With access to medical care, water, sanitation and other heath necessities in Lebanon severely limited by Israeli attacks, United Nations humanitarian agencies have stepped up preparations for a coordinated, regional response to the crisis, the World Health Organization (WHO) said today. “Access to health care for injured and patients with chronic conditions is a major concern,” according to WHO’s first situation report from the country since Israel’s reaction to a 12 July cross-border Hizbollah attack. In addition, the agency said that impaired power supplies have limited water and sanitation services, and that food, shelter and health services must be ensured for the displaced population. Read more about UN humanitarian agencies prepare for health impact of crisis in Lebanon 

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s high-level team to the Middle East, which includes his Special Political Adviser, arrived in Cairo today on the first leg of a diplomatic mission aimed at stemming the increasing violence between Israel, Lebanon and the Palestinians. The mission’s first meeting is scheduled with Egyptian Foreign Minister Abu Ghait after which the three-person team is expected to hold discussions with the Secretary-General of the League of Arab States, Amre Moussa, a UN spokesperson said in New York. Annan decided to send the mission following the numerous phone calls he had made with officials around the world about the escalating violence in the region, UN spokesperson Marie Okabe told reporters. Read more about Secretary-General's team on the Middle East arrives in Cairo for first leg of peace talks 

Aiming to help defuse the current crisis in the Middle East, a three-person team dispatched by Secretary-General Kofi Annan to the region held talks today with key Arab countries in Cairo. The Secretary-General’s Special Political Adviser, Vijay Nambiar, who leads the team, and UN senior officials Alvaro de Soto and Terje Roed-Larsen, had meetings on the fringes of the Arab League meeting in Cairo with Oman, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and a representative of the Office of the Palestinian President. The discussions focused on the escalating hostilities in the Middle East – specifically Lebanon, Gaza and Israel, according to UN sources. Read more about UN team holds talks in Cairo on need to defuse crisis 

Following a Security Council meeting today to discuss the escalating crisis in the Middle East, its President called on all “concerned sides and parties” to fully cooperate with a high-level United Nations team – which includes Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s Special Political Adviser – that has been sent to the region. “The Security Council welcomes the Secretary-General’s decision to dispatch to the Middle East a senior-level team,” the 15-member body said in a statement to the press read out by its President for July, Ambassador Jean-Marc de la Sablière of France. “The Security Council calls on all concerned states and parties to extend their full cooperation to the team.” Read more about Security Council calls on all sides in Middle East to cooperate with UN team 

The United Nations Security Council failed today to adopt a draft resolution calling for the immediate and unconditional release of the Israeli soldier abducted by Palestinian armed groups from Gaza and for a halt to what it called a “disproportionate” military reaction by Israel, due to a veto by the United States, which called the text unbalanced and outdated. Denmark, Peru, Slovakia and United Kingdom abstained from voting on the draft, which also called for the release of all Palestinian officials detained by Israel and called on the Palestinian Authority to take “immediate and sustained” action to bring and end the firing of rockets from Gaza into Israel. Read more about US vetoes Security Council resolution on violence in Gaza 

Seeking to defuse what he called “the major crisis” stemming from the flare-up of violence between Israel, the Palestinians and Lebanon, Secretary-General Kofi Annan is sending a three-member team of veteran United Nations officials for wide-ranging talks in the region. The team, led by Annan’s Special Political Advisor Vijay Nambiar and including UN envoy to Middle East Alvaro de Soto and Special Envoy Roed-Larsen, will first visit Cairo to meet with Egyptian officials and consult with Arab League Foreign Ministers meeting there on Saturday, a spokesman announced today. Read more about Annan sends top advisers to Middle East to defuse new crisis 

As the United Nations International Meeting in Support of Israeli-Palestinian Peace entered its second day with events on the ground increasingly drawing world attention, participants considered the peace process and challenges ahead, hearing expert views about the “catastrophic” developments in the Gaza Strip, and the critical need to renew the peace negotiations and strictly uphold international law and United Nations resolutions. The two-day meeting brought together experts, UN member states, parliamentarians, NGO’s and the media to examine the state of the conflict. Read more about UN-sponsored meeting calls on Israel to pull out of Gaza, Palestinians to stop rockets 

Voicing deep concern over developments in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today called on both sides to take measures to defuse the tension. In a statement issued by his spokesman, Mr. Annan cited the continued detention of an Israeli soldier by Palestinian militants; the killing by Palestinian militants of an Israeli civilian; further rocket attacks against Israel; and Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip which have resulted in a serious deterioration in humanitarian conditions. Read more about Annan calls on both Palestinians and Israelis to take measures to defuse crisis 

Calling on all sides in the upsurge of violence in the Gaza Strip to exercise maximum restraint and ensure that civilians are not harmed, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan said today the first step towards a solution would be the release of the Israeli soldier kidnapped by Palestinian militants. “I’ve been following with great concern developments in the Middle East,” Mr. Annan told reporters at UN Headquarters in New York, noting that he had been in touch with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Syrian President Bashar al Assad. Read more about Secretary-General calls for ‘maximum restraint’ in Israeli-Palestinian flare-up