The Middle East, including the Palestinian Question: Briefing on the Humanitarian Situation in Gaza
Tomorrow morning (18 March), the Security Council is expected to hold an open briefing on “The situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question”. Algeria and Somalia—supported by China, France, Guyana, Pakistan, and Slovenia—requested the meeting to receive an update on the humanitarian situation in Gaza following Israel’s decision on 2 March to halt the entry of aid into the territory. Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Tom Fletcher is expected to brief. Israel and the Observer State of Palestine to the UN are expected to participate in the meeting.
Israel’s 2 March decision came in the context of ongoing discussions on the extension of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, which went into effect on 19 January. Under the terms of the first phase of that agreement—during which Hamas released 33 Israeli hostages in exchange for the release of over 1,700 Palestinian detainees—Israel also committed to allowing more humanitarian aid to enter Gaza, enabling a significant increase in the delivery of food, medical, and other forms of assistance. Negotiations on the parameters of the second phase—which would establish a permanent ceasefire, during which Israel would fully withdraw from Gaza and Hamas would release all remaining hostages in exchange for additional detainees—were supposed to begin by early February, but Israel deferred the start of those talks. The first phase of the ceasefire consequently expired on 1 March without an agreement on the second phase, although the pause in hostilities between the parties has largely continued to hold.
On 2 March, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu endorsed a proposed “framework” for a “temporary ceasefire for the Ramadan and Passover period”, which he attributed to US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff. Under this plan, Hamas would release half of the 59 hostages it is still holding on the first day that the framework goes into effect and the remaining hostages on the last day, with the parties negotiating a permanent ceasefire in the interim. Netanyahu described the proposal as an extension of the first phase of the existing ceasefire agreement and said that Witkoff had proposed it as a temporary measure after finding that “there is no possibility, at present, of bridging between the two positions, Israel’s and Hamas’s, regarding the second stage”. In the same statement, Netanyahu said that Hamas had rejected the proposal, and that Israel would therefore prevent the entry of humanitarian aid and commercial supplies into the Gaza Strip, adding that there would be “additional consequences” if Hamas did not change its position. On 9 March, Israeli Minister of Energy and Infrastructure Eli Cohen signed an order cutting off electricity to Gaza.
At tomorrow’s meeting, Fletcher is expected to brief Council members on the effects of the ongoing halt on aid, which has severely curtailed humanitarian operations in Gaza. In a 14 March press briefing, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General Stéphane Dujarric said that it has prevented the World Food Programme (WFP) from transporting food supplies into the territory, straining current stocks, which were sufficient for one month. A fuel shortage has also affected the movement of vehicles across Gaza and slowed down first responders while impacting life-saving operations in hospitals. Additionally, the electricity cut-off has impeded the operations of a desalination plant supported by UNICEF, which reported critical water shortages as 1.8 million people in Gaza—over half of them children—are in “urgent” need of water, sanitation, and hygiene assistance. More broadly, according to a 16 March press release from UNICEF, approximately one million children in Gaza “are living without the very basics they need to survive” following the halt in aid.
Fletcher is also likely to reiterate prior UN messaging on the matter. In a 2 March post on social media, he called Israel’s decision “alarming”, stressing that international humanitarian law protects the delivery of “vital lifesaving aid”. In remarks delivered on 4 March at an extraordinary summit of the League of Arab States (LAS) held in Cairo, Egypt, Secretary-General António Guterres said that “[h]umanitarian aid is not negotiable” and “must flow without impediment”, adding that “Israel, as the occupying power, must comply with all its obligations under international law, including international humanitarian law”. In a 10 March statement, Deputy Special Coordinator and Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Muhannad Hadi said that the “entry of lifesaving aid must resume immediately”, warning that “[a]ny further delays will further reverse any progress we have managed to achieve during the ceasefire”.
Council members and other speakers at tomorrow’s meeting are also likely to reiterate their previously stated positions on the issue. Members such as Algeria and Somalia may echo messages from the communiqué issued by the LAS at the conclusion of its 4 March extraordinary summit, which condemned Israel’s decision to block entry of humanitarian assistance to the Gaza Strip, maintaining that this constitutes a violation of the ceasefire agreement, international law, and humanitarian international law. In a similar vein, the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) has condemned what it called Israel’s “use of starvation and thirst” as a method of war. In a joint stakeout following closed consultations on the implementation of resolution 2720 held on 5 March, the European members of the Security Council—Denmark, France, Greece, Slovenia, and the UK—called on Israel to abide by its international legal obligation to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza and called on Israel and Hamas to “find a way forward” to the next phase of the ceasefire agreement. They also welcomed efforts by Arab countries to coalesce around a plan for Gaza’s long-term recovery and reconstruction, which they said “must” exclude Hamas from governance, ensure Israel’s security, and not displace Palestinians. The US has not officially commented on the halt in aid, but White House National Security Council spokesman Brian Hughes reportedly said that the US “will support [Israel’s] decision on next steps given Hamas has indicated it’s no longer interested in a negotiated ceasefire”. In a 5 March post on social media—following media reports that the US has engaged directly with Hamas for the first time to secure the release of American citizens held in Gaza—US President Donald Trump issued a “last warning” for the group to immediately release all remaining hostages or face unspecified consequences, without mentioning the halt in aid.
While the humanitarian situation in Gaza is expected to be the main focus of tomorrow’s meeting, speakers may also comment on the situation in the West Bank, where Israel has been conducting a large-scale military operation since 21 January. According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the operation—which is the longest conducted by Israel in the West Bank since the early 2000s—has displaced “tens of thousands of people” from refugee camps in the northern part of the territory and has coincided with a rise in settler violence and in the demolition of Palestinian structures. Israel has described the campaign as a counterterrorism operation.
Looking ahead, the Security Council is expected to hold another briefing later this week to discuss the humanitarian conditions facing the Israeli hostages held in Gaza, following a request from Israel in a letter dated 14 March (S/2025/162). On Friday (21 March), the Council will also hold a briefing and consultations to receive its regular quarterly update on the implementation of resolution 2334 of 23 December 2016, which demanded that Israel cease all settlement activity in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) and called for immediate steps to prevent violence against civilians, including acts of terror.
