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Despite the violence in Gaza, where a military operation Israel says it launched in response to Hamas rocket attacks has been ongoing for two weeks, United Nations agencies are delivering vital supplies to civilians caught up in the deadly conflict.

Despite some problems, voter identification and registration in Côte d’Ivoire have been positive overall in the run-up to elections, a key element in resolving a political crisis that in 2002 divided the West African country into a rebel-held north and Government-controlled south, a top United Nations official said today.

An Additional Protocol to the nuclear safeguards agreement between the United Nations International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the United States that boosts access to nuclear information and sites has now entered into force, making the US the last of the five nuclear-weapon States party to a key global non-proliferation pact to fulfil this obligation.

A United Nations agency that is a lifeline for 750,000 Palestinian refugees in Gaza suspended food delivery operations today after Israeli strikes killed one of its drivers and injured a second after they had received Israeli clearance on the 13th day of an offensive launched with the stated aim of ending Hamas militant rocket attacks into Israel.

The United Nations has confirmed that at least three rockets were fired into Israel from south Lebanon, with Israeli forces returning fire, and has called for maximum restraint following the attack, which comes amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza.

The chief of communications and public information for the United Nations today called on the Israeli Government to ensure immediate access for international media into Gaza, stressing the need for “full and independent” coverage of events unfolding in the territory which has been the target of an Israeli offensive launched nearly two weeks ago.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today that he accepts with regret the decision of the head of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to leave the post in March.

The United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) says the number of suspected cases of cholera in Zimbabwe has now reached almost 36,000 while nearly 1,780 people have died from the infection since the outbreak began over five months ago.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) today called for stepped up action to help victims of conflicts, rising in number worldwide, who do not receive international attention because they are not believed to affect global security.

The United Nations Security Council tonight overwhelmingly called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza leading to a full Israeli withdrawal, the unimpeded provision throughout Gaza of food, fuel and medical treatment, and intensified international arrangements to prevent arms and ammunition smuggling.