Gaza - New York: Europe and the Arabs
The violent Israeli operation on Jenin and its camp continues for the fourth consecutive day, as the army targeted Al-Nusra Street and imposed a siege on the camp using "Quadcopter" aircraft that fired on anyone moving inside the camp, resulting in deaths and injuries, according to Palestinian media.
The Israeli army announced that the "Egoz" unit, which is one of the elite units that fought for 15 months in Gaza and participated in the war on Lebanon, is involved in the military operation in Jenin. According to what was published by the European network Euronews
In Gaza, where the truce enters its sixth day, Israel expects to receive from Hamas today a list of the names of four female prisoners who will be released tomorrow, including three female soldiers, in exchange for 180 Palestinian prisoners, including 90 sentenced to life imprisonment, according to the newspaper "Yedioth Ahronoth".
The same newspaper said that there is no intention to withdraw from southern Lebanon due to "the Lebanese army's failure to implement its obligations," noting that the Israeli security cabinet did not vote on such a resolution, and that Tel Aviv is prepared for any scenario with Hezbollah, which threatened to take action yesterday. This comes after the UN Security Council, under the rotating presidency of Algeria, held a meeting on the situation in the Middle East - including the Palestinian issue - focusing on the situation of children in Gaza. Tom Fletcher, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, and Bissan Nateel from the Tamer Institute for Community Education, spoke before the council during the meeting. According to the UN daily news bulletin, a copy of which we received on Friday morning, Fletcher spoke in his testimony about what Gaza’s children have witnessed over the past fifteen months, saying: “Children have been killed, starved and frozen to death. They have been maimed, orphaned and separated from their families. Conservative estimates suggest that more than 17,000 children are separated from their families in Gaza. Some children have died before taking their first breath, dying with their mothers during childbirth.” He added that children have lost their education and schools, and that those with chronic diseases have struggled to access the care they need, and many have been unable to do so. He said that many children have faced sexual violence, and that girls have faced an affront to their dignity by not having access to menstrual care and supplies. Tom Fletcher stated that one million children in Gaza need mental health care and psychosocial support to treat depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts, according to UNICEF. He said that a generation has been traumatized. Against the backdrop of “this horror,” Fletcher said the United Nations and its partners were seizing every opportunity presented by the ceasefire to expand the response across the Gaza Strip. He said that safe, unhindered humanitarian access, the absence of hostilities and the near cessation of criminal looting over the past days had greatly improved the ability of aid agencies to operate.
The UN official spoke of the increased flow of supplies and the strengthening of life-saving services, and said that aid organizations and agencies were united in working to achieve humanitarian goals, “and at the heart of these efforts – as always – is UNRWA.”
But he said that aid agencies could not do this alone, and that increasing aid to Gaza required a collective effort. He noted that the entirety of Gaza – more than two million people – depended on humanitarian support. He stressed the importance of regularly replenishing stockpile supply lines, including by member states, and of quickly supplementing aid efforts by the private sector.
West Bank
The UN humanitarian chief turned to the West Bank, which he said had witnessed – since October 2023 – unprecedented levels of casualties, displacement and restrictions on humanitarian access. The situation has worsened since the ceasefire was declared, Fletcher said.

“Israeli settlers are attacking Palestinian villages and setting fire to homes and property. Increased restrictions on movement are hampering Palestinians’ ability to access basic services and livelihoods. Mass arrests are occurring across the West Bank,” Fletcher said.

The UN official expressed particular concern about the situation in Jenin, where “the Israeli military operation, using helicopter gunships and air strikes with ground forces,” has resulted in deaths, destruction of infrastructure and displacement. He said this follows a weeks-long operation by the Palestinian Authority, during which access restrictions and clashes with Palestinian militants have displaced some 2,000 families from the camp and left a large number of people dead.

Fletcher made three demands to the Security Council: first, to ensure the maintenance of the ceasefire; second, to ensure respect for international law throughout the occupied Palestinian territory in Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. Here, he stressed the need to protect civilians and meet their basic needs; release all hostages; and free arbitrarily detained Palestinians.

The third request is for member states to ensure good funding for humanitarian operations. He pointed out that the humanitarian appeal for 2025 requests $4.07 billion to meet the needs of 3 million people in Gaza and the West Bank. He said that this appeal is essential to respond to the massive needs and maintain the ceasefire. The UN official concluded by saying that "the children of Gaza are not accidental casualties. They deserve, like children everywhere, security, education and hope. They tell us that the world was not with them during this war. We must be with them now." From Gaza, via video call, Bisan Nateel from the Tamer Institute for Community Education spoke about her experience with the war. She told the council members that the institution carries out artistic and literary activities for children to express themselves in safe ways and in free spaces. She mentioned that all of this was lost in the war, and there are no longer schools or playgrounds, and everything has been transformed into shelters and displacement camps.

Through engaging with the children, she added that the children of Gaza were dreaming of returning to their schools, not hearing the sounds of planes bombing them, and finding food, water and the most basic necessities of life.
She said that she had always followed - during the past months - the Security Council sessions on the radio, hoping that the Council would stop the fire. She was also thinking about human rights, which she was studying in school, most importantly the right to life, which she said was the first thing violated during the war.
She expressed her hope that the ceasefire would continue so that the children could return to their schools and the people of Gaza could return to their normal lives, and that the basic necessities of life would be available in the Strip.