“Today will be crucial. Truckloads of lifesaving aid finally on move again,” said top UN aid relief coordinator Tom Fletcher. Hours earlier and in a major development, 198 trucks entered Gaza via the Kerem Shalom crossing in the south of the enclave, carrying nutrition supplies, medicines and wheat flour. Announcing the news online, Mr. Fletcher […]
Existing supplies of basic necessities have been running dangerously low and on Wednesday the UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF, said that its nutrition stocks to prevent increasing malnutrition “are almost gone”. “Humanitarian assistance is being weaponised to serve and support political and military objectives,” said Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA. Speaking at […]
He stressed that the assistance must be delivered swiftly and directly to those most in need. He told journalists in New York that UN humanitarians were sending flour, medicines, nutrition supplies and other basic items through the Palestinian side of the Kerem Shalom crossing – a day after they managed to bring in baby formula […]
Tom Fletcher said in a statement on Monday that nine UN trucks were cleared to enter the southern Kerem Shalom crossing earlier in the day. “But it is a drop in the ocean of what is urgently needed…We have been reassured that our work will be facilitated through existing, proven mechanisms. I am grateful for […]
“We have been approached by Israeli authorities to resume limited aid delivery, and we are in discussions with them now on how this would take place given the conditions on the ground,” OCHA said in a statement. It is now 11 weeks since the Israeli authorities closed off all food, fuel and medicines to Gaza. […]
António Guterres told leaders meeting in the Iraqi capital that “the region and the world face trials and tests on all fronts,” starting with the situation in Gaza. He reiterated that neither the atrocious 7 October 2023 terror attacks by Hamas nor the collective punishment of the Palestinian people can be justified. Permanent ceasefire now […]
No aid has entered the enclave since Israel implemented a ban on 2 March and the entire population, more than two million people, is at risk of famine. “As we demonstrated during the ceasefire this year – and every time we’ve been granted access – the United Nations and our humanitarian partners have the expertise, […]
In addition to ongoing bombardment, Israel issued another three displacement orders over the past two days, covering seven per cent of the total area of the territory. Overall, some 71 per cent of the Gaza Strip is under displacement orders or in Israeli-militarized zones, where the Israeli authorities require humanitarian teams to coordinate their movements. […]
OCHA reported that hostilities intensified overnight, with an attack by Israeli forces on the European Gaza Hospital in Khan Younis which killed and injured several people. A team from the World Health Organization (WHO) was also inside the hospital at the time. The hospital premises were hit again on Wednesday morning, reportedly leading to additional […]
Mr. Fletcher began his remarks by asking the international community to reflect on what it will tell future generations about action taken “to stop the 21st century atrocity to which we bear daily witness in Gaza.” He wondered, for example, if “we will use those empty words: ‘We did all we could,’” and urged the […]
The Security Council is set to meet this afternoon at 3 PM in New York to discuss the deepening crisis in Gaza, where humanitarians warn of “a critical risk of famine” and aid shipments have been blocked for over 70 days. UN relief chief Tom Fletcher is expected to brief ambassadors. Follow live for key […]
Since the aid blockade began on 2 March, 57 children have reportedly died from the effects of malnutrition, according to the Ministry of Health. If the situation persists, nearly 71,000 children under the age of five are expected to be acutely malnourished over the next 11 months. Briefing journalists in Geneva, WHO’s representative in the […]
Edan Alexander, a 21-year-old American-Israeli national and soldier with the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), had been held by Hamas since the brutal 7 October 2023 attacks on Israel in which roughly 1,200 people were killed and another 250 taken hostage. He is believed to be the last living American held by militants in Gaza, according […]
“Goods indispensable for people’s survival are either depleted or expected to run out in the coming weeks…The entire population is facing high levels of acute food insecurity,” said the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) platform. In its latest update, the IPC estimated that one in five people in Gaza – 500,000 – faces starvation. Prices have […]
UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) spokesperson James Elder insisted that the Israeli proposal to create a handful of aid hubs exclusively in the south of the Strip would create an “impossible choice between displacement and death”. The plan “contravenes basic humanitarian principles” and appears designed to “reinforce control over life-sustaining items as a pressure tactic”, he […]
Their paintings and drawings range from a portrait of an esteemed Palestinian poet and family members killed in conflict, to a sky blackened by thick smoke – and a child crying in front of his mother’s corpse. The poignant images are currently on display at UNRWA’s Remal School in Gaza City, which has been transformed […]
The UN agency for Palestine refugees, UNRWA, maintained that Israeli forces hit the school in Al Bureij, Middle Gaza, at around 6pm on Tuesday and again at 10.20pm. “The school sustained severe damage and a fire broke out in the shelter, making it difficult to evacuate the casualties. Residents had to open a hole in […]
“It appears to be a deliberate attempt to weaponize the aid and we have warned against that for a very long time. Aid should be provided based on humanitarian need to whomever needs it,” said Jens Laerke, spokesperson for UN aid coordination office, OCHA. Speaking in Geneva, Mr. Laerke referred to a verbal brief delivered […]
“This will inevitably lead to countless more civilians killed and the further destruction of Gaza,” said UN Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq, responding to a journalist’s question during the regular media briefing in New York. “What’s imperative now is an end to the violence, not more civilian deaths and destruction. Gaza is, and must remain, an […]
In a statement released by the UN Humanitarian Country Team – which leads coordinated relief efforts across the Occupied Palestinian Territory – officials condemned Israeli efforts to dismantle the current aid system. The team led by the UN’s top aid official in the region representing UN and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) both international and Palestinian, said […]