Middle East: Civilian death toll climbs in Gaza, Lebanon and West Bank as UN chief demands ‘the fighting must stop’

As the US and Iran continue to trade strikes and counterstrikes in Iran and neighboring countries, children continue to be killed and maimed in the places where they should be safest – their homes, schools and communities, UNICEF’s acting director for the Middle East and North Africa Abdul Fofana said in a statement.

“Yesterday, in Qeshm Island, off the southern coast of Iran, a two-year-old child was reportedly killed alongside the child’s parents after a strike hit a residential building,” he said, reiterating UNICEF’s call on all parties to comply with obligations under international humanitarian law. “This latest incident is yet another stark reminder that children across the region continue to pay the heaviest price.”

Ceasefires must be respected and “parties to the conflict should not normalise the suffering of children, who remain at the sharpest end of conflicts they did not start and have no power to stop.”

Israeli airstrikes and gunfire peppered a deteriorating operating environment in Gaza, with “a significant escalation in hostilities observed in the humanitarian area”, known as the “green zone”, situated west of the so-called “yellow line” of control designated by Israeli forces, UNRWA reported.

Israeli restrictions on goods entering Gaza are also posing challenges.

Fuel, engine oil and spare parts restrictions have made more than half of UNRWA’s fleet unable to operate and have affected 62 water wells.

What began as a regional conflict is increasingly becoming a driver of global instability, disrupting trade through the Strait of Hormuz, driving up food and energy prices, straining supply chains and increasing the risk of hunger and poverty worldwide, Secretary-General António Guterres told reporters at UN Headquarters in New York on Friday following his visit to the region.

“Throughout my visits and in my ongoing outreach with leaders, one message is impossible to ignore: the region and the world cannot afford more war,” he said.

“Let me be clear: the fighting must stop. International navigational rights and freedoms in and around the Strait of Hormuz and Bab al-Mandab [off the Yemeni coast at the mouth of the Red Sea] must be fully restored and diplomacy must prevail.”

In the past week, the Iran-backed Houthis which control much of Yemen have blockaded Saudi-linked shipping through the Bab al-Mandab Strait, reportedly striking Saudi tankers. 

Turning to his visit to Syria, Mr. Guterres said stronger support must be shown for the country’s recovery after years of war.

“I saw a country beginning to emerge from years of devastation,” he said.

“The international community must match that hope with action, including the full lifting of sanctions and sustained support for recovery.”