New York: Europe and the Arabs
UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric confirmed that the organization had been informed by Israel that it would not renew the visa of Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in the occupied Palestinian territory, Lynne Hastings, which expires later this month. According to what was stated in the United Nations daily news bulletin, a copy of which we received at dawn on Saturday
In response to questions from reporters in New York on Friday, Mr. Dujarric said that UN employees around the world “do not overstay their visas,” but he reiterated the Secretary-General’s full confidence in Ms. Hastings, “and the way she has done her job.”
He added: "To say the least, [holding the position of] Humanitarian Coordinator in the occupied Palestinian territory is a difficult job, both in terms of the humanitarian situation and the political situation."
In response to a question about the reasons Israel gave for this decision, Mr. Dujarric said he could only speak on behalf of the United Nations, but pointed to “some completely unacceptable public attacks against it on the social networking site X (formerly Twitter).”
“Direct personal attacks on UN staff anywhere around the world are unacceptable and put people’s lives at risk,” he said.
In response to media reports about Israel's intention to work with the United Nations to place a person in this position "with whom it feels more comfortable," the spokesman said that the organization deals with every member state to which it sends senior officials and resident coordinators, "and this is just a statement of fact because in every country we go to... From Afghanistan to Zimbabwe, UN employees need visas.”
“At the end of the day, we have to make sure that there is an agreement, and that everyone is okay with the people we send,” he stressed.
On the other hand, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) said that the Gaza Strip has once again become, after the resumption of hostilities, the most dangerous place for children in the world. It warned of the risk of hundreds of children being killed and injured every day if violence returns to the scale it was before the humanitarian truce.
UNICEF spokesman James Elder, who is in Gaza, spoke with UN News about the scene as fighting resumed. He touched on the injuries suffered by children due to the ongoing war, including burns and serious wounds, and said that about 1,000 children were subjected to amputation of limbs - during the recent period - while more than 5,000 were killed according to reports.
  He added that failure to act and allow attacks to resume means allowing more children to be killed. Elder spoke about the heroic efforts made by colleagues working with United Nations agencies in the Gaza Strip. He said that continuing anger, polarization, destroying Gaza, and killing children cannot in any way bring safety to children in Palestine and Israel.