The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is holding its quarterly open debate today, Wednesday, on “The Situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian Question.” The UN Deputy Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Ramiz Alakbarov, is scheduled to brief Council members on the latest developments.
The meeting will focus extensively on the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip. According to the most recent update from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), damaged roads, limited storage capacity, and severe shortages of essential materials continue to impede the effective delivery of aid and the long-term humanitarian response. OCHA estimates that more than one million people are in urgent need of emergency shelter assistance, as ongoing winter storms have destroyed thousands of tents.
The session is also expected to highlight continued violations by the Zionist occupation of the ceasefire agreement, which entered into force last October. Palestinian health authorities report that 447 Palestinians have been killed since the ceasefire came into effect.
Council members will further examine recent developments concerning the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). On 20 January, Zionist occupation forces began demolishing the agency’s headquarters in East Al-Quds, followed by the deliberate burning of the compound on 25 January.
These actions occurred after the implementation last year of Zionist domestic legislation aimed at restricting UNRWA’s operations in the occupied Palestinian territory, and despite an advisory opinion issued by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in October, which concluded that the Zionist entity, as the occupying power, is legally obligated to allow United Nations agencies, including UNRWA, to provide humanitarian assistance in Gaza.
In a statement released on 20 January, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the measures taken against the UNRWA compound, reaffirming that the premises remain United Nations property and are inviolable under international law. He urged the occupying authorities to restore the facility and return it to the United Nations without delay.
The debate will also address developments in the occupied West Bank, which witnessed record levels of displacement and settler violence throughout 2025. According to OCHA, more than 37,000 Palestinians were displaced during the year, primarily as a result of Zionist military operations carried out in refugee camps in the northern governorates. Home demolitions in East Al-Quds reached their highest level in nearly two decades, while settler attacks against Palestinians exceeded 1,800 incidents, marking the highest annual figure ever recorded by the United Nations.
