been in Tehran, at the invitation of the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran, to attend the inauguration of the new president, H.E. Dr. Masoud Pezeshkian.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN-GB\" xml:lang=\"EN-GB\">In a letter to the Security Council president today, Iran accused Israel of carrying out an attack that killed Mr. Haniyeh and claimed it was a \u201cserious infringement\u201d of Iran\u2019s sovereignty and territory integrity and constituted a \u201cblatant violation\u201d of international law.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Iran\u2019s Supreme Leader and other senior officials have vowed to avenge Mr. Haniyeh\u2019s death, warning Israel of \u201charsh punishment\u2026 intended to instill deep regret in the perpetrator.\u201d \u00a0Various non-state armed groups aligned with Iran across the region have also threatened to retaliate against Israel.<\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN-GB\" xml:lang=\"EN-GB\">In a live broadcast to the nation, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel had launched strikes against three fronts, including against Hamas, Hizbullah, and the Houthis, in recent days. He emphasized that Israel was fighting an existential war with Iran.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong><span lang=\"EN-GB\" xml:lang=\"EN-GB\">Mr. President,<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN-GB\" xml:lang=\"EN-GB\">Today\u2019s strike in Tehran follows in the wake of several recent escalatory events in the region. While violence continues unabated in Gaza after months of relentless diplomatic efforts, the situation across the Blue Line and inside Lebanon is on an increasingly worrying path.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN-GB\" xml:lang=\"EN-GB\">Since I last briefed you on 22 July, the negative trajectory has continued. In a tragic incident on 27 July, 12 children were killed, and dozens injured in an apparent strike on a soccer field in the Druze village of Majdal Shams in the Israeli-occupied Golan.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN-GB\" xml:lang=\"EN-GB\">According to Israel Defense Forces, an Iranian-made Falaq-1 rocket was fired by Hizbullah from north of Shebaa village in southern Lebanon. Hizbullah denied responsibility for the strike. \u00a0The strike followed months of increasingly intense exchanges across the Blue Line with Lebanon and hundreds of aerial attacks toward Israel from various locations across the region that Israel has attributed to Iran-backed forces.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>On 30 July, the Israel Defense Forces issued a statement claiming a \u201ctargeted strike\u201d in Beirut on a Hizbullah commander allegedly responsible for the deaths in Majdal Shams.<\/p>\n<p>Hizbullah confirmed that a senior commander, Fuad Shukr, also known as Hajj Mohsin, was killed.<\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN-GB\" xml:lang=\"EN-GB\">According to Lebanon\u2019s Ministry of Health, at least five people were killed, including two children,\u00a0and many more injured.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong><span lang=\"EN-GB\" xml:lang=\"EN-GB\">Mr. President,<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN-GB\" xml:lang=\"EN-GB\">The various attacks over the past few days represent a serious and dangerous escalation.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN-GB\" xml:lang=\"EN-GB\">They take place amidst the ongoing war in Gaza, where Hamas continues to hold hostages abducted from Israel on 7 October, amid continued hostilities and a catastrophic humanitarian situation for the Palestinian population in the Strip. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN-GB\" xml:lang=\"EN-GB\">Most recently on 27 July, a devastating Israeli strike, killing dozens, including children, took place on a school in Deir Al Balah where thousands of displaced Palestinians were sheltering. This was yet another reminder of the terrible toll of the war on civilians.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN-GB\" xml:lang=\"EN-GB\">Earlier today, an Al-Jazeera journalist and his cameraman were killed reportedly by an Israeli airstrike in Gaza while they were reporting from Haniyeh\u2019s home.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong><span lang=\"EN-GB\" xml:lang=\"EN-GB\">Mr. President,<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN-GB\" xml:lang=\"EN-GB\">Allow me to reiterate the Secretary-General\u2019s words from today. The Secretary-General has \u201cconsistently called for maximum restraint by all. It is increasingly clear, however, that restraint alone is insufficient at this extremely sensitive time.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN-GB\" xml:lang=\"EN-GB\">Diplomatic efforts to change the trajectory and seek a path toward regional peace and stability are urgently needed. Communication by means of missiles, armed drones and other deadly attacks must end.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN-GB\" xml:lang=\"EN-GB\">I echo the Secretary-General\u2019s \u201ccall for all to vigorously work towards regional de-escalation in the interest of long-term peace and stability for all.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN-GB\" xml:lang=\"EN-GB\">The international community must work together to prevent any actions that could make the conflict much bigger and wider very quickly. \u00a0We need swift and effective diplomatic efforts towards regional de-escalation. This Council plays a crucial role in this regard. The time is now.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN-GB\" xml:lang=\"EN-GB\">Thank you, Mister President.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp; 31 July 2024 Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs Rosemary Di Carlo remarks to the Security Council on the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question &nbsp; &nbsp; Mr. President, Members of the Security Council, Once again, the Council is holding an emergency meeting to discuss alarming developments in the Middle East. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/document\/briefing-sc-31jul24\/\"> [&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":299,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"country":[],"document-category":[2197,4259,2805],"document-source":[1362,6169],"committee-meeting":[],"document-subject":[2517,1769,2005,1741,1857,1745],"entity":[1729],"document-language":[6542],"class_list":["post-299470","document","type-document","status-publish","hentry","document-category-briefing","document-category-security-council-briefing","document-category-video","document-source-security-council","document-source-united-nations-department-of-global-communications","document-subject-access-and-movement","document-subject-armed-conflict","document-subject-gaza-strip","document-subject-human-rights-and-international-humanitarian-law","document-subject-incidents","document-subject-refugees-and-displaced-persons","entity-united-nations-system","document-language-english"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/299470","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/document"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/299"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/299470\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":299498,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/299470\/revisions\/299498"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=299470"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"country","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/country?post=299470"},{"taxonomy":"document-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-category?post=299470"},{"taxonomy":"document-source","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-source?post=299470"},{"taxonomy":"committee-meeting","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/committee-meeting?post=299470"},{"taxonomy":"document-subject","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-subject?post=299470"},{"taxonomy":"entity","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/entity?post=299470"},{"taxonomy":"document-language","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-language?post=299470"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}