UN sets up task force regarding Strait of Hormuz amid Mideast hostilities

UNITED NATIONS, March 27 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has established a task force to develop and propose technical mechanisms specifically designed to meet humanitarian needs in the Strait of Hormuz, his spokesperson said Friday.

"As the conflict in the Middle East unfolds and threatens to intensify, disruptions in maritime trade through the Strait of Hormuz risk creating ripple effects impacting humanitarian needs and agricultural production in the coming months," spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told a daily briefing.

He said that while Guterres is committed to making every effort to achieve a comprehensive and durable settlement of the conflict, the secretary-general determined that immediate action is essential to address maritime challenges and established a task force to find a way to protect shipping.

"This new mechanism for the Strait of Hormuz aims to facilitate fertilizer trade, including the movement of related raw materials," Dujarric said. "The mechanism's operationalization will be done in close consultation with relevant (UN) Member States with full respect for national sovereignty and established international legal frameworks."

The United Nations said Friday the World Health Organization reported that aid shipments are getting "back on track" from Dubai, one of its key relief hubs.

Dujarric said there was growing alarm over intensifying fighting between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, warning that "the Gaza model must not be replicated in Lebanon."

The spokesman said that more than 1 million people, about one-fifth of Lebanon's population, have been displaced since hostilities escalated. The UN Children's Fund reported that an average of 19,000 children are being displaced daily.

The safety of UN peacekeepers has also deteriorated. On Thursday, the UN Interim Force in Lebanon recorded 1,325 trajectories crossing the Blue Line, from the south to the north, the highest number in weeks.

"Hezbollah must stop launching attacks into Israel. And Israel must stop its military operations and strikes in Lebanon, which are hitting civilians the hardest," Dujarric said.

In the Occupied Palestinian Territories, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said two people were killed in the West Bank, one by Israeli settlers near Bethlehem, and the other by Israeli forces in Qalandia Camp, near Jerusalem.

OCHA said that since the onset of the regional escalation last month, more than 150 settler attacks have resulted in casualties or property damage in about 90 communities.

The office said that since January, such settler attacks and access restrictions have displaced nearly 1,700 Palestinians. Less than three months into 2026, this number has already surpassed the total for 2025. Since 2023, 38 Palestinian communities have been emptied of their populations.

In the Gaza Strip, OCHA said the relief response continues at scale despite persistent access restrictions, supply chain disruptions and continued strikes.