JABALYA
A number of you have been asking me all morning about a reaction to the latest round of violence in Gaza, notable in Jabalya camp. I can tell you that the Secretary-General is appalled over the escalating violence in Gaza, including the killing of Palestinians, including women and children, in Israeli airstrikes in residential areas of the densely populated Jabalya refugee camp, and those attacks took place yesterday and today.
The Secretary-General reiterates that all parties must abide by international humanitarian law, including the principles of distinction, proportionality, and precaution. He condemns in the strongest terms any killing of civilians.
Of course, on a broader framework, the Secretary-General continues to call on all parties to bring an end to this shocking violence, pain and suffering. Also, he continues to call for the immediate, unconditional release of hostages currently held in Gaza and also for the entry of vital humanitarian assistance at a scale needed to meet the mounting needs of the Palestinian population.

RAFAH
I can also tell you that today the Commissioner General for the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine, UNRWA, and that is Philippe Lazzarini, visited Gaza today, where he met with Palestinian communities and UNRWA colleagues who continue to serve the civilians in Gaza during this very difficult time. Philippe is the most senior official to be allowed into Gaza since the war began. He said he was there to show his appreciation for UNRWA staff in Gaza, adding that UNRWA has lost 70 colleagues to date. And he said the staff told him that fuel is very much needed for Gaza and that, more than ever, a humanitarian pause is also needed.
Meanwhile, Tor Wennesland, the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, welcomed the opening of the Rafah crossing and that allowed for some 80 sick and wounded Palestinians in Gaza to gain entry into Egypt for immediate and urgently needed medical care, we also understand that 500 foreign passport holders were allowed out and we also were able to do some rotation of UN staff. 
Mr. Wennesland called it an important step in the right direction, which we need to build on. The UN remains on the ground to deliver, as you well know.

ISRAEL/OPT
Just a bit of an update on the humanitarian aid, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported that yesterday, 59 trucks carrying water, food and medicines entered through the Rafah crossing with Egypt. This is the largest convoy since delivery of aid resumed on 21 October, bringing the total number of trucks up to 217 since that date. However, the entry of fuel, which is desperately needed to operate life-saving equipment, is still banned.
Meanwhile, assisting an estimated 300,000 internally displaced persons in shelters in Gaza city and Northern Gaza is increasingly challenging, due to the hostilities and the related inability of humanitarian workers to access the people who desperately need help.
OCHA estimates the cumulative number of internally displaced people since the start of the hostilities in Gaza at over 1.4 million, including 689,000 people staying in about 150 UNRWA shelters, which as we’ve been seeing are all very much over the capacity they were designed to handle.
Also, OCHA says that in 15 herding communities across the West Bank, at least 98 households, comprising of 828 people, have been displaced amid settler violence or increased movement restrictions since 7 October. We estimate that nearly 2,000 Palestinians have been displaced amidst the settler violence in the West Bank so far since the beginning of the year.

SG TRAVEL
The Secretary-General is on his way to London, he will arrive there this afternoon. Tomorrow, he will attend the Artificial Intelligence Safety Summit, hosted by the United Kingdom.
He will deliver remarks at that Summit. We will share those remarks with you. He is also scheduled to have a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak of the United Kingdom.
The Secretary-General will be back in the office Friday morning.

MALI
Update from our peacekeeping Mission in Mali as we’ve been mentioning to you over the last few days and giving you updates on the withdrawal.
We told you that a convoy left the city of Kidal yesterday as part of the withdrawal process. Today, we were just informed that the convoy hit an improvised explosive device, with preliminary information indicating that several peacekeepers were seriously injured. 
A mission to evacuate the injured peacekeepers by air has been launched from Gao, and the Permanent Mission of the troop-contributing-country in question has been kept informed throughout. 
Today’s attack follows two similar incidents yesterday in which two peacekeepers experienced minor injuries and were given medical care on-site. The convoy, the last to depart the Kidal camp, is making its way towards the MINUSMA base in Gao in extremely challenging security conditions.
The convoy was forced to depart without any air support due to a lack of flight authorization by the Malian authorities, which of course has increased the threat to the safety of our peacekeepers as they travel hundreds of kilometers in very unsafe territories.
Also, yesterday we reiterated its determination to complete the withdrawal of MINUSMA from the country - with the exception of the liquidation team, including the rear-parties of contingents and its guard unit, by the date of 31 December. We continue to look forward to Mali’s full cooperation with this process. 

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO   
And another peacekeeping update this time from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the recent allegations of serious misconduct by members of the South African contingent deployed as part of the Peacekeeping Mission - MONUSCO. 
The Mission confirms that the nine identified South African contingent members were repatriated last Friday, along with three senior South African officers, and that was following our decision on the matter which was communicated to the South African authorities on 12 October.   
A team of investigators from South Africa is investigating jointly with the Office of Internal Oversight.
As the investigation progresses, any identified victims will be referred for assistance in line with the UN Comprehensive Strategy on Assistance and Support to Victims of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse.
Meanwhile, the Mission has reinforced monitoring of its camps exit and entry points, curfew measures and visits to out-of-bound areas, while prevention activities among its personnel and host communities continue.

UNFICYP
Under-Secretary-General Jean-Pierre Lacroix will travel to Cyprus from 1 to 3 November to visit the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP), including to take stock of recent developments on the ground.
While in Nicosia, he is expected to meet with the leaders of the two sides on the island, as well as interact with civil society, including women and youth groups. He will visit several key areas where UNFICYP is deployed along the Buffer Zone, including Pyla/Pile. The USG also will interact with peacekeepers to thank them for their service and dedication in implementing the mission’s mandate.