🌐 UN reiterates call for urgent de-escalation amid Iran-Israel conflict, worsening Gaza crisis | UN News
UN reiterates call for urgent de-escalation amid Iran-Israel conflict, worsening
Gaza crisis 21 June 2025 Peace and Security Senior UN officials reiterated an
appeal for urgent restraint on Saturday as conflict spiral between Israel and
Iran, amid a wider regional crisis exacerbated by Israel's war in Gaza and the
worsening humanitarian situation facing Palestinian civilians.
In a joint call to de-escalate, UN agencies have warned that further conflict
risks triggering new displacement in a region already strained by decades of war
and instability.
The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) noted military strikes have led people in both
Iran and Israel to flee their homes in search of safety from tit-for-tat missile
strikes.
Tweet URL "Movements have been reported from Tehran and other parts of Iran,
with some choosing to cross into neighbouring countries," the agency stated.
Meanwhile, "shelling has caused people in Israel to seek shelter elsewhere in
the country and in some cases abroad.""This region has already endured more than
its share of war, loss, and displacement - we cannot allow another refugee
crisis to take root," said UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi.
"The time to de-escalate is right now.
Once people are forced to flee, there's no quick way back - and all too often,
the consequences last for generations."UNHCR urged countries in the region to
respect the right to seek asylum and ensure humanitarian access to those
affected, while calling on all parties to protect civilians and civilian
infrastructure.
Nuclear risks rise as Iran facilities hitThe conflict escalated sharply
following Israeli airstrikes on multiple Iranian nuclear-related sites in the
past week, including a centrifuge manufacturing workshop in Esfahan, according
to the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)."This is the third such
facility that has been targeted over the past week," Director General Rafael
Mariano Grossi confirmed, noting that the facility had been under IAEA
surveillance as part of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) - the
nuclear deal signed with Iran in 2015, which the United States pulled out of in
2017."We know this facility well.
There was no nuclear material at this site and therefore the attack on it will
have no radiological consequences," he said.
Grossi warned that continued strikes on nuclear infrastructure are severely
undermining nuclear safety and security."Though they have not so far led to a
radiological release affecting the public, there is a danger this could
occur."The IAEA has been tracking damage to sites in Esfahan, Arak, Karaj,
Natanz and Tehran since the Israeli military campaign against Iran began on 13
June.
The agency has been providing regular updates to the UN Security Council, which
has yet to reach consensus on a response.
On Friday, ambassadors debating the escalation heard during an emergency meeting
in New York UN Secretary-General António Guterres warn that if fighting
escalated it could "ignite a fire no one can control." Soundcloud Gaza in ruins,
Palestinians face starvationThe mounting regional crisis is unfolding against
the backdrop of the war in Gaza, where humanitarian conditions continue to
deteriorate.
Tweet URL On Saturday, the head of the UN agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA),
Philippe Lazzarini, painted a grim picture of life in the enclave during an
address to the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation in Istanbul."In Gaza, two
million people are being starved," he said bluntly.
"The newly created, so-called ‘aid mechanism' is an abomination that humiliates
and degrades desperate people.
It is a death-trap, costing more lives than it saves."Lazzarini described a
territory devastated by nearly two years of conflict, with more than 55,000
reported dead by local authorities in the Strip - the majority of them women and
children.
Survivors, he said, "are shadows of their former selves; their lives forever
changed by unspeakable trauma and profound loss."In the occupied West Bank,
displacement and destruction of public infrastructure are altering the
demography of Palestinian camps, he added, in what he described as an effort to
erase the prospect of a Palestinian State under the UN-backed two-State solution
and strip Palestinians of refugee status.
UNRWA in the crosshairs"UNRWA has become an objective of this war," Mr.
Lazzarini warned, citing the deaths of at least 318 of the agency's staff in
Gaza since the 7 October terror attacks on Israel by Hamas and other militants,
the expulsion of international staff, and a campaign of disinformation aimed at
crippling its funding.
Despite these pressures, UNRWA continues to provide lifesaving services,
including over 15,000 health consultations per day, waste management and shelter
support.
UNRWA's financial situation is now "dire," the agency chief said.
"Without additional funding, I will soon have to take unprecedented decisions
affecting our operations across the region."He appealed to Member States to act
urgently: "The sudden loss or reduction of UNRWA's services will only deepen
suffering and despair across the occupied Palestinian territory.
It might spark unrest in the neighbouring countries.
This is something that the region cannot afford, especially now." ♦ Receive
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