Earthquake interrupts UN Security Council meeting

WASHINGTON

A briefing in the UN Security Council came to a brief halt when an earthquake struck the eastern US on Friday.

Janti Soeripto, president of Save the Children US, was addressing a council meeting on the situation in the Middle East when a 4.8 magnitude earthquake shook the northeastern US states of New Jersey and New York.

Sitting next to Soeripto, Palestinian UN envoy Riyad Mansour quipped: “You're making the ground shake.”

Soeripto told the council that in the conflict, 14,000 children have been "needlessly and violently" killed, and thousands more are missing, presumed buried under the rubble. "If I were to sit here and read the name and age of every Israeli and Palestinian child who has died on and since Oct. 7, it would take me over 18 hours,” she added.

Following the meeting, Soeripto said the earthquake may have disrupted her remarks at the council.

“But what I called for is far from earth-shattering. On behalf of all children in Gaza, I demanded action. The world has the tools to address this crisis. It merely lacks the political will to use them,” she said on X.

The epicenter of the 4.8-magnitude earthquake was registered in New Jersey's Hunterdon County, just west of the island of Manhattan where the UN's New York headquarters is located.

No casualties or damage have been reported so far.