The Security Council is holding an open briefing this afternoon on the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question, at the request of the delegations of Switzerland and the United Kingdom in light of the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza and following a 27 August statement by UN Under-Secretary-General for Safety and Security Gilles Michaud on the dire security situation for humanitarians and UN personnel there.
The briefing is expected to focus on the recent detection of type 2 poliovirus (polio) in Gaza and measures to halt its spread.
Joyce Msuya, Acting Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, and Michael Ryan, Deputy Director-General and Executive Director of the Health and Emergency Programme of the World Health Organization (WHO), will brief.
