Middle East, Venezuela & other topics - Daily Press Briefing (8 July 2026) | United Nations

Noon briefing by Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.

Highlights:
- Middle East
- Occupied Palestinian Territory
- Venezuela
- Ukraine
- Sudan
- South Sudan
- Central African Republic
- Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Afghanistan
- Security Council
- UNCOPS
- Cancer/Report
- Commemoration of Genocide in Srebrenica

MIDDLE EAST

The Secretary-General is alarmed by the renewed military confrontations in the Gulf. These incidents that we have seen in the last 24 hours risk derailing the diplomatic progress achieved between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States.

A return to full-scale hostilities would have catastrophic consequences for the peoples of the region, for international peace and security, and for the global economy as a whole. The Secretary-General calls on all parties to exercise maximum restraint, avoid further escalatory action and take immediate steps to de-escalate. He further recalls the obligation of all parties to fully comply with international law, including the protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure, and respect for navigational rights and freedoms.

The Secretary-General urges Iran and the United States to urgently resume negotiations and to address outstanding issues through diplomacy.

We remain committed to supporting all efforts to prevent a return to conflict, to restore stability and advance a comprehensive and durable resolution to this conflict.

OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY

Turning to the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, earlier today, Tom Fletcher, the Emergency Relief Coordinator, who is in Venezuela, did also have a virtual meeting from Venezuela with the Prime Minister of Palestine, Mohammad Mustafa. They underscored the importance of close collaboration and accelerated efforts to improve living conditions in Gaza, particularly around safe water and waste management. Both agreed that the urgency of needs in Gaza is too great to wait for progress on broader political and security tracks. They both welcomed the encouraging milestone of 41,000 students in Gaza were able to sit for their high school exams this year. They also discussed the deteriorating situation in the West Bank, including increased settler violence, as well as, Palestinian displacement.

Also today, Humanitarian Coordinator Ramiz Alakbarov, who is also the Deputy Special Coordinator, started a two-day visit to the Gaza strip.

In Gaza City, he visited a UN Mine Action Service team, whose teams have been assessing and mitigating the risks of explosive hazards, which as you know, continue to be very big in this area.

Accompanied by the representative of the UN Development Programme (UNDP), Dr. Alakbarov visited the Firas market dumping site, also in Gaza city, to review solid waste management efforts.

Since 2023, that market had been used as an improvised dumping site, after municipal crews lost access to Gaza’s two landfills near the Strip’s eastern land perimeter.

Since April, thanks to a project supported by the Occupied Palestinian Territory Humanitarian Fund and implemented by UNDP, teams have transferred about 300,000 metric tonnes of solid waste from that improvised site to another location, farther away from where people are seeking shelter. But access to sanitary landfills, which are east of the so-called “Yellow Line,” remains banned.

Dr. Alakbarov then met with colleagues from UNICEF to discuss ongoing efforts to reduce infestations associated with rodents and parasites, something we have been telling you about regularly. And he also met with WHO and they discussed ongoing medical evacuations.

You might recall that the medical referral route to the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, remains closed. That is of course undermining efforts to expand medical evacuations from Gaza. According to data from the WHO, a little more than 2,100 patients were able to be evacuated since the declaration of a ceasefire in October of last year. However, thousands more need medical services that are just not available today in the Gaza Strip.

Full Highlights: https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/noon-briefing-highlight?date=2026-07-08