This is the News in Brief from the United Nations.

Israel must allow ‘quantum leap’ in aid delivery UN chief urges, calling for new military strategy

Israel must make meaningful changes in the way it is fighting in Gaza to avoid civilian casualties and implement “a true paradigm shift” in lifesaving aid delivery, UN chief António Guterres said on Friday.

Marking six months of war since what he described as the “abhorrent” Hamas-led terror attacks of 7 October, Mr. Guterres said that nothing could justify the horror unleashed by Palestinian militants that day. 

The Secretary-General also condemned “the use of sexual violence, torture injuring and kidnapping of civilians, the firing of rockets towards civilian targets and the use of human shields, as he called once again for the unconditional release of all hostages.

The past six months of Israel’s military campaign have also brought “relentless death and destruction to Palestinians”, Mr. Guterres noted, with more than 32,000 people reported killed, the vast majority women and children.

The Secretary-General said that he was also deeply troubled by reports that the Israeli military’s bombing campaign had included the use of Artificial Intelligence to identify targets:

“Particularly in densely populated residential areas, resulting in a high level of civilian casualties. No part of life and death decisions which impact entire families should be delegated to the cold calculation of algorithms.”

In a related development, the UN’s top human rights body adopted a resolution on Friday condemning the alleged “use of starvation of civilians as a method of warfare in Gaza”, while also calling for an arms embargo on Israel.

In a resolution adopted by 28 votes in favour, six against and 13 abstentions, the Human Rights Council backed a call "to cease the sale, transfer and diversion of arms, munitions and other military equipment to Israel”.

Co-sponsors of the text included Bolivia, Cuba and the State of Palestine, ahead of the vote which saw support from more than two dozen countries including Brazil, China, Luxembourg, Malaysia and South Africa.

Aid lifeline reaches Sudan’s Darfurs in bid to avert ‘hunger catastrophe’

Two aid convoys carrying lifesaving supplies have reached Sudan’s Darfurs for the first time in months, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) said on Friday, as humanitarians try to avert a “hunger catastrophe”, after nearly a year of heavy fighting.

The convoys crossed into Sudan from Chad in late March carrying enough food and nutrition supplies for 250,000 people facing acute hunger in North, West and Central Darfur. 

Despite this welcome development, the UN aid agency warned that unless the people of Sudan receive a constant flow of aid “via all possible humanitarian corridors from neighbouring countries and across battle lines”, the country's hunger catastrophe will only worsen.

Here’s Leni Kinzli, WFP Communications Officer in Sudan:

“Fierce fighting, lack of security and lengthy clearances by the warring parties have led to delays in the distribution of this assistance to people in need. WFP and our partners urgently need security guarantees and deconfliction so the supplies in North Darfur can be distributed to people who are struggling to find even one basic meal a day.”

Global deployment of rapid diagnostic tests to boost fight against cholera

A massive cholera-busting initiative partnered by the UN is underway, with more than 1.2 million rapid diagnostic tests for the disease on their way to 14 countries.

This is the largest global deployment of cholera tests ever, according to the World Health Organization (WHO); it said that the first shipment was due to land in Malawi on Friday. 

Coordinated by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, the tests will help local health authorities to improve detection of cholera, monitor outbreaks and judge the effectiveness of their vaccination campaigns.

The cholera test kits are bound for countries at high risk of outbreaks in the coming months, including Ethiopia, Somalia, Syria, and Zambia – and they follow pilot studies in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Niger and Nepal.

Cholera has been surging globally since 2021, with high numbers of deaths, despite the availability of simple, effective and affordable treatment.

The global rise in the preventable disease has been driven by poor access to safe water and sanitation - and the failure to detect outbreaks quickly, to limit their spread. 

Communities impacted often do not have access to basic health services, a situation made worse by climate-related factors, conflict and population displacement, the UN health agency noted.

Daniel Johnson, UN News.