UN humanitarians said on Friday that an agreement to unlock aid deliveries across the Gaza border was near, as UN chief António Guterres delivered a powerful call in front of the gates at the Rafah crossing to get lifesaving aid moving.
“With each passing hour, two things are increasingly clear: first — it keeps getting worse. Second — whatever the outcome, this war will have no winners, only losers”, said UN Secretary-General António Guterres, warning that a resulting meltdown of the global economy is provoking a "hurricane of hunger", as he addressed reporters outside the Security Council chamber in New York.
When the disaster struck the heart of Beirut, Lebanon was already reeling from civil unrest, economic and financial hardship, increasing poverty and unemployment compounded by political tensions and a soaring number of COVID-19 cases. This has been further exacerbated by the heavy burden of Syrian and Palestinian refugees.
