UN Secretary-General António Guterres voiced deep concern on Wednesday over the continuing military escalation in the Middle East amid ongoing strikes by the United States and Iran over control of the Strait of Hormuz. 

The UN maritime agency, IMO, condemned overnight attacks on shipping in and around the Strait of Hormuz that killed at least two seafarers as fresh strikes were reported early Tuesday in the escalating US-Iran war.

As both Washington and Tehran claim to control the critical commercial shipping route through the narrow Strait of Hormuz, UN agencies on Monday are calling for de-escalation amid the recent spike in strikes in the region related to the US-Iran war.

As the UN chief’s Special Envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, calls for swift de-escalation following reports of Saudi Arabian airstrikes and Iranian aircraft landing in the country, the Security Council’s emergency meeting at 3pm (local time) on Monday heard briefings from top officials on the latest humanitarian and political situation.

Renewed strikes and counterstrikes between Iran and the United States in the Gulf region have raised fears of a return to all‑out war, with Washington denying Tehran’s claim that it had closed the crucial Strait of Hormuz on Sunday.

Displacement has drastically reshaped every aspect of daily life in war-ravaged Gaza for 24-year-old Mayyada, who is seven months pregnant with twins and caring for her two-year-old daughter, but now she and her family are getting settled into a temporary home of their own.