This is the News in Brief from the United Nations. 

With Gaza truce on horizon, UN relief teams stand ready to ramp up aid 

Humanitarian agencies preparing to go into Gaza continued to build up stocks of desperately needed aid for the war-torn enclave on Thursday, amid delays in the implementation of a temporary halt in fighting and the release of hostages held by Hamas militants.

Amid rising hunger, UN World Food Programme (WFP) chief Cindy McCain said that the agency was “rapidly mobilizing to scale up assistance inside Gaza” once safe access is granted.

Ms. McCain said that WFP trucks are “waiting at the Rafah crossing, loaded with food slated for families in shelters and homes across Gaza, and wheat flour for bakeries to resume operations”. 

Latest UN humanitarian reports indicated that wheat flour is no longer available in markets in the north of Gaza and that no bakeries are functioning owing to a lack of fuel, water, flour and structural damage.

Since limited aid deliveries through the Rafah crossing with Egypt resumed on 21 October, just over 73 truckloads of WFP food aid have made it into Gaza, falling far short of needs. 

China: WHO asks for data on spread of respiratory diseases 

The UN health agency WHO has made an official request to China for detailed information on a spike in respiratory illnesses in children. 

The Chinese authorities reported the increase 10 days ago, WHO said, and attributed it to “the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions and the circulation of known pathogens” including the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus itself, influenza and a bacterium which causes pneumonia. Other reports of “clusters of undiagnosed pneumonia in children in northern China” followed earlier this week.

WHO said that it had asked China for laboratory results from the pneumonia clusters as well as insight into the other respiratory diseases which are spreading and the impact on the health system. The UN agency stressed that it was also in contact with clinicians and scientists through its existing technical partnerships and networks in China.

In the meantime, WHO advised people in China follow measures to reduce the risk of respiratory illness, such as recommended vaccination, testing and staying home when ill, masks, ventilation and hand-washing. 

‘Good news for climate’: new UNECE convention to boost rail transport

Just over a week before the start of the COP28 climate conference in Dubai, a new UN convention promises to boost transport of goods by rail, bringing major environmental benefits.

That’s the message from the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), which said that moving cargo by rail between Europe and Asia will be easier, quicker and cheaper after last week’s adoption of the international treaty to streamline cross-border rail trade.

“Given that rail freight emits 5.7 times less greenhouse gases than road transport per tonne-kilometre (which is a unit of measure of freight transport), this is good news for climate action,” said UNECE Executive Secretary Tatiana Molcean.

Rail freight between China and Europe has already seen a major increase in recent years as it is much faster than shipping and less expensive than air transport.

The new treaty will open for signature by all States in February next year.