The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
Edited News | UNHCR , UNICEF , OHCHR
Middle East crisis update UNHCR - OHCHR - UNICEF 15 October 2024
Lebanon crisis: UN human rights office calls for probe into Israeli strike
With no let-up to the ongoing Israel-Lebanon conflict, the UN human rights office on Tuesday called for an independent probe into an Israeli airstrike that hit an apartment block in northern Lebanon a day earlier that left a reported 22 dead.
“What we’re hearing is that amongst the 22 people who were killed were 12 women and two children,” said Jeremy Laurence, spokesperson for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). “We understand it was a four-storey residential building that was struck. With these factors in mind, we have real concerns with respect to [International Humanitarian Law], so the laws of war and principles of distinction, proportion and proportionality. In this case, we would - our Office - call for a prompt, independent and thorough investigation into this incident.”
Since the Israeli military escalated its offensive against Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon last month whose deadly rocket attacks at Israel have not stopped, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, reported that the death toll in Lebanon is now more than 2,200 since the outbreak of the war in Gaza in October 2023. That number “continues to climb as the situation becomes more dramatic”, said Rema Jamous Imseis, UNHCR Director for the Middle East.
Over 10,000 people have also been injured amid Israeli airstrikes and Israeli evacuation orders that have left more than 25 per cent of the country “under a direct Israeli military evacuation order”, the UNHCR official told journalists in Geneva.
Some 1.2 million people have now been displaced across Lebanon, according to the country’s government, while the UN aid coordination office, OCHA, warned that all those impacted “are enduring the worst humanitarian crisis in decades”.
“Violence is pushing an already overwhelmed health system to the brink, with devastating impacts on care. Attacks on health facilities are a violation of international humanitarian law. They must end now,” OCHA said in an online post.
“People are heeding these calls to evacuate and they're fleeing with almost nothing,” UNHCR’s Ms. Imseis said. “Many of them are being forced out into the open, they're sleeping under the skies as they try to find their way towards safety and support.”
Providing assistance to those in need remains dangerous and difficult, she continued, noting that “for the last three days running, we've had to endorse and approve and reapprove an interagency convoy movement which is now scheduled to take place today”.
Desperate scenes have also been reported on Lebanon’s border with Syria, where more than 283,000 people have now crossed into northern Syria “seeking safety, fleeing Israeli airstrikes”, the UNHCR official said. About 70 per cent of those people are Syrians and roughly 30 per cent are Lebanese.
“We saw women with - two women - with about nine children between them who described their journey on foot for 10 hours to reach that point. They had seen directly the impact of the violence, an airstrike had hit a home 100 metres from their home and they fled, literally, with just the clothes on their backs.”
In Gaza, meanwhile, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) condemned Monday’s strike on the al Aqsa hospital courtyard, where people from northern Gaza were told to relocate. At least four people were burned to death, and scores of others, including women and children, suffered severe burns.
“There are far too many children there with burns and with burn wounds” needing treatment that [the] hospital does not have the medicines and the antiseptics and the painkillers that are required,” said UNICEF spokesperson James Elder. “On my last mission to Gaza earlier this month, I discovered such a thing as fourth degree burns; I met a little six-year-old boy, Hamid with fourth degree burns. So what we saw last night will have again been large numbers of people, including children, with horrendous burns to which that hospital simply doesn't have the resources to treat.”
Providing assistance to those in need remains dangerous and difficult, she continued, noting that “for the last three days running, we've had to endorse and approve and reapprove an interagency convoy movement which is now scheduled to take place today”.
Story: Middle East crisis update – UNHCR, OHCHR, UNICEF
Speakers:
- Rema Jamous Imseis, UNHCR Director Middle East
- Jeremy Laurence, spokesperson, OHCHR
- James Elder, spokesperson, UNICEF
TRT: 03’21”
SOURCE: UNTV CH
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 15 October 2024 - GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
RESTRICTIONS: None
SHOTLIST
- Exterior medium shot: UN flag alley.
- Wide shot of the UN Geneva Press room.
- SOUNDBITE (English) Rema Jamous Imseis, UNHCR Director, Middle East: “The death toll in Lebanon continues to climb as the situation becomes more dramatic and we see continued Israeli airstrikes and people on the move seeking shelter and safety. Over 2,000 people - over 2,200 rather - have now been killed by Israeli airstrikes and we have over 10,000 people who have been injured as a result of the conflict.
- Medium-wide shot of Press room.
- SOUNDBITE (English) Rema Jamous Imseis, UNHCR Director, Middle East: “Israeli airstrikes and Israeli evacuation orders continue to increase the areas impacted, so now that we have over 25 per cent of the country under a direct Israeli military evacuation order.”
- Medium-wide, Press room, journalists, TV cameras.
- SOUNDBITE (English) Jeremy Laurence, spokesperson, OHCHR: “What we're hearing is that amongst the 22 people who were killed were 12 women and two children. We understand it was a four-storey residential building that was struck. With these factors in mind, we have real concerns with respect to IHL, so the laws of war and principles of distinction, proportion and proportionality. In this case, we would - our Office - call for a prompt, independent and thorough investigation into this incident.”
- Medium, participant.
- SOUNDBITE (English) Rema Jamous Imseis, UNHCR Director, Middle East: “People are heeding these calls to evacuate and they're fleeing with almost nothing. Many of them are being forced out into the open, they're sleeping under the skies as they try to find their way towards safety and support.”
- Medium, podium from above, TV screen showing remote speaker.
- SOUNDBITE (English) Rema Jamous Imseis, UNHCR Director, Middle East: “We also have challenges as humanitarians reaching people who are in need of our assistance; for the last three days running, we've had to endorse and approve and reapprove an interagency convoy movement which is now scheduled to take place today.”
- Medium, TV journalist operating camera.
- SOUNDBITE (English) Rema Jamous Imseis, UNHCR Director, Middle East: “The latest count is that we have over 283,000 people who have crossed from Lebanon into Syria seeking safety, fleeing Israeli airstrikes. About 70 per cent of those people are Syrians, roughly 30 per cent of them are Lebanese.”
- Medium-wide, Press room, participants and TV screens showing speakers.
- SOUNDBITE (English) Rema Jamous Imseis, UNHCR Director, Middle East: “We saw women with - two women - with about nine children between them who described their journey on foot for 10 hours to reach that point. They had seen directly the impact of the violence, an airstrike had hit a home 100 metres from their home and they fled, literally, with just the clothes on their backs.”
- Medium-wide, Press room.
- SOUNDBITE (English) James Elder, spokesperson, UNICEF: “There are far too many children there with burns and with burn wounds that simply need that… which that hospital does not have the medicines and the antiseptics and the painkillers that are required. On my last mission to Gaza earlier this month, I discovered such a thing as fourth degree burns; I met a little six-year-old boy, Hamid – H-A-M-A-D - with fourth degree burns. So what we saw last night will have again been large numbers of people, including children, with horrendous burns to which that hospital simply doesn't have the resources to treat.”
- Medium-wide, journalist taking video images with mobile phone.
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Edited News | IOM , OHCHR , UNFPA , UNOG , UNHCR , WHO
Yemen’s humanitarian crisis growing by the hour amid spike in displacement
Yemenis displaced by renewed fighting have described fleeing for their lives amid shelling and gunfire, aid agencies reported on Friday, while highlighting the dramatic increase in humanitarian needs in the country and in Djibouti, where thousands have sought shelter.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
The UN Human Rights Office issued on Friday a report documenting a shocking pattern of sexual violence amid Russia’s full-scale armed attack on Ukraine.
2
1
2
Edited News , Press Conferences | WMO
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
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , WHO
The deadly Ebola virus outbreak in DR Congo continues to spread across the vast country despite some success in containing it, aid officials said on Tuesday, in a renewed call for international support to help responders on the ground.
2
1
2
Press Conferences , Edited News | WFP
‘Super El Niño’ and converging crises worsen hunger in South Sudan and across the region - WFP
South Sudan’s hunger crisis is becoming increasingly catastrophic as violence, extreme weather and dwindling aid leave millions without enough food, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) warned on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | UN WOMEN
In war-torn Gaza, a growing number of women-headed households face “impossible decisions” every day, amid ongoing Israeli airstrikes and still-scarce resources, UN humanitarians said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk made the following remarks to the Enhanced Interactive Dialogue on the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar at the 63rd Human Rights Council.
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk today delivered an update on the global human rights situation to the 63rdsession of the Human Rights Council in Geneva.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
Repeated attacks on humanitarian warehouses put vital medical aid at risk in Ukraine - WHO
A new airstrike overnight damaged one of the main warehouses used by the UN health agency to store humanitarian medical supplies in the Kyiv region, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday. This is the third attack to affect a WHO-used storage in the last three months.
2
2
2
Press Conferences , Edited News | WMO
Powerful El Niño heightens extreme-weather risks through 2027, as countries brace for impact - WMO
Fuelled by extraordinarily warm waters across the tropical Pacific Ocean, the El Niño climate pattern is expected to intensify in the coming months. Forecasters are almost certain that it will persist through February next year, with unusually warm conditions expected across the globe.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , IFRC , UN WOMEN , WHO
Nepal flood deaths near 1,000 as those spared struggle to survive – UN humanitarians
With the death toll in Nepal’s catastrophic flash floods inching towards 1,000, rescue workers are facing harsh conditions while survivors lack access to food, safe water and health care, humanitarians said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , UNDRR , IFRC , WHO
Nepal: Flooding disaster “not over” as humanitarians work around the clock
While search and rescue efforts continued Friday following flash floods and mudslides in northern Nepal, UN humanitarians are taking stock of the devastation amid concerns over more flooding to come.