The Middle East, including the Palestinian Question: Briefing and Consultations
Tomorrow morning (28 May), the Security Council will hold its regular monthly open briefing and closed consultations on “The situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question” (MEPQ). Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process ad interim Sigrid Kaag and a civil society representative are expected to brief.
The escalation of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza is expected to be a key focus of tomorrow’s meeting. Since resuming extensive military operations following the expiry of its ceasefire agreement with Hamas in March, Israel has conducted intense airstrikes and expanded its ground operations, resulting in a surge of casualties, the destruction of civilian infrastructure, and large-scale displacement. According to the latest situation update from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), dated 21 May, roughly 80 percent of Gaza is now within Israeli-militarised zones or under displacement orders, while the territory’s total death toll since the beginning of the conflict in October 2023 has reached approximately 54,000. This includes over 3,900 casualties since the resumption of hostilities in March.
On 5 May, the Israeli government approved plans to intensify its military campaign by deploying thousands of additional troops to seize more territory and “take over all of Gaza”. The operation would reportedly entail moving Gaza’s entire civilian population to a single “humanitarian area” in the southern part of the enclave or facilitating their “voluntary” transfer to other countries. According to media reports, however, Israel has agreed to postpone the additional deployments following pressure from the US, which sought more time to mediate negotiations between Israel and Hamas on a new ceasefire agreement.
Yesterday (26 May), Hamas said that it had accepted a ceasefire proposal from US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff. Subsequent reports indicate that the parties have not agreed on key terms, however, as Hamas continues to push for an agreement that permanently ends the war, while Israel insists that it will only agree to a temporary truce unless Hamas disarms, a demand that the group has rejected. Today (27 May), Witkoff confirmed that the framework that Hamas had endorsed differed from the one that he had proposed, which would secure a temporary ceasefire leading to “substantive negotiations” on a permanent cessation of hostilities that Witkoff would facilitate. At tomorrow’s meeting, Kaag and many Council members are likely to reiterate their calls on the parties to agree to a new ceasefire, stressing that such an agreement is the only way to alleviate civilian suffering in Gaza and ensure the safe return of the remaining Israeli hostages held there.
The civil society representative is expected to focus on the humanitarian situation in the territory, which continues to deteriorate rapidly. In early March, Israel began blocking the entry of all humanitarian aid into Gaza as part of its pressure campaign against Hamas, causing a shortage of food, medicine, and fuel. The latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) special snapshot—published on 12 May and covering the period between April and September—found that the entirety of Gaza (approximately two million people) is at a “critical risk” of famine.
On 19 May, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that Israel would reopen the Kerem Shalom border crossing to allow a “minimum” amount of aid to enter the territory until a new aid delivery mechanism that Israel and the US have proposed is operational. Netanyahu cited international pressure and concern that Israel would “not be able to withstand the images of mass starvation vis-à-vis the Americans” as the reason for the limited reopening. Since then, Israel has reportedly allowed some 300 UN trucks to enter the territory, but the ongoing military offensive, bureaucratic obstacles, and looting have impeded delivery, while the volume of aid remains well below the 500-600 daily trucks that the UN estimates is necessary to meet humanitarian needs.
In addition to expressing concern about the insufficient quantity of aid being delivered, several speakers tomorrow are expected to restate their opposition to the aid delivery mechanism proposed by Israel and the US. Alleging aid diversion by Hamas, the two countries have advanced a plan to bypass the existing delivery architecture run by the UN and its humanitarian partners, coordinated by a new private entity called the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) that is set to deliver aid at four “secure distribution sites”. Under the plan, US contractors will provide on-site protection at each distribution centre, while the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) will secure the perimeters.
On 25 May, GHF Executive Director Jake Wood resigned from his position, saying that it was not possible under current circumstances to run the mechanism in accordance with the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence. The UN and its humanitarian partners have also refused to participate in the modality for that reason—describing it as “designed to reinforce control over life-sustaining items as a pressure tactic” by Israel—and have instead published their own plan to resume aid delivery through existing mechanisms. The GHF nonetheless began operations at two of its four distribution sites yesterday; one site was reportedly overwhelmed by a crowd of Palestinians today, causing GHF staff to withdraw and the IDF to fire warning shots.
In a 23 May press encounter, Secretary-General António Guterres described conditions in Gaza as “the cruelest phase of this cruel conflict”. He reiterated that, as the occupying power, Israel is obligated under international humanitarian law (IHL) to facilitate humanitarian assistance and protect civilians. While acknowledging the recent entry of some aid through UN channels, Guterres noted that only a fraction of it had been collected and none had reached northern Gaza, calling the current flow “a teaspoon of aid when a flood of assistance is required”. Stressing that “more people will die” without rapid, safe, and sustained access, he reaffirmed that the UN would not participate in any delivery mechanism that violates international law or humanitarian principles. He instead urged support for the UN-led humanitarian plan, which is backed by member states, and renewed his call for a permanent ceasefire, the unconditional release of all hostages, and full humanitarian access. At tomorrow’s meeting, many speakers are likely to echo these messages.
Speakes are also expected to raise concerns about the situation in the West Bank, where IDF operations and settler violence have intensified alongside severe access and movement restrictions. According to OCHA, Israeli forces killed over 130 Palestinians and injured thousands between 1 January and 19 May, while there were nearly 2,000 settler attacks resulting in casualties or property damage. The northern West Bank remains particularly affected, with mass displacement from the Jenin and Tulkarm refugee camps, home demolitions, and prolonged curfews in towns like Bruqin and Kafr ad Dik, where over 11,000 Palestinians have faced near-total lockdown following the killing of a pregnant Israeli woman from Bruchin settlement on 14 May—a measure that the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has said amounts to collective punishment. Movement is further restricted by the presence of over 800 permanent or ad-hoc access restrictions—an all-time high—which “entrench territorial and social fragmentation, and contribute to worsening humanitarian conditions” across the West Bank, according to OCHA.
Tomorrow’s meeting will take place as international diplomatic pressure on Israel continues to mount in response to these developments. On 19 May, Canada, France, and the UK issued a joint statement criticising Israel’s expanded military campaign in Gaza and continued restrictions on humanitarian access, warning of “further concrete actions” if the country does not change course. The following day, the UK announced that it would suspend free trade negotiations with Israel and impose additional sanctions against West Bank settlers. Also that day, a majority of European Union (EU) foreign ministers voted to review the EU-Israel Association Agreement—a pact governing trading and diplomatic relations between the parties—over concerns that Israel is violating its human rights obligations under that agreement. On 25 May, Spain hosted an Arab-EU summit to discuss ways to pressure Israel into ending the war in Gaza.
Many speakers tomorrow are likely to reiterate the need to address the root causes of the Gaza war and West Bank violence by agreeing to concrete commitments at the upcoming UN High-level International Conference for the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution. This conference—which was mandated by the General Assembly in December 2024—is scheduled to take place from 17 to 20 June at UN Headquarters in New York and will be co-chaired by France and Saudi Arabia. On 23 May, the co-chairs convened a preparatory session with member states to align expectations and finalise arrangements for eight thematic working groups that will help shape the conference’s outcome document aimed at charting a course towards the realisation of the two-state solution.
