UN Honors Fallen Indonesian Peacekeepers as Middle East Crisis Enters Second Mont

April 12, 2026- The Spokesperson's Briefing Covers Lebanese Humanitarian Collapse, Gaza Aid Shortfalls, DRC Violence, and Secretary-General's Personal Envoy Deployment

PC: Safi Erneste

One month into the Middle East conflict, the United Nations marked a solemn milestone on Wednesday: a ceremony at Beirut's international airport to honor three Indonesian peacekeepers killed in southern Lebanon in the span of two days. At the same time, the UN's noon briefing painted a widening picture of humanitarian crisis stretching from Lebanon and Gaza to the Democratic Republic of Congo — with the Secretary-General dispatching his personal envoy to the region and calling for an immediate end to the war.

Corporal Farzal Ramadan, Major Zulmi Iskandar, and First Sergeant Muhammad Nurwan — all members of the Indonesian armed forces serving with UNIFIL — were posthumously awarded the UNIFIL Medal and the Lebanese Armed Forces Medal at a ceremony in Beirut on Wednesday, in recognition of their dedicated service to the mission in South Lebanon.

Corporal Ramadan was killed on March 29th in an explosion inside a UNIFIL base in Taire, sector East. Majors Iskandar and First Sergeant Nurwan were killed the following day when an explosion destroyed their logistics convoy near Bani Hayan, also in sector East.

The same morning as the ceremony, a fourth peacekeeper was wounded in the shoulder by a bullet at a UN position near Mace Jebel in sector East — the bullet likely originating from clashes between Hezbollah and Israeli forces in the area. UNIFIL immediately issued a stop-fire request. In a separate incident, peacekeepers demanded the IDF remove an Israeli flag erected near a UN position in Kfar Kella, noting that the flag "undermines the perception of UNIFIL's impartiality and risks drawing fire towards peacekeepers."

Secretary-General António Guterres, who spoke to reporters earlier in the day marking the onset of the conflict's second month, warned that the world stands "on the edge of a wider war that would engulf the whole Middle East." His message was consistent: the United States and Israel must stop the war; Iran must stop attacking its neighbors; and the Strait of Hormuz — whose prolonged closure he described as strangling the world's poorest and most vulnerable — must be reopened.

"When the Strait of Hormuz is strangled, the world's poorest and most vulnerable cannot breathe," Guterres said. "The spiral of death and destruction must stop."

To support diplomatic efforts, Guterres has dispatched Jean Arnault as his personal envoy to the region. Arnault is finalizing travel arrangements and will visit countries affected by the conflict, meet with relevant authorities, and engage with facilitators of the diplomatic track to explore how the UN can contribute to a comprehensive and durable settlement.

On the question of whether the Secretary-General's remarks were timed as a response to statements made by President Trump the previous evening, spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric was direct: the text was prepared before the White House statement and should not be interpreted as a reaction. "The Secretary-General has been very consistent in his position on this conflict," Dujarric said.

On the humanitarian front in Lebanon, the picture is deteriorating rapidly. More than 1.1 million people have been forced from their homes — some more than once — as Israeli displacement orders continue to expand into newer areas. In the one month since the escalation began, nearly 15% of Lebanon's entire territory has been impacted by displacement orders.

Half of the health facilities supported by UNFPA in conflict-affected areas have been forced to close due to violence. Healthcare workers themselves have been displaced. Hospitals and primary health centers are overwhelmed and understaffed. UNFPA has deployed nine mobile health units across the country to provide maternal care, emergency obstetric support, care for survivors of sexual violence, and psychosocial support in collective shelters.

Aid delivery itself is under strain. Disruptions to major global transport routes are delaying the delivery of critical assistance. Partners are working to reroute shipments and find alternative supply lines, but gaps remain at a time when needs are growing fastest.

The UN's calls to the international community remain unchanged: immediate de-escalation, protection of civilians and health facilities, protection of humanitarian workers, full and unimpeded access — especially to the south of Lebanon — and urgent funding.

In Gaza, the UN and its partners completed March food distributions this week, reaching every other family with rations covering half of minimum caloric requirements. Partners are producing approximately 130,000 two-kilogram bread bundles and serving nearly 1.5 million meals every day. But with only one crossing open to cargo, the limited entry of commercial goods — particularly cooking gas — means nearly one in two households still relies on unsafe cooking methods, including burning trash.

Emergency medical teams supported by the UN provided approximately 23,000 consultations in the last week of March alone. But persistent delays in clearing specialized medical and surgical equipment continue to limit the ability to provide complex care. Most people remain displaced, and shelter support is still limited to short-term solutions; more durable options depend on the approval and entry of debris-clearing equipment and materials that remain largely blocked.

Recent rains compounded the crisis, damaging at least 15 temporary learning spaces and disrupting education for some 20,000 students.

In the West Bank, UN casualty figures for the first three months of the year show that two out of every three Palestinian fatalities occurred after the regional escalation began on February 28th. More than 200 settler attacks caused casualties or property damage in March, impacting over 100 Palestinian communities — an average of six attacks per day. Unemployment in the West Bank now stands at 28.6%, the spokesperson confirmed.

The briefing also carried a detailed and grim update from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In the Ituri province, at least 30 people were reportedly killed on Tuesday in armed attacks in the locality of Bafwa — bringing the civilian death toll in Mambasa territory to more than 100 since March 11th. More than 390 people have been abducted in the same period. The violence has triggered a new wave of displacement, adding more than 50,000 people to an already displaced population in the territory.

Nine health facilities in Mambasa territory have suspended operations since March 11th, severely limiting access to healthcare for more than 55,000 people. In South Kivu, at least 20 civilians have been killed and around 10 others injured in clashes since March 23rd. In North Kivu, continued fighting displaced approximately 6,000 people between March 28th and 29th, adding to more than 180,000 already displaced there.

The humanitarian response plan for the DRC remains critically underfunded. Of the $1.44 billion appeal, only 30% has been funded — just over $421 million received so far.

Against the backdrop of the day's grim updates, the briefing offered one positive note. Indian peacekeepers from the UN Mission in South Sudan's engineering unit have successfully reopened a key section of the Malakal rank main supply route, which had been closed since last year's floods. The reopened road will improve mobility and facilitate the delivery of humanitarian assistance to communities in Upper Nile State.

The UN Peacebuilding Fund has approved $2.5 million for an initiative in Guinea-Bissau to strengthen anti-corruption efforts, focusing on oversight institutions, digital solutions, and community-level justice and accountability mechanisms.

The UN also marked World Autism Day on Wednesday, with the Secretary-General calling for renewed commitment to inclusion and embracing diversity.

The spokesperson confirmed that the UN stands firmly against dehumanizing language in all cases, responding to questions about a statement attributed to President Trump regarding Iran. "We firmly stand against dehumanizing language in all cases," Dujarric said.

On the question of press freedom, the spokesperson addressed reports of a journalist kidnapped in Baghdad, reiterating that journalists must be able to do their work "freely, without fear of harassment, arrest, kidnapping, or worse."

This article is adapted from the United Nations noon briefing at UN Headquarters in New York.

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