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UNSC to hold open debate on Middle East on April 18, official says

A large number of countries, namely Arab nations, would be represented at the ministerial level, Vanessa Frazier said

UNITED NATIONS, April 1. /TASS/. The UN Security Council will hold an open debate on the situation in the Middle East on April 18, Malta’s Permanent Representative to the UN Vanessa Frazier, whose country is presiding over the UN's top security body in April, told reporters.

"We will also have two high level meetings: the quarterly open debate on the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question, which will be chaired by our foreign minister, on April 18, with the [UN] secretary general as brief," she said.

Frazier said in a response to a TASS question that Malta expected 70 to 80 speakers to take part in the open debate. She added that a large number of countries, namely Arab nations, would be represented at the ministerial level.

Tensions in the Middle East flared up again on October 7, 2023, after militants from the radical Palestinian group Hamas launched a surprise incursion into Israeli territory from the Gaza Strip, killing residents of border communities and taking over 240 people hostage. Hamas described its attack as a response to the aggressive actions of Israeli authorities against the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem’s Old City. In response, Israel announced a total blockade of Gaza and launched a ground operation in the enclave, also carrying out strikes on targets in the Strip and certain areas of Lebanon and Syria. Clashes are also taking place in the West Bank.

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