The United Nations Office at Geneva
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UN GENEVA PRESS BRIEFING
16 May 2025
Situation in Gaza
Responding to questions from the media, Jens Laerke, for the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), said that killings of civilians continued and the bombing of hospitals where survivors were receiving care continued. Humanitarian agencies had not seen any aid enter Gaza for over two months. The Israeli-backed alternative plan to bring aid into Gaza had been analyzed and discussed in depth in more than 14 meetings between the UN and the Israeli authorities. This plan was exclusive in nature and would lead to further displacement. It restricted aid to only parts of Gaza while leaving others’ needs unmet. This “Plan B” was a cynical sideshow. The only logical solution to improve the situation of people in Gaza was the obvious one – “Plan A”, which had been designed and tested by those who had actually delivered aid in this conflict, with the supplies which had already been paid for by donors.
While Israel said that the aid delivered by the UN would be diverted to the hands of Hamas and other groups, Mr. Laerke provided the list of some aid items waiting to enter Gaza: shoes for children, stationery and toys, pasta, eggs, sweets, tents, water tanks, breastfeeding kits, breast milk substitutes, shampoo and hand soap. How much war could you wage with those items? These were not dual-use products, he stressed, and all these items had already been cleared by the Israeli side. The world needed to come to the conclusion that the blockade had to end immediately. A famine warning was in place across the Gaza Strip, reminded Mr. Laerke. UN and partners had very robust mechanisms in place to monitor aid distribution and avoid its diversion in Gaza, stressed Mr. Laerke responding to another question. During the ceasefire, some 800 trucks of aid had come in every day; it was impossible to claim with absolute certainty that none of that aid had been diverted, but did that warrant shutting down the entire humanitarian operation, knowing that the UN had robust control mechanisms in place? Some of the items waiting to enter Gaza were perishable and would be wasted if not brought in soon.
The flawed “Plan B” would see the number of distribution points go from the current 400 to only four or five. What effect would that have on people with disabilities, of whom there were many there, following more than 1.5 years of violent conflict? OCHA was a central part of the tried-and-tested aid distribution mechanism and knew what it was doing; OCHA would not participate in the alternative plan, if it was implemented, as it found it to be deeply flawed. The alternative plan, a cynical distraction, spoke of bringing in 68 trucks of aid per day, while during the ceasefire the UN and partners had been bringing in 800 trucks per day and could easily do it again, if access would be granted.
Margaret Harris, for the World Health Organization (WHO), answering further questions, informed that the European hospital, one of the best organized hospitals in Gaza, had now been bombed, leading to evacuations of children sick with cancer. If you had cancer and were not receiving treatment, you would suffer and eventually die, said Ms. Harris. The bombing had continued overnight, and the Indonesian hospital, to which some patients had moved, lacked the necessary supplies, added Ms. Harris. Human beings were not built for constant, ongoing terror to which they were now exposed day after day, night after night. People were resilient, but hate was killing them, from the outside and the inside. At least 61 people had been killed overnight, according to the local health authorities, said Ms. Harris. She explained that all WHO movements within the Gaza Strip had been approved and all sides had always been duly informed. In order to adequately distribute medical aid, you needed to have trained, experienced logisticians in place. Like other humanitarian agencies, WHO was now not allowed to bring anything into the Gaza Strip. Close to 53,000 people had been killed so far, according to the Ministry of Health. Some medical evacuations could still occur, informed Ms. Harris, but more than 10,000 patients, including 4,500 children, currently needed urgent medical care outside Gaza.
Also answering questions, Alessandra Vellucci, for the United Nations Information Service (UNIS), said that the UN had been pressing countries with influence to do everything possible to allow for the delivery of aid and respect for international humanitarian aid. The UN would certainly continue doing this effort. The UN Security Council, she reminded, was the key body responsible for international peace and security, and referred to the UN Humanitarian Coordinator’s briefing to the Council earlier this week. Assistant Secretary-General Khaled Khiari had addressed this week a meeting of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People. On another question, Ms. Vellucci said that from day one the Secretary-General had been speaking out very clearly and loudly about the situation in Gaza. The UN had been in constant contact with both US and Israeli authorities, which were also participating in Security Council meetings on this subject. Answering another question, Ms. Vellucci recalled what was said by many instances, that if the UN and partners were not allowed to bring in and distribute humanitarian aid, that responsibility lay with Israel as the occupying power. A durable, long-lasting and fair solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict had to be found, and the UN kept repeating that this solution included two independent States living in peace, side by side, reiterated the Secretary-General in his briefing to the press yesterday.
World Health Assembly
Margaret Harris, for the World Health Organization (WHO), responding to questions, said that the World Health Assembly, which would open at the Palais des Nations on 19 May, would consider over 40 draft resolutions on a wide range of topics. All information can be found here. WHO needed to inform security of the journalists attending; some spots in the room would be saved for the accredited media, she explained. The WHA plenary would start at 9 am; the candidates for the Director of the WHO African Region would be presenting themselves from 10:15 am to 1:15 pm. The interviews of the nominated candidates would be broadcast on the Regional Office‘s website.
Alessandra Vellucci, for the United Nations Information Service (UNIS), added that access to the Palais des Nations through Pregny and Peace gates might be slower during the WHA and the usage of the Chemin de Fer gate was encouraged. If the full parking capacity at the Palais grounds was reached, the security could temporarily restrict car access.
On another question, Ms. Harris said that the WHO was indeed facing a funding problem, but this crisis was also an opportunity to make the organization leaner and more effective. WHA, among other topics, would discuss which areas of work to prioritize with the diminished resources. A dialogue on financing would be held early the following week.
Announcements
Alessandra Vellucci, for the United Nations Information Service (UNIS), informed that on 20 May at 12 noon, there would be an in-person press conference on the pandemic treaty and the French and European development policies, with Thani Mohamed-Soilihi, Minister of State for Francophonie and International Partnerships; Anne-Claire Amprou, French Ambassador for Global Health; and Céline Jurgensen, Permanent Representative of France to the United Nations Office at Geneva.
The Committee on the Rights of the Child was concluding this morning its review of Iraq. The following reviews would be those of Qatar, Romania, and Brazil.
On 17 May, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) would be marking its 160th anniversary, which would include a light show at the ITU tower on Place des Nations, streamed live on social media. More information is available here. The UN Secretary-General’s message on the World Telecommunication and Information Society Day has been shared.
Finally, on a question regarding funding crisis and possible cuts, Jens Laerke, for the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), said that considerations were under way on how to make efficiencies. Eujin Byun, for the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), added that UNHCR was also undergoing the same process, and no definite decision had been made yet. Catherine Huissoud, for the United Nations Trade and Development (UNCTAD), said that budget conservation measures were on board. UNCTAD had very little presence outside of Geneva; small offices existed in Addis Ababa and New York.
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As world’s water reserves change, countries must prepare for a new reality: WMO
New data showing that rivers were at their lowest level for decades last year provides further evidence that the climate crisis is real and countries must act immediately to protect themselves from the increasing threat to communities and livelihoods, the UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Thursday.
The key findings from WMO’s State of Global Water Resources 2025 report covering the hydrological cycle and extreme events in the five-year period to last year:
- 2025 was one of driest years for river discharge in 35 years
- Past seven years have seen abnorfmal river flows
- Water storage on Earth’s land surface has decreased in past decade
- Widespread glacier loss across all regions for fourth consecutive year
- Asia and Africa are regions most affected by water-related disasters
- Water data availability has improved, but gaps remain in hard-hit areas
Highlighting the long-term decline in the Earth’s freshwater storage and glacier melt, WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo explained that the planet’s water reserves used to act as a planetary “savings account” that absorbed the occasional dry season, avoiding a water crisis. “One of the central stories of the 2025 report is what is happening to that savings account? And the simple answer is that we are depleting it,” she told journalists in Geneva.
Groundwater reserves are equally stretched and have been in decline since 2014, WMO’s report states, with nearly two-thirds of monitored wells worldwide showing levels lower than the historical norm and indicating a shift “further toward deficit…not recovery”.
“At the same time, we are seeing more water-related disasters,” Ms. Saulo said, while also stressing that the currently strengthening El Niño “will increase the risk of drought in some areas, and flooding in others”.
Glaciers disappearing
In 2025, for the fourth consecutive year, every major glaciated region on Earth lost ice mass, leading to short-term hazards including floods and long-term water insecurity, according to WMO.
Responding to a question about whether the changing global water cycle might have contributed to the deadly Nepal-China flooding disaster, Ms. Saulo explained that melting ice and rock was just one factor in the chain of events that ultimately sent a massive and deadly wall of water and debris downstream on 26 August, killing at least 1,367 people.
“You asked if it could happen again? Absolutely; the problem in this region is that there’s 63,700 glaciers at the last count,” she told a Press Conference in Geneva. “Even if you’re looking with remote sensing with satellites at these glaciers, you might see some faults, you might see some slight shifting, that does not mean necessarily catastrophic collapse. So, in order to plan for this, it’s very, very difficult. But the international community is looking very hard at ways in which we can bring people together to solve some of these monitoring issues.”
Data indicates that glaciers shrank between 2023 and 2025 with cumulative losses of 1,400 gigatonnes of water – or about one third of annual fresh water needs.
Every major glacier region on Earth lost ice for the fourth consecutive year.
“All 19 glacier regions around the globe lost ice; in Central Asia, Iceland, the Russian Arctic and western Canada and the United States, it was among the three worst years on record,” said Wayne Jenkinson, WMO’s Director of Hydrology and Cryosphere.
Some regions with smaller glaciers such as Central Europe, the Caucasus, the western Canada and the United States may already have reached “peak water”, Mr. Jenkinson warned.
“After this point, the glacier gives less meltwater each year simply because there is less ice left to melt. That matters for every community downstream that relies on water during hot, dry summers,” he explained.
Narelle van der Wel, WMO’s Head of Cryosphere Monitoring, Predictions and Services, stressed that while some further glacier loss is unavoidable, the eventual scale of the decline is not predetermined.
“Some glacier loss is inevitable, but total loss of glaciers is not yet inevitable,” she said, pointing to emissions reductions as central to limiting future losses.
Preparing for moving baselines
The report does not attribute every observed change to climate change alone. WMO says pressure on water resources and natural variability also contribute.
Mr. Jenkinson said governments need to prepare for “moving baselines” as historical patterns become less reliable.
“The situation 30 years ago is not where we are today,” he said. Countries, he added, need to prepare “for those changes that have really already arrived”.
ends