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HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STEPHANE DUJARRIC,

SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES

WEDNESDAY, 11 MARCH 2026

SECRETARY-GENERAL/TRAVELS

The Secretary-General landed in Türkiye today to begin his Ramadan solidarity visit, which was announced yesterday. Tomorrow, he will meet with representatives of non-governmental organizations that support refugees. He will also visit the Ankara Provincial Directorate of Migration Management, one of the provincial branches of the Presidency of Migration Management responsible for procedures related to foreigners in Türkiye.

This visit is intended to highlight the generosity of Türkiye in hosting refugees. Drawing on his previous leadership as High Commissioner for Refugees, the Secretary-General will engage participants on issues related to their situation.

He will underscore the important and complementary role of civil society organizations in supporting the protection and service delivery, and encourage strengthened cooperation between civil society and Government, and this to enhance coordination and ensure that timely support reaches the most vulnerable.

In Ankara, he is scheduled to receive the Atatürk International ɫ��TV Prize on behalf of United Nations staff around the world. While in the Turkish capital, he will meet with officials, including the Foreign AffairsMinister, Hakan Fidan, and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.  Discussions will focus on the UN-Türkiye partnerships and of course on the situation in the wider region. He will also attend a Ramadan iftar meal tomorrow night.

SECURITY COUNCIL

In the Security Council this morning, there was a meeting on Lebanon. Briefing Council members, Rosemary DiCarlo, the Under-Secretary-General for Political and ɫ��TVbuilding Affairs, noted that amid an already devastating escalation in the Middle East, the decision by Hizbullah to attack Israel on 2 March has again drawn Lebanon into a conflict it neither sought nor can it afford.

Ms. DiCarlo stressed that to prevent further loss of life and to create the space for meaningful political engagement, violence must stop. She emphasized that the United Nations will continue to work closely with all concerned to restore calm and to protect civilians.

Also briefing members was Jean-Pierre Lacroix, the Head of our ɫ��TV Operations [department]. He said that in this dangerous and precarious environment, the UN ɫ��TVkeeping Force in Lebanon, UNIFIL, remains on the ground implementing its mandate as far as the security conditions on the ground allow it. He noted that there have been several incidents that have jeopardized the safety and security of our peacekeepers, stressing that all parties bear a clear and unequivocal responsibility to ensure the safety and security of United Nations peacekeepers.

For his part, Tom Fletcher, the Emergency Relief Coordinator, said that we and the broader humanitarian community are fully mobilized to complement the efforts that are being led by the government of Lebanon in addressing this humanitarian crisis. He noted that we and our partners have provided over 500,000 hot meals, distributed over 270,000 litres of bottled water, provided hygiene items and household supplies and 123,000 litres of fuel to sustain critical services,adding that the Rapid Response Teams are delivering life-saving supplies in shelters and 125 Health Sector-supported mobile primary healthcare units are providing services. Child protection and psychosocial support are being expanded, alongside the preparations for emergency cash assistance for vulnerable families and children.

In the midst of this crises, and cooperation and coordination with the Government of Lebanon, a three-month, hyper-prioritized Flash Appeal will be launched in Beirut later this week, Mr. Fletcher told Council members. He noted that this emergency scale-up comes on top of an existing humanitarian programme under the 2026 Lebanon Response Plan.                                        

Mr. Fletcher added that he will support these efforts with a rapid response allocation of $15 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund and that will help scale-up life-saving support work, and additional funds will be released through a reserve allocation from the Lebanon Humanitarian Fund.

LEBANON 

The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) continues to record a growing number of incidents across the Blue Line, including rockets and projectiles fired from Lebanon into Israel, and airstrikes by the Israel Defense Forces impacting southern Lebanon, including Bayt Lif in Sector West and Qabrikha, Ett Taibe and Raabatt Talateen in Sector East.

The UN Mission notes that heavy artillery shelling by Israel has also been reported in various areas of Sector East. UNIFIL has also observed ground movements from the Israeli Defense Forces including near Alma al-Shab, Yaroun in Sector West and El Adeisse in Kafer Kela and Khiyam in Sector East. 

The UN Mission continues to facilitate humanitarian access in support of those impacted by the ongoing hostilities. We urge all involved to avail of diplomatic channels to avoid further escalation and return to the implementation of Security Council Resolution 1701. 

OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) have more details on how ongoing restrictions on aid operations are worsening an already critical humanitarian situation in Gaza.

One example we can share with you today is about the growing number of generator failures in hospitals due to the lack of spare parts and lubricating oil. 

These generators are running just about 24 hours a day. UN humanitarian partners are coordinating fuel support and continue to engage with authorities and others for the entry of generators, supplies to maintain them and energy solutions to prevent any further disruptions to health services. 

Meanwhile, UN partners working on health and the Ministry of Health in Gaza report high levels of infections spread by insects, and that can be found in many of the displacement sites throughout Gaza. Nearly 23,000 suspected cases were recorded last month alone. Supplies of hygiene kits, insecticides and scabies’ treatment remain critically low, limiting our ability to respond. We and our partners are coordinating efforts to pinpoint hotspots and rapidly deploy teams to strengthen the response to prevent further outbreak of scabies.

On emergency shelter assistance, since Sunday, our partners have provided tents, bedding and kitchen essentials to nearly 7,000 families. This is on top of assistance that has been provided by local authorities or directly by Member States. We once again stress that these materials provide only limited protection and that longer-term solutions are critically needed before the summer. 

The UN and its humanitarian partners reiterate that we need our work to be facilitated and not hindered, and we need fewer restrictions.

Turning to the West Bank, OCHA warns that Palestinians’ access to their places of work and where they receive services continues to be impeded by tightened movement restrictions imposed by Israeli security forces. These largely impede movement between cities and keep iron gates at the entrance of many villages closed.  

At the same time, high levels of violence are persisting. New figures indicate that more than 180 Palestinians have been displaced due to settler attacks and access restrictions across the West Bank since the onset of the regional escalation.  

This brings the total number of Palestinians displaced within this context so far this year to more than 1,500 people, 90 per cent of the number for all of last year. OCHA reminds us that more than 40 per cent of those displaced are children, and that displacement deepens people’s reliance on humanitarian aid support and is often associated with the loss of economic livelihoods. OCHA also calls again for the protection of Palestinians in the West Bank and for the perpetrators of violence against them to be held to account. 

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO

Moving to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where a new escalation of violence this morning in Goma has tragically resulted in the death of one of our UNICEF colleagues, 

The Secretary-General joins the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in expressing his outrage and that our colleague Karine Buisset was killed in a drone strike on a building that was housing aid workers. Karine was a dedicated humanitarian who worked tirelessly to support children and families impacted by conflict and crisis.  

We, along with UNICEF, extends our deepest condolences to her family, her friends and her colleagues at UNICEF.

As we said many times, the parties must ensure the protection of civilians and those providing life-saving assistance. Humanitarian personnel must never be a target. This is international law. It is not up for debate, nor is up for negotiation. It must be respected.

According to our OCHA colleagues, this is the second humanitarian worker killed in the DRC this year, and we are only, sadly, at the beginning of March. Since January, at least 92 incidents impacting humanitarian workers have been reported across the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Last year, more than 650 such incidents were recorded, with 13 humanitarian workers killed and 41 injured across the provinces of North Kivu, South Kivu, Ituri, Tanganyika and Maniema. 

Today, UN peacekeepers, [including] from the Mission’s firefighting section, responded for emergency support and also for the initial assessment of the strike in Goma. Our Acting Head of the Mission, Bruno Lemarquis, strongly condemned today’s escalation of violence, which notably involved, as we told you, the use of armed drones, which  endangers civilians and UN personnel.  The use of drones, he said, is deeply concerning. 

He called for a swift, independent and credible investigation to identify those responsible and bring them to justice.

The mission also reiterated our call on all parties to immediately cease hostilities, in accordance with their commitments to respect the ceasefire; to prioritize the path towards the political solution and to capitalize on the gains recently achieved within the framework of peace efforts. 

SUDAN

From Sudan, where the situation also remains tragic, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is alarmed by continued attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure we have seen in recent days. In South Kordofan, the Sudan Doctors Network said that artillery shelling yesterday in Dilling struck residential areas, killing seven civilians, including a child, and injuring 13 other people. 

Elsewhere, local sources tell us that civilian casualties occurred on Monday when vehicles travelling on the road linking North Darfur toNorthern State came under attack. Critical infrastructure has also been impacted. One of Sudan’s largest power stations, the Um Dabakir Thermal Power Station in Rabak, inWhite Nile State, was reportedly struck by drones yesterday, causing fires to two transformers and triggering major [power] outages in Kosti town and parts of Rabak. 

The UN, along with its partners, are continuing to deliver assistance where possible, food, shelter, water, healthcare, cash, nutrition and protection support. Despite restricted access, insecurity and severe funding shortfalls, humanitarian organizations in Sudan reached 2.6 million people just in January with aid, out of the over 20 million people we aimed to reach across the country.

UKRAINE

In Ukraine, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that civilians were killed and injured in overnight attacks across the country. Residential buildings, education facilities and energy infrastructure also sustained damages. That is what local authorities are telling us.  

As of this morning, parts of the Dnipro, Donetsk and Kharkiv regions remained without electricity due to attacks on energy infrastructure. Also today, a drone strike on a public bus in Kherson reportedly injured more than a dozen civilians.

Meanwhile evacuations continue. Yesterday, 440 people were evacuated from front-line areas in the Donetsk region. We, along with our partners, are distributing emergency shelters’ material and providing psychosocial assistance.   

More broadly, in January this year, we and our humanitarian partners reached more than 950,000 people across Ukraine.

HUMANITARIAN FUNDING/87 MILLION LIVES CAMPAIGN 

Earlier today, Tom Fletcher, the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, also spoke to reports from Geneva about his efforts for the UN to reach 87 million people with life-saving aid, for which we need $23 billion. 

Mr. Fletcher said that the developments of the past two weeks further confirm that we’re living in a time of brutality, a time of impunity and a time of indifference. 

He noted that we are overstretched, under sustained attack and under-resources, but we refuse to give up on the people that rely on us to just survive.  

Mr. Fletcher launched a new campaign today to rediscover solidarity and our humanity, even in these toughest of times. He said that, so far, we have received $5 billion for the plan, with additional pledges and announcements bringing the total to $8.7 billion, but that we still face a massive gap.

Governments alone can’t carry the full burden, he stressed, calling on civil society, the private sector and the public to show support. 

“We’re not asking you to choose between a hospital in Brooklyn, London or Mexico City, or a hospital in Kandahar, Akobo or Port-au-Prince,” he said. “We’re just asking you to recognize that maybe the world can spend a little bit less on weapons this year and a little bit more on doing something extraordinary and world-changing.”   

NOON BRIEFING GUEST

Tomorrow, Georgette Gagnon, the Deputy head of Mission in Afghanistan will be the noon briefing guest. She will brief reporters on the situation in Afghanistan.             

FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTION &�Բ�����;

Kyrgyzstan and Moldova have paid their full dues to the Regular Budget. The payments bring the number of fully paid-up Member States to 81.