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The Security Council Security Council Situation Report 10 November 2025
The Situation in the Middle East
Gaza
Two years after Israel invaded the Gaza Strip in retaliation for the Hamas-led attack on Israel on 7 October 2023, and a month after a sixth Security Council draft resolution was vetoed by the United States, a ceasefire has been signed by both parties. In the week following the agreement there have been multiple flare-ups of violence, perpetrated by Hamas and Israel. Most recently, on Sunday 19 October, over 100 Palestinians were killed in a retaliatory strike by Israel, citing that the escalation was a response to Hamas killing two Israeli soldiers. Following the strike, both sides have still reiterated their commitment to keeping the truce.
Aid distribution, one of the key points of the ceasefire, has been temporarily paused by Israel due to the strike, with assurances aid would resume in the following days. Per this most recent agreement, humanitarian aid will be, at minimum, consistent with the previous ceasefire from January 2025. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) confirmed hundreds of trucks were able to access affected areas. The Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator reported as of 17 October that aid is rapidly entering through the Israeli side of the Kerem Shalom border crossing. The Rafah Crossing in particular, is still closed pending Hamas returning the remaining deceased Israeli hostages. Per OCHA, there have been no aid distributions to the northern areas of Gaza since 12 September, and the lack of accessible border crossings remain a significant barrier to providing aid to Gazans. As of 7 November, the World Food Programme has been able to deliver food parcels, which contain enough rations for 10 days, to over 1 million people in Gaza.
As it stands: Palestine is currently experiencing a Phase 5 Famine and there have been over 67,000 Palestinian fatalities and almost 170,000 injured. Less than 40 percent of hospitals are in operation, over 1,700 healthcare workers and 565 United Nations employees have been killed. As of July 2025, 78 percent of all structures in Gaza had been destroyed.
Bibliography
Boxerman, Aaron, et al. (13 October 2025). What’s Left to Be Done in the Gaza Cease-Fire Deal.
FAMINE REVIEW COMMITTEE: GAZA STRIP, AUGUST 2025 (August 2025). The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification Famine Review Committee.
Gaza: Aid teams race to push back hunger; one million food parcels delivered (4 November 2025). United Nations News.
Gritten, David and Rushidi Abualouf, (29 October 2025). Israeli strikes in Gaza kill 104, health ministry says, after Hamas accused of killing soldier. BBC News.
Hume, Tim (19 October 2025). Israeli strikes kill 42 in Gaza as both sides say the other breached truce. Al Jazeera.
Reported impact snapshot | Gaza Strip (7 October 2025) (7 October 2025). United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
Simmons, Keir, et al. (15 January 2025). Israel and Hamas reach deal on Gaza ceasefire and hostage release. NBC News.
Today’s top news: Occupied Palestinian Territory, Central African Republic (17 October 2025). United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
Trump’s 20-point Gaza peace plan in full (9 October 2025). BBC.
‘We’re turning the tide on Gaza starvation crisis’ – UN aid chief (17 October 2025). BBC.
United Nations Documents:
United Nations, Security Council . S/2025/583.
The Situation in the Sudans
On 26 October 2025, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) gained control of the city, al-Fasher, after 18 months of fighting between the RSF and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF). It is estimated that at least 2,000 civilians have died. Before the civil war broke out, over one million people were living in al-Fasher; the most recent reports estimated a quarter of a million people now remain in the city. Those who remain face famine—the only food most people have left is animal feed. The RSF’s control of al-Fasher has given the paramilitary force control of all five state capitals in the Darfur region. The Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court has reported allegations of, “mass killings, rapes and other crimes,” committed by the RSF during its siege of al-Fasher. The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) spoke to many survivors who reported demands of ransom, mass killing of civilians, gang rape and the targeting of a maternity hospital where at least 460 people were killed. By 31 October 2025, the United Nations human rights office (OHCHR) reported more than 36,000 people had fled to the neighboring town of Tawila, where more than 652,000 displaced people are currently sheltered.
Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, stated, “It is clear that we need a ceasefire in Sudan. We need to stop this carnage that is absolutely intolerable.” In September 2025, the United States of America proposed a peace plan that has yet to be accepted by the RSF or SAF. However, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia—the other members of a US-led quartet trying to facilitate an end to the fighting—agreed to the peace plan. The United Arab Emirates is suspected of providing weapons to the RSF, while Egypt and Saudi Arabia have been accused of outside interference within the Sudanese civil war.
Bibliography
10034th meeting- UNISFA + Sudan/South Sudan (Following the adjournment of the 10033rd meeting). United Nations Security Council.
Ali, Faisal (3 November 2025). New light shed on el-Fasher horror as survivors arrive in Sudan’s Tawila. Al Jazeera.
Booty, Natasha, and Farouk Chothia (29 October 2025). A simple guide to what is happening in Sudan. BBC.
Keath, Lee, and Price, Michelle. (7 November 2025). The role outside powers are playing in Sudan’s continued, brutal war. PBS News.
Knox, Brady (4 November 2025). Top RSF commander estimates at least 7,000 civilians killed in El Fasher massacre in Sudan. Washington Examiner.
Kottasova, Ivana. (7 November 2025). Sudan’s bloody conflict is plagued by foreign influence- here is what we know. CNN.
Malik, Nesrine (3 November 2025). Blood spilled in Sudan can be seen from space. Nobody can feign ignorance about what’s going on. The Guardian.
Motamedi, Maziar (1 November 2025). Thousands missing, new horrors emerge after RSF taking of Sudan’s el-Fasher. Al Jazeera.
Statement of the ICC Office of the Prosecutor on the situation in El-Fasher, North Darfur (3 November 2025). International Criminal Court.
Sudan slams RSF ‘war crimes’ in el-Fasher as survivors recount killings (3 November 2025). Al Jazeera.
Tens of thousands fleeing on foot amid atrocities in Sudan’s El Fasher (31 October 2025). UN News.
UN secretary-general warns that war in Sudan is ‘spiraling out of control’ (4 November 2025). CNN.
Wintour, Patrick (4 November 2025). As criticism grows, is UAE ready to walk away from Sudan’s RSF militia?. The Guardian.
Wintour, Patrick (4 November 2025). Sudan civil war spiralling out of control, UN secretary general says. The Guardian.
The Situation in the Middle East
Gaza
Two years after Israel invaded the Gaza Strip in retaliation for the Hamas-led attack on Israel on 7 October 2023, and a month after a sixth Security Council draft resolution was vetoed by the United States, a ceasefire has been signed by both parties. In the week following the agreement there have been multiple flare-ups of violence, perpetrated by Hamas and Israel. Most recently, on Sunday 19 October, over 100 Palestinians were killed in a retaliatory strike by Israel, citing that the escalation was a response to Hamas killing two Israeli soldiers. Following the strike, both sides have still reiterated their commitment to keeping the truce.
Aid distribution, one of the key points of the ceasefire, has been temporarily paused by Israel due to the strike, with assurances aid would resume in the following days. Per this most recent agreement, humanitarian aid will be, at minimum, consistent with the previous ceasefire from January 2025. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) confirmed hundreds of trucks were able to access affected areas. The Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator reported as of 17 October that aid is rapidly entering through the Israeli side of the Kerem Shalom border crossing. The Rafah Crossing in particular, is still closed pending Hamas returning the remaining deceased Israeli hostages. Per OCHA, there have been no aid distributions to the northern areas of Gaza since 12 September, and the lack of accessible border crossings remain a significant barrier to providing aid to Gazans. As of 7 November, the World Food Programme has been able to deliver food parcels, which contain enough rations for 10 days, to over 1 million people in Gaza.
As it stands: Palestine is currently experiencing a Phase 5 Famine and there have been over 67,000 Palestinian fatalities and almost 170,000 injured. Less than 40 percent of hospitals are in operation, over 1,700 healthcare workers and 565 United Nations employees have been killed. As of July 2025, 78 percent of all structures in Gaza had been destroyed.
Bibliography
Boxerman, Aaron, et al. (13 October 2025). What’s Left to Be Done in the Gaza Cease-Fire Deal.
FAMINE REVIEW COMMITTEE: GAZA STRIP, AUGUST 2025 (August 2025). The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification Famine Review Committee.
Gaza: Aid teams race to push back hunger; one million food parcels delivered (4 November 2025). United Nations News.
Gritten, David and Rushidi Abualouf, (29 October 2025). Israeli strikes in Gaza kill 104, health ministry says, after Hamas accused of killing soldier. BBC News.
Hume, Tim (19 October 2025). Israeli strikes kill 42 in Gaza as both sides say the other breached truce. Al Jazeera.
Reported impact snapshot | Gaza Strip (7 October 2025) (7 October 2025). United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
Simmons, Keir, et al. (15 January 2025). Israel and Hamas reach deal on Gaza ceasefire and hostage release. NBC News.
Today’s top news: Occupied Palestinian Territory, Central African Republic (17 October 2025). United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
Trump’s 20-point Gaza peace plan in full (9 October 2025). BBC.
‘We’re turning the tide on Gaza starvation crisis’ – UN aid chief (17 October 2025). BBC.
United Nations Documents:
United Nations, Security Council . S/2025/583.
The Situation in the Sudans
On 26 October 2025, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) gained control of the city, al-Fasher, after 18 months of fighting between the RSF and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF). It is estimated that at least 2,000 civilians have died. Before the civil war broke out, over one million people were living in al-Fasher; the most recent reports estimated a quarter of a million people now remain in the city. Those who remain face famine—the only food most people have left is animal feed. The RSF’s control of al-Fasher has given the paramilitary force control of all five state capitals in the Darfur region. The Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court has reported allegations of, “mass killings, rapes and other crimes,” committed by the RSF during its siege of al-Fasher. The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) spoke to many survivors who reported demands of ransom, mass killing of civilians, gang rape and the targeting of a maternity hospital where at least 460 people were killed. By 31 October 2025, the United Nations human rights office (OHCHR) reported more than 36,000 people had fled to the neighboring town of Tawila, where more than 652,000 displaced people are currently sheltered.
Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, stated, “It is clear that we need a ceasefire in Sudan. We need to stop this carnage that is absolutely intolerable.” In September 2025, the United States of America proposed a peace plan that has yet to be accepted by the RSF or SAF. However, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia—the other members of a US-led quartet trying to facilitate an end to the fighting—agreed to the peace plan. The United Arab Emirates is suspected of providing weapons to the RSF, while Egypt and Saudi Arabia have been accused of outside interference within the Sudanese civil war.
Bibliography
10034th meeting- UNISFA + Sudan/South Sudan (Following the adjournment of the 10033rd meeting). United Nations Security Council.
Ali, Faisal (3 November 2025). New light shed on el-Fasher horror as survivors arrive in Sudan’s Tawila. Al Jazeera.
Booty, Natasha, and Farouk Chothia (29 October 2025). A simple guide to what is happening in Sudan. BBC.
Keath, Lee, and Price, Michelle. (7 November 2025). The role outside powers are playing in Sudan’s continued, brutal war. PBS News.
Knox, Brady (4 November 2025). Top RSF commander estimates at least 7,000 civilians killed in El Fasher massacre in Sudan. Washington Examiner.
Kottasova, Ivana. (7 November 2025). Sudan’s bloody conflict is plagued by foreign influence- here is what we know. CNN.
Malik, Nesrine (3 November 2025). Blood spilled in Sudan can be seen from space. Nobody can feign ignorance about what’s going on. The Guardian.
Motamedi, Maziar (1 November 2025). Thousands missing, new horrors emerge after RSF taking of Sudan’s el-Fasher. Al Jazeera.
Statement of the ICC Office of the Prosecutor on the situation in El-Fasher, North Darfur (3 November 2025). International Criminal Court.
Sudan slams RSF ‘war crimes’ in el-Fasher as survivors recount killings (3 November 2025). Al Jazeera.
Tens of thousands fleeing on foot amid atrocities in Sudan’s El Fasher (31 October 2025). UN News.
UN secretary-general warns that war in Sudan is ‘spiraling out of control’ (4 November 2025). CNN.
Wintour, Patrick (4 November 2025). As criticism grows, is UAE ready to walk away from Sudan’s RSF militia?. The Guardian.
Wintour, Patrick (4 November 2025). Sudan civil war spiralling out of control, UN secretary general says. The Guardian.