Daily Press Briefing by the Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General

The following is a near-verbatim transcript of today's briefing by Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.

**Guest

All right, good afternoon, everyone.

In a short while, I will be joined here by our guest, Kaveh Madani, Director of the UN University's Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH) and lead author of the report entitled "Global Water Bankruptcy: Living Beyond Our Hydrological Means in the Post-Crisis Era", and he will speak to you about that report.

**UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East

I have the following statement about today's attack, raid in Jerusalem. The Secretary-General condemns in the strongest terms the Israeli authorities' actions to demolish the UNRWA Sheikh Jarrah compound. As he has repeatedly and unequivocally stated, including in his letter to the Prime Minister of Israel on 8 January 2026, the Sheikh Jarrah compound remains United Nations premises, and is inviolable and immune from any form of interference.

The Secretary-General views as wholly unacceptable the continued escalatory actions against UNRWA, which are inconsistent with Israel's clear obligations under international law, including under the Charter of the United Nations and the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations.

The Secretary-General urges the Government of Israel to immediately cease the demolition of the UNRWA Sheikh Jarrah compound, and to return and restore the compound and other UNRWA premises to the United Nations without delay.

**Occupied Palestinian Territory

Turning to the situation in the Gaza Strip, our colleagues with the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) report that the UN and our partners continue to help people in need despite daily impediments that continue to affect the speed and scale of humanitarian operations.

Over the past week, our partners distributed more than 1,300 tents, 7,000 tarpaulins, and thousands of mattresses, blankets and warm clothes across the Strip as families continue to be exposed to winter conditions without adequate shelter.

Our partners estimate that last week's storms also impacted 80 displacement sites across the Strip, with at least 4,000 families' shelters damaged or destroyed. We and our partners delivered emergency food supplies, tents and tarpaulins, as well as hygiene and cooking supplies to more than 660 families.

We reiterate the urgent need for sustainable shelter solutions, including repairing damaged homes, clearing rubble to make more land available, and restoring water and sanitation systems.

On the health front, over the past week, the UN and our partners supported the setting up of 140 specialized surgical and physical rehabilitation beds at Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis, as well as five beds in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Awda Hospital in Deir al Balah.

Meanwhile, our partners working on improving access to education report that nearly 450 temporary learning spaces are now operational, accommodating around 40 per cent of children. They also distributed half a million bars of soap to educational facilities across Gaza.

And today, OCHA reports that the Israeli military dropped leaflets in Bani Suhaila in eastern Khan Younis, which is located east of the so-called "Yellow Line", ordering people to evacuate immediately. OCHA estimates that more than 400 families remain in the area, and our partners have not yet observed any movement of people. OCHA reiterates that civilians must always be protected and allowed to flee safely. They must also be allowed to return when conditions permit, if they wish to do so.

**Syria

I was asked yesterday about the fighting in Syria. I can tell you that the Secretary-General is following with great concern the continuing violence in north-east Syria. He strongly calls for full respect for international law and the protection of civilians. He also stresses the importance of securing detention facilities.

The Secretary-General urges the parties to continue dialogue and to move forward in good faith and work together to secure the implementation of all agreements.

**Ukraine

From Ukraine, our colleagues at the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs tell us that a new wave of attacks has left hundreds of thousands of families without electricity and heating across the country. The Humanitarian Coordinator for Ukraine, Matthias Schmale, condemned these latest strikes by the Russian Federation Armed Forces, which continue to have a devastating impact on civilians amid freezing temperatures. He again called for the immediate cessation of such attacks.

The capital, Kyiv, was heavily impacted, with several parts of the city left without electricity and without access to water. More than 5,000 multi-story buildings currently have no heating. This is what local authorities are telling us. Heating and electricity have also been disrupted in the regions of Chernihiv, Dnipro, Kharkiv, Sumy and Rivne.

Authorities also report that several civilians were killed and dozens were injured across the country.

UN agencies, along with national and international non-governmental organizations (NGOs), are providing hot meals, shelter materials, heating spaces and psychosocial support to impacted people.

**Mozambique

We have an update on the floods in Mozambique from our colleagues at the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. They tell us that more than half a million people have been impacted so far.

The town of Xai-Xai, which is the capital of the hardest hit Gaza province, located near the Limpopo River, has been inundated, prompting people to be evacuated to higher ground. Authorities have also issued alerts for downtown Xai-Xai, including warnings of the risk of crocodiles appearing in flooded areas.

Many roads are still inaccessible, and our partners are exploring alternatives, including the use of sea routes between the capital, Maputo, and the small port of Inhambane, which is closer to most impacted areas.

We, along with our partners, in support of the Government, are scaling up life-saving assistance, while assessments continue in hard-to-reach areas. More support is arriving, including for search-and-rescue, coordination, information management and logistics.

Our humanitarian colleagues note that this flooding emergency comes on top of massive conflict-related displacement in the north of the country that has depleted humanitarian stocks.

OCHA warns that the rains are likely to continue in the coming week, and there is a risk of further flooding. It will also take time for dam levels to reduce, floodwater to recede and soil to stabilize enough to reopen roads.

Our humanitarian colleagues also point out that this latest disaster is a stark reminder of Mozambique's vulnerability to multiple, overlapping shocks - from conflict, drought and repeated cyclones to the severe flooding we're now seeing.

These converging crises continue to strain communities and our capacity to respond.

We urgently need additional funding to sustain and scale up the humanitarian response. We are calling for $348 million this year to support more than 1 million people.

**Sudan

The High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, issued a stark warning to the parties to the conflict in Sudan: the horrific violations and abuses committed during the capture of El Fasher must under no circumstances be repeated in Kadugli, Dilling and the wider Kordofan region.

As you are aware, on Sunday, Mr. Türk concluded a five-day visit to Sudan.

At the end of his visit, he mentioned reports suggesting that additional troops from the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and allied SPLM-North are about 20 kilometres from the besieged city of Kadugli.

He called on the parties to ensure safe passage for civilians who leave areas of active conflict. He added that all parties to the conflict need to ensure that forces allied with them or under their control act in accordance with international human rights and humanitarian law, and to hold those responsible for violations and abuses to account, regardless of their affiliation.

**Security Council

This morning, the Security Council met for closed consultations on South Sudan. The Head of our Peace Operations Department, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, briefed Council members virtually.

**United Nations Development Programme

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has announced that it will relocate a substantial share of positions currently based in its headquarters in New York City.

The move is part of an ongoing effort to adapt to an evolving financial and development landscape, strengthen partnerships, and maximize UNDP's ability to support the world's most vulnerable people.

The relocation will affect almost 400 posts, with approximately three quarters of them transferring to Bonn, Germany, and about one quarter to Madrid, Spain.

UNDP's overall footprint in Bonn will now exceed 400 positions, as it is already the longstanding home of the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme, part of the UNDP family.

**Questions and Answers

Deputy Spokesman: Any questions for me before we go to our guest? Yes, Namo?

Question: Thank you, Farhan. I have three questions. Kobani residents say that they haven't had electricity or water for more than a week. Can your colleagues on the ground confirm this? Do you have any information on it?

Deputy Spokesman: I don't have full information. We've aware of reports that there are certain areas that have lacked electricity. We urge all parties to avoid attacks on civilian infrastructure.

Question: And secondly, there were media reports yesterday including, like, western media reports that a number of ISIS fighters escaped the prisons. Can you confirm that? Do you have anything about that, as well? And lastly, there was the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has verified the authenticity of a video showing allegedly members of the Syrian army demeaning to SDF (Syrian Democratic Forces) female POWs (prisoners of war). One of them is heard saying that you are the most beautiful gift for Abu Mujahid, his colleague. What do you make of this? And what's happening? This is gender-based violence, no?

Deputy Spokesman: We're against all threats against the safety and the dignity of prisoners of war, and I believe that all prisoners of war, including female prisoners of war, need to be treated with a full respect for international law. Regarding your earlier question, as I pointed out, the Secretary-General stresses the importance of securing detention facilities. Abdelhamid?

Question: Thank you, Farhan. I have two question regarding UNRWA. [Philippe] Lazzarini said if this attack on the UNRWA headquarters in Sheikh Jarrah passes without any action, then Israelis will be tempted to go on and destroy other UN buildings in occupied Palestinian territory. That's one thing. And the second, don't you see there is an attack on UNRWA not only by Israel, but also by UNRWA itself or the leadership of UNRWA? Their five decisions were taken in the last few weeks to cut down the hours working hours from 37 and a half to 30; the salaries were cut 20 per cent; 650 were expelled; and they removed the word Palestine from the books in Lebanon. How do you answer to these things? Thank you.

Deputy Spokesman: Regarding your first question, it's exactly the case that UNRWA facilities are United Nations facilities. An attack on UNRWA is an attack on the United Nations. And we believe that they should not be left unaddressed and unresponded to. We hope our international partners across the board will see this situation in which our facilities are being demolished as unacceptable. Regarding UNRWA's actions, I would remind all of you that UNRWA has been taking actions as a result of a lack of funding, and we have had real problems getting our traditional funders to give the sort of resources that UNRWA needs to function. It has taken steps not because it wants to harm its staff who it believes are exceptional and fully worthy of staying at their jobs, but it has to do what it can to preserve as much as possible the functionality of its offices. Yes, Gabriel and then Dezhi.

Question: Thank you, Farhan. And a follow-up to that, I mean, UNRWA's offices were bulldozed, but I didn't hear you mention it in your opening remarks. Did I miss it?

Deputy Spokesman: Yes, you did. I said it first thing.

Question: Thank you. I apologize for coming. Can I have a follow-up?

Deputy Spokesman: Okay, sure.

Question: Thank you. My apologies for missing the top. A follow-up on the WHO (World Health Organization). A year ago, [Donald] Trump announced that the US was going to pull out of the WHO. That goes into effect this week. Can you remind us of the Secretary-General's position on that particular Member State pulling out of the WHO?

Deputy Spokesman: We believe that the World Health Organization is one of the crucial agencies in the UN system. It is a vital part of our efforts to coordinate a range of international responses to some of the most pressing problems we face, including the spread of infectious diseases, including measures for long-term health, and it deserves full support from all Member States. Dezhi?

Question: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs […] Okay. Thank you. So, I can say now. Okay, so, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Israel, they said that the compound of the UNRWA in Jerusalem has already been ceased, has already ceased operation and there were no UN employees present. And it's already been transferred to the jurisdiction of Israel authorities. So, it's actually acted in accordance with Israeli and international law.

Deputy Spokesman: No. That's not true. It's simply not true. UNRWA leased its compound in East Jerusalem from Jordan in 1952. UNRWA has remained in exclusive possession of the compound without interruption until 1967 and continuously thereafter since Israel occupied the territory. Israel's occupation has been determined by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to be unlawful. The ICJ and the UN General Assembly have directed that Israel's unlawful presence in East Jerusalem must end. The compound's a UN facility, and it's therefore inviolable under the Convention on Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations, which all UN Member States are obliged to respect without exception.

Question: Since the compound has been bulldozed, is there any plan for the UN to act, ask for compensation or file anything to ICJ?

Deputy Spokesman: We'll see what further steps can be taken as we evaluate the situation. [cross-talk] But our response is, as I read out in the statement at the start of this briefing, we condemn the steps taken, and we urge Israel to rescind all further such steps.

Question: Will there be concrete actions from the UN? You condemn, you express concern, you worry, then you don't really act? I'm sorry.

Deputy Spokesman: First of all, condemnation is a strong action taken by the United Nations. But international law is clear what needs to happen, and we will remind Israel as well as all other parties of the legal obligations that are applicable in this circumstance. Yes. Pam?

Question: Thank you. A follow-up to the UNRWA questions. What's the UN's plan B at this point in terms of what is the status of distribution of aid? And are other UN agencies, UNICEF, OCHA still being used? Thanks.

Deputy Spokesman: Different agencies are being used. I just gave you a rundown from OCHA of the work being done by the UN humanitarian system as a whole. Part of that though, a very large part given their outreach in the community, is played by the UN Relief and Works Agency. For example, the sort of vaccinations being handled in Gaza right now over the coming days are being carried out in no small part because of the efforts of UNRWA.

Question: And just in terms of that facility that was bulldozed did not have staff there, was there aid that was moved to distribute or was there any aid, the UNRWA aid that's been confiscated and distributed?

Deputy Spokesman: There wasn't aid inside. It's not a warehouse. So, these were different compounds. The staff in recent weeks had been working outside of that compound because of the threats made to it. So, staff were not harmed. But…

Question: And no aid diverted?

Deputy Spokesman: Yeah, it's not about aid. But these are UN facilities. This is a UN building, and its demolition is unacceptable under international law.

Question: Thank you.

Deputy Spokesman: Naureen and then Magdalena.

Question: Thank you, Farhan. Again on UNRWA, was the UN country office notified that Israeli authorities would move in to demolish the headquarters?

Deputy Spokesman: Israel has given a series of announcements over the recent weeks, which we've been aware of, and we've been rebutting and refuting the reasoning behind them. But we made clear throughout the legal unacceptability of these actions. Magdalena?

Question: Thank you, Farhan. So, over the last couple of days and especially overnight, there's been a lot of controversy over Trump's announcement of the Board of Peace and how it's maybe shifting a little bit from just something that focuses on Gaza to even an alternative or replacement of the UN, and I'm wondering if there's comment from the SG on this.

Deputy Spokesman: I made some comments about this yesterday, and I'll stick to what we've said there. Obviously, this is a non-UN group. Regarding the Board of Peace's role in Gaza, that has, as you know, been endorsed in a recent resolution of the Security Council. But that resolution is applicable simply to its work on Gaza, not to any wider work. Yes. Biesan?

Question: Thank you, Farhan. I don't know if I missed this at the top, but your statement on Syria, did you address the agreement that was just announced in Damascus, and we just heard from the UN ambassador, from the Syrian ambassador here about it?

Deputy Spokesman: I didn't talk about that just yet. We are aware of these reports. Obviously, if there is an agreement on the ground, an understanding on the ground that will put a halt to the violence, that would be a welcome development. We'll have to see what happens in the coming hours. We're aware of the different positions that the Syrian authorities and the Syrian Democratic Forces have made just over the past hour. And so, we're hopeful that the parties will continue to be in dialogue with each other and that they will take measures to reduce the violence, but we're keeping an eye out on that situation.

Question: And just one more on UNRWA: We've seen the ICJ had mentioned UNRWA in one of its opinions. We've seen the GA vote on UNRWA. The Security Council in various resolutions had mentioned the importance of UNRWA. But does the Secretary-General think now that, given a Member State has not just demolished the UNRWA compound, we've seen a minister actually supervise the demolition of the compound, that the Security Council should take this on, like something separate, not within other resolutions?

Deputy Spokesman: Well, we believe all the Member States should find this unacceptable. All of this is not to be tolerated, whether we're talking about destruction of UN premises, whether we're talking about the complete lack of cooperation with an entire UN agency despite repeated entreaties, including by the General Assembly and by the International Court of Justice. We're talking about threats being made to UNRWA staff members, and this is a time when more than 370 of our UNRWA colleagues have been killed over the past two years. None of this should be accepted by anyone in the international community, and we hope the Member States will support us fully on this. Sinan?

Question: Thank you, Farhan. I wonder if SG has been in touch with any Syrian local and foreign actors recently?

Deputy Spokesman: Yes. We are in touch with the Syrian actors, and we're seeing what can be done in the hours to come.

Question: Can you please verify, like, which actors, any names?

Deputy Spokesman: I'm not going to talk about specific officials, but we have maintained… As you know, we have a team involved under the Special Envoy's office and they've been in touch with the various parties.

Question: One more, if you don't mind, please. Just one more. Does Secretary-General condemn the HTS (Hayat Tahrir al-Shams) or transitional government's attacks on detention centres and also attacks on minorities?

Deputy Spokesman: Well, I think you heard what I read at the start of this briefing, and I'll just stick to what we said there. Abdelhamid?

Question: Thank you, Farhan, again. Today is one year since Trump took office in the White House. It's very hectic here, as you see. How do you or how the SG evaluates multilateralism under the Trump Administration during this year? Was it hurt, or how does he evaluate?

Deputy Spokesman: I think the Secretary-General spoke very strongly about multilateralism and the challenges that multilateralism faced in his speech delivered on Saturday in London at the eightieth anniversary of the first session of the General Assembly, and I'd just refer you back to what he said there. Dezhi, and then we'll go to the screens.

Question: Very quick question. UNDP decided to transfer 400 positions to Europe. Is that related to the cash issue?

Deputy Spokesman: You know, I know you were in this room when I read out that note. So I would just refer you back to what I read.

Question: But you didn't really mention about the financials things, I think.

Deputy Spokesman: I did. I said the move is part of an ongoing effort to adapt to an evolving financial and development landscape, strengthen partnerships, and maximize UNDP's ability to support the world's most vulnerable people. All right. Now, I believe there's a caller on the screen, Sufian Farabee?

Question: Yes. Can you hear me, Farhan?

Deputy Spokesman: Yes.

Question: This is my first time here on your press briefing. My question is on Bangladesh. The Secretary-General has stood with the Bangladesh people to restore democracy in the country. After the July uprising, Bangladesh now being led by Nobel Laureate professor Muhammed Yunus. As you know, the interim government has scheduled the next election for 12 February. Will the Secretary-General offer any advice regarding the election and the period after election to uphold democracy and freedom of speech?

Deputy Spokesman: Well, certainly, we encourage the elections to proceed, and we have made it clear throughout the UN system that it's vital to ensure that there's an environment for the elections in which all individuals can participate safely and peacefully in public life and freely express different views. And with that, I'll turn now to our guest.