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The escalating violence in the Middle East region is compounding an already dire humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

The UN Security Council convenes under extraordinary circumstances at 3pm on Monday: amid escalating conflict in the Middle East and repeated calls from the UN for restraint by all sides, the Council turns its attention to a long-standing but under-addressed crisis facing children in war zones. The United States, which holds the rotating presidency for March, decided to have First Lady Melania Trump chair the meeting. Usually, the UN ambassador or senior official of the country holding the presidency takes the gavel. While there have been instances of First Ladies taking part in Security Council meetings, today is the first time a First Lady will preside. Follow speaker by speaker below, and UN News app users can go here. For daily in-depth meetings coverage, go here. 

As the violent escalation in the Middle East entered a third day on Monday sparked by the bombing of Iran by Israel and the United States, the head of the UN atomic energy agency urged a return to diplomacy, given the “increasing risk to nuclear safety” in the region.

Violent escalation in the Middle East has entered a third day as coordinated US and Israeli strikes against Iran continue to cause loss of life and damage across the region, prompting Iranian missile and drone retaliation in multiple countries. Explosions, airspace closures and military alerts have been reported from Tehran to the Gulf states and beyond. Follow our live coverage with updates from across the United Nations system. UN News app users can follow here.

Travelling more than 200 kilometres (124 miles) from Yambio, the capital of Western Equatoria State in southwestern South Sudan, a team of justice experts escorted by United Nations peacekeepers moved slowly along rough, dusty roads, determined to reach communities that have waited years for their day in court. 

The UN education agency, UNESCO, says that the bombing of a primary school during the US and Israeli military attacks on Iran on Saturday constitutes a grave violation of humanitarian law.

“Everything must be done” to prevent wider escalation of war across the Middle East following joint US-Israeli strikes against Iran, and retaliatory action from Tehran targeting multiple countries in the region, the UN Secretary-General told the Security Council on Saturday.

The UN Security Council is due to meet top of the hour in emergency session in the aftermath of major airstrikes across Iran by the United States and Israel. In retaliation, Tehran has launched its own attacks throughout the Middle East, with reports of strikes in Dubai, Doha, Bahrain and Kuwait – threatening to plunge the region into a broader conflict. US President Donald Trump has urged Iranians to “take over” the Government. UN chief António Guterres condemned the escalation, saying it undermines international peace and security. He’ll be briefing ambassadors in New York. Follow our live coverage below. UN News app users can follow here and full meetings coverage can be found daily, here.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres and the heads of UN agencies have condemned Saturday’s joint Israeli and US attacks on Iran and the Iranian retaliatory strikes on Israel and the Gulf Regions.

Four years after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, many people are trying to overcome deep-rooted trauma and rebuild what has been lost. 

16-year-old Raul John Aju – dubbed the “AI Kid of India” at home – is a business prodigy who advises government and industry and has created several innovative AI tools. 

UN human rights chief Volker Türk warned on Friday that the Epstein and Gisèle Pellicot scandals are an illustration of intensifying threats to women and girls forced to suffer in silence.