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20 December 2024
‘Dying hungry and in pain’: An increasingly likely outcome in Gaza
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19 December 2024
Security Council hears of ongoing violence, ‘relentless’ Israeli settlement expansion
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17 December 2024
Gaza death toll passes 45,000 as UN school suffers new deadly strike
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The Sustainable Development Goals in Palestine
The UN and its partners in Palestine are working towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals: 17 interconnected Goals which address the major development challenges faced by people in Palestine and around the world. These are the goals the UN is working on in Palestine:
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12 December 2024
The United Nations issues an urgent humanitarian appeal to support 3 million people in the Occupied Palestinian Territory
To address the most urgent needs of approximately 3 million people in Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, in 2025.The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), in its appeal, stated that modern history has not witnessed such unprecedented levels of killings and destruction in Gaza. Simultaneously, violence has escalated significantly in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.OCHA noted that needs have drastically worsened due to the effects of intense and ongoing military operations, repeated evacuation orders, and restrictions on the ability of humanitarian agencies to deliver aid to those in need. The United Nations and its partners estimate that the actual needs far exceed this amount, with at least $6.6 billion required to address them adequately.OCHA stated: “People are either killed by bombs or bullets, or they slowly suffocate due to a lack of the most basic means of survival. Gaza has become the most dangerous place in the world and the most challenging in terms of delivering humanitarian assistance.”The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs added that access points to Gaza remain restricted or closed, humanitarian law and notification mechanisms are not being respected, and staff face threats of detention at gunpoint at checkpoints. Residents are forced to rely on severely limited aid due to the collapse of public order and security within Gaza.OCHA outlined several essential conditions for delivering principled humanitarian assistance on the required scale, including ensuring the ability of humanitarian actors to safely and sustainably deliver relief to all those in need, increasing entry points and supply routes by land into and within Gaza, and improving security in the area to facilitate the safe movement of humanitarian goods and relief personnel.
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20 December 2024
‘Dying hungry and in pain’: An increasingly likely outcome in Gaza
Describing it as "the most dangerous place on earth right now." Speaking to correspondents via video link on Thursday, the senior OCHA official underscored the grim reality facing over two million people trapped in Gaza, where basic necessities like food, shelter, and safety have become scarce.“Dying hungry and in pain” is an increasingly likely outcome for children, mothers, aid workers, and teachers alike, he said.“We're there to support [the people] who for more than 14 months have struggled to stay alive,” Mr. Petropoulos explained. “But we're not allowed to do our jobs,” he emphasised.Humanitarian operations under siegeOCHA has been striving to deliver food, healthcare, and safe drinking water to Gaza’s besieged population, but fuel shortages and blocked access routes have exacerbated the crisis.Moreover, these efforts have been opposed by what Mr. Petropoulos referred to as “blanket prohibitions” from Israeli authorities.“When we raise these things with Israeli authorities, they reject virtually every single practical solution that we table,” Mr. Petropoulos said, adding that “the aid system has been weaponised.”He further revealed that aid delivery often becomes a race against time, with insufficient supplies to meet the growing needs of the population.“As an aid worker in Gaza, you're forced to make horrible decisions,” he described. “Should I let people die of starvation or of the cold? Do we bring in more food to ease hunger or more plastic sheets for some shelter from the rain at night?”, he illustrated.North Gaza: Mass displacement and destructionNorth Gaza, under near-total siege for 75 days, has become a site of intensified military operations.Mr. Petropoulos described chilling reports of mass casualties, the destruction of entire communities, and forced displacements under bombardment.“The Israeli corridor bisecting the strip, has been fortified to such a degree that it's not really a corridor anymore,” he said, noting that 150 requests for humanitarian access have been denied since October.Even when supplies manage to reach shelters or hospitals, they are often destroyed in subsequent attacks.A call on Member StatesMr. Petropoulos called on Member States to uphold their obligations under international humanitarian law and to ensure the protection of civilians.He emphasised the need for a ceasefire and immediate, complete humanitarian access.“We need to get to people wherever they are,” he said. “We need to prove the impact of this response based on how people are doing and not the numbers of trucks,” he added.The UN has consistently warned of the escalating humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, with UN Secretary-General António Guterres urging all parties to respect the principles of international humanitarian law and facilitate aid delivery to those in need.As the crisis intensifies, the UN’s humanitarian system in Gaza faces its greatest test yet, operating “hand to mouth” with little reserves left.
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19 December 2024
Security Council hears of ongoing violence, ‘relentless’ Israeli settlement expansion
Khaled Khiari, Assistant Secretary-General in the UN Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs (DPPA), presented the latest quarterly report on the implementation of Council resolution 2334 (2016).It calls for Israel to immediately and completely cease all settlement activities in the OPT, including East Jerusalem, and for immediate steps to prevent all acts of violence against civilians.Ongoing hostilities in GazaMr. Khiari said that hostilities and violence have continued throughout the OPT since the report’s submission.Among the incidents was the reported killing of at least 69 Palestinians from 14 to 15 December in four Israeli airstrikes on schools in Gaza sheltering displaced persons. This includes 20 people killed at a school run by UN Palestine refugee agency UNRWA in Al-Mawasi, Khan Younis.More than 250 Palestinians have been killed in such strikes over the past week, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health. The authorities said that the death toll from the war has surpassed 45,000, while Israeli sources report that over 1,700 Israelis and foreign nationals have been killed.West Bank unrestMeanwhile, an Israeli boy was killed in a shooting attack in the occupied West Bank on 12 December. Israeli forces reportedly killed a Palestinian man in an exchange of fire in a refugee camp that same day.“Serious clashes have also taken place between Palestinian armed groups in the occupied West Bank and Palestinian security forces since the written report, particularly in Jenin camp following a Palestinian arrest operation and the seizure of Palestinian Authority vehicles by militants,” he said.He added that over several days, Palestinian security forces have killed an unarmed 19-year-old and detained numerous Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad militants, while the clashes have caused significant damage to the camp.Hamas attacks condemnedMr. Khiari highlighted some of the observations in the report.He again strongly condemned the horrific 7 October 2023 attacks by Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups on Israel and the continued holding of more than 100 hostages in Gaza. Nothing can justify these acts of terror, he said, reiterating that all remaining hostages must be released immediately and unconditionally, while a ceasefire in Gaza is long overdue.Devastation, death and humanitarian restrictionsHe also drew attention to the widespread devastation and deprivation resulting from Israel’s military operations in the north, and condemned its use of explosive weapons with wide area affects in densely populated areas across the Gaza Strip, which has caused massive casualties and damage, including to UN premises.He mourned the UN personnel killed in Gaza and strongly condemned the killing of health workers, humanitarians and journalists, as well as the looting of aid in the context of a breakdown of law and order. He further noted that continued restrictions imposed by Israel, looting and overall insecurity mean that aid entering Gaza is insufficient to meet the overwhelming needs.Against settlement expansion"I remain deeply alarmed by the relentless Israeli settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, that is fueling tensions, impeding access by Palestinians to their land and threatening the viability of a future independent, democratic, contiguous and sovereign Palestinian State," he said.He expressed deep concern that Israel has continued to systematically promote policies that have strengthened involvement of civilian officials in control over the occupied West Bank, which includes transferring of some security functions. Some Israeli Government officials also have called for annexing areas of the territory.In this regard, he noted the recent findings by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in its Advisory Opinion on 19 July, which declared that Israel’s continued presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory is unlawful and must end as rapidly as possible.Support Palestinian governmentMr. Khiari said it is vital that the international community provide immediate support to the Palestinian Government so that it can address fiscal challenges, strengthen governance capacity, and prepare to reassume responsibilities in Gaza.“We must establish political and security frameworks that can address the humanitarian catastrophe, start early recovery, rebuild Gaza, and lay the groundwork for a political process to end the occupation and establish a viable two-State solution as soon as possible,” he said.He stressed that these frameworks must facilitate a legitimate Palestinian Government that can re-unify Gaza and the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem - politically, economically and administratively, while also reversing the steadily deteriorating dynamics throughout the OPT.“Any attempt to establish settlements in Gaza must be firmly rejected. There must be no attempt to reduce or annex the territory of Gaza in whole or in part,” he said.Lay the foundationAmid the conflict in Gaza and tensions in the West Bank, the UN continues to call for a two-State solution between Palestinians and Israelis.“The devastation and misery of the past year have reinforced once again a simple truth: Palestinians and Israelis can no longer wait to establish a viable political horizon,” he said.“Now is the time to lay the foundations for a better future for Palestinians, Israelis and the broader region,”.Mr. Khiari upheld the UN’s commitment to support Palestinians and Israelis in ending the occupation and resolving the conflict in line with international law, relevant UN resolutions and bilateral agreements in pursuit of achieving the two-State solution.
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17 December 2024
Gaza death toll passes 45,000 as UN school suffers new deadly strike
As humanitarians condemned new deadly airstrikes across the war-torn Strip, including on a UN school-turned-shelter.Images taken at the school in Khan Younis showed the apparent impact point of one shell in a concrete upper floor where people had been living at the time of the attack late Sunday night.According to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, 13 people died and 48 were injured during the strike. There was no warning, said the victims.“It's been another very deadly night here in the Gaza Strip, we are waking up every single day to a new horror,” UNRWA Senior Emergency Officer, Louise Wateridge, told UN News.“I have been to Nasser Hospital this morning. One of the children I spoke to her name was Mona, 17 years old; she has very severe injuries to her leg - she had very severe shrapnel wounds - and she was in the hospital with her sister…their mother was crushed to death under the rubble.”Another victim, two-year old Julia, suffered severe head trauma and lost her sight in one eye; her five-year-old brother also had a serious head injury.Originally from Gaza City, the youngsters and their family “have been forcibly displaced seven or eight times,” Ms. Wateridge said. “They ended up in the [UNRWA] school, and they've been there for the last seven months, and now this – it just feels very hopeless.”Youngsters’ tollThe development followed an update from the head of the UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF, that more than 14,500 youngsters have been reportedly killed in Gaza. Many thousands more are believed buried under the rubble.Meanwhile, famine “continues to loom in the north” and humanitarian access remains “severely restricted”, said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell, in a post on social media.“Virtually all 1.1 million children in Gaza are in urgent need of protection and mental health support,” she added, amid media reports that Israeli military activity in the last 24 hours has left at least 69 Palestinians dead, from Beit Lahia in the north to Rafah in the south.Food aid blockedEchoing those concerns, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) warned that Gazans were now desperately worried about not getting enough to eat. In the absence of a ceasefire, “we need to find a way of getting all the food that we have outside Gaza in”, said WFP's Head of Emergency Communications, Jonathan Dumont.“The devastation is absolutely staggering,” he continued, in an online message from Gaza.“There’s no electricity or running water or sewage (treatment). Almost everyone has lost their home. A lot of people are living in tents. We have hot meals, distributions…People come and they get really desperate. You can see it in their faces and you can see it in their eyes. To prevent famine we need to find a way to get a consistent flow of food in.”
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12 December 2024
Muhannad Hadi During Gaza Visit: "People Here Feel Like They Are Waiting for Death"
"This misery must end. It is time for peace. It is time to give people hope. Enough of this atrocity," said Muhannad Hadi, the United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, following a two-day visit to Gaza. During his visit, Hadi toured several areas, hospitals, and shelters, "I have seen people in shelters who are lacking the basic services and lacking food".Speaking to UN News in Gaza, the UN official noted: "Those who do not die from bullets or from the bombs. They may die from the lack of proper health care or the lack of food or safe drinking water."Hadi observed the dire state of healthcare in Gaza, which has been severely impacted by the ongoing conflict for over a year. During a visit to a medical point in Nuseirat camp, he found that the mobile clinic was merely a tent. One healthcare worker he met described the situation for maternity care: "Imagine a woman giving birth in a tent. The only hospital in the area providing maternity services in a building is Nasser Hospital."At Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, Hadi spoke with staff, patients, and individuals recovering from injuries, including children. Hospital officials explained that Nasser Hospital has become the substitute for Al-Shifa Hospital in northern Gaza, which was previously the backbone of Gaza's healthcare system. Worsening ConditionsFollowing his visit to Nasser Hospital, Hadi described the deteriorating situation: "The health sector in Gaza is collapsing. I have seen mothers sitting next to their children wondering if they can ever provide them with the medicines that they need, with the medical care that they need. As a humanitarian worker and a father, witnessing these children suffer due to a lack of medicines and medical attention is deeply painful."Despite the despair, Hadi praised the commitment of healthcare workers: "I have not seen such dedication anywhere in my professional life. They are doing their utmost with the few resources they have." He added: "I saw patients in immense pain, suffering from a lack of necessary medicines. This must end. People here feel like they are waiting for death."During his hospital visit, Hadi also witnessed the structural damage to hospital buildings. In the dialysis unit, he met patients who traveled long distances for their sessions, braving the challenges of ongoing conflict, restricted mobility, and destroyed roads.Severe Shortages of Basic SuppliesThe Humanitarian Coordinator's two-day visit to Gaza focused on the healthcare sector. On the second day, he visited Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir Al-Balah, central Gaza. Speaking to journalists, he highlighted that the hospital's capacity was 199 beds, but it now accommodates 550 patients."The situation is catastrophic overall. The healthcare sector is struggling like every other sector in Gaza," Hadi said. "I listened to people's tragic stories. I saw children with amputated limbs and severe human suffering."He pointed to a lack of the most basic supplies in hospitals, including bed linens, medical staff uniforms, and sterilization equipment. Meeting with Youth"Children will need extensive psychological support to rebuild their lives," said a young Palestinian woman Hadi met at OCHA’s Gaza office on the second day of his visit. The young woman, who studied fine arts, shared how her social media pages now depict the daily suffering of Gaza's children instead of art and exhibitions.A high school senior described how his life has been "put on hold" since the outbreak of the war. He noted that around 100,000 high school students are unable to continue their studies or plan for the future. "My classmates who moved to Egypt have graduated and moved on with their lives, while I am still stuck in the same grade," he said.
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13 December 2024
Gaza: ‘Devastation is absolutely staggering’, says senior WFP official
The Head of Emergency Communications for the World Food Programme (WFP) has told UN News in an interview that civilians are desperate for lifesaving aid and there’s a growing risk of widespread famine.Speaking from Gaza, Jonathan Dumont said many people have been displaced multiple times, and that families are living either in tents or in the rubble of collapsed buildings, with no access to electricity or running water.The text has been edited for length and clarity.UN News: How do you describe the situation on the ground in Gaza, after more than a year since the war erupted there?Jonathan Dumont: The devastation is absolutely staggering. This year, I've been to Goma, Port-au-Prince, Khartoum, a lot of different places where people have issues getting food or have been displaced. But in Gaza, I haven't met anyone who hasn't been displaced at least two or three times, due to military activity.Almost everyone has lost their home. In the south, a lot of people are living in tents, and with the winter coming, you have rain and wind blowing them over, flooding them. Most kids don't have shoes.A lot of people feel they have no choice but to go back to their homes, which are quite frequently, literally rubble. I met a few families who are living in basically the cement blocks that have collapsed over them, and there's no electricity, running water or sewage. This is the second winter for many of them that they're homeless.UN News: You've been to the northern part of Gaza. Can you tell us more about what you saw there?Jonathan Dumont: I've been to Gaza City, although I didn't go to the areas in the far north. Gaza City is a huge city but many of the buildings have been destroyed. Before you had villas, beach cabanas and a fishing port, and now it is just a ghost town.WFP is able to reach that area, so there’s some food there, but the food prices of what’s not coming from the international community, or from WFP, are through the roof. There was someone selling peppers for 195 dollars…five dollars for one pepper. People can’t afford that.Bakeries are being treated as banks – with metal slots and a metal corridor to channel people through because people are desperate, and they don't want people to get injured or crushed trying to get food. In Khan Yunis, where we are distributing hot meals, people get really desperate – you can see it in their faces, in their eyes.UN News: The IPC report warned of the acute hunger and maybe some of people are on the verge of famine. Do you think the food insecurity is getting worse in Gaza?Jonathan Dumont: The problem is that there's been a total breakdown of society here, there's no police, no infrastructure or any of the structures of society. As a result, what we've had in the southern part of Gaza is that gangs are emerging. We've had our trucks coming in from the south looted, and our drivers beaten.We are trying to find solutions to have a consistent flow of food in. Obviously, the easiest way to do that would be if there was a ceasefire, which we are always hopeful will happen. In the absence of that, we need to find a way of getting all the food that we have outside Gaza into the country so that people can access it. We need to make sure people have access to food.UN News: Many of the bakeries are not functioning. How many of them are working at full capacity?Jonathan Dumont: In the south there is none of the WFP’s bakeries which are big volume bakeries. In the north there are some, but in the south, there are just small bakeries, so people are improvising when they have some flour.Bread is the staple here, bread is life.
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11 December 2024
Delivery of additional fuel to bakeries in Gaza, and obstacles to conducting malnutrition tests
At his regular press briefing, UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric noted the dire situation, and the efforts to alleviate suffering and provide essential aid.In the north central area around Gaza City, limited deliveries of fuel on 6 and 8 December allowed four bakeries to resume operations at full capacity, enabling the resumption of bread distributions to shelters and community kitchens, alongside cooked meals.However, the situation remains dire in other areas.“In North Gaza and Rafah governorates, seven bakeries remain shut down due to the ongoing hostilities. And in Deir al Balah and Khan Younis, all eight bakeries are closed, due to flour shortages and safety concerns caused by overcrowding,” Mr. Dujarric said.Humanitarian partners are prioritising flour distribution to households in southern and central Gaza, providing each family with a 25-kilo bag of wheat flour, as stocks allow.Prices skyrocketingYet, the soaring cost illustrates the severity of supply shortages – as of 1 December in Deir al Balah, a 25-kilo bag of flour cost at least $280, while in Khan Younis, it was $245, according to humanitarian partners.“The immediate entry of more food supplies in Gaza is crucial to address the deepening hunger crisis across the Gaza Strip,” the UN Spokesperson emphasised.Health concerns are equally alarming. Severe access challenges prevent regular malnutrition screenings, which are critical to identifying children in need of treatment. In the fourth quarter of 2024, only 151,000 of Gaza’s 346,000 children under five were screened.In November, the UN and aid partners distributed supplementary food to children, despite logistical delays. The programme reached 146,000 children in Rafah, Khan Younis, Deir al Balah, and Gaza governorates.Closed-door Security Council meetingLater in the day, the UN Security Council met behind closed doors to discuss the situation in the war-ravaged Gaza Strip, with a briefing by Sigrid Kaag, UN Senior Humanitarian and Reconstruction Coordinator.Speaking with reporters after the briefing, Ms. Kaag underscored the need for political will to address the crisis and ensure that humanitarian aid reaches those in need.“There is no substitute. No system can and will substitute or compensate for an absence or lack of political will. This is political – political will and political choice,” she said, emphasising that the responsibility lies with Member States and the parties to the conflict.
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09 December 2024
No evacuation order given before hospital strike, says WHO
Leaving four health workers among the casualties and the dead, according to the UN World Health Organization (WHO).“All night, there was heavy bombing around the Kamal Adwan Hospital”, said Dr. Rik Peeperkorn, the UN health’s agency Representative for the Occupied Palestinian Territory.Speaking from the enclave to journalists in Geneva via video, he reported that an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) tank was seen outside the hospital at around 4am on Friday, while people were told to move out the health centre.“There was no official evacuation order,” he maintained, but instead, rumours and panic.“People started to climb the wall to escape, and this panic attracted IDF fire. There are reports of deaths and arrests.”Emergency team thwartedThe veteran UN humanitarian worker explained that very few aid deliveries and emergency health teams have reached Kamal Adwan Hospital since the beginning of the Israeli military operation in Gaza's far north in early October. This has left the facility without critical reserves, including fuel.After seven weeks of unsuccessful attempts and denied requests for access, an international Emergency Medical Team (EMT) with basic supplies was finally deployed to Kamal Adwan “less than a week ago”, only to be told to leave again seven days later, explained Dr. Peeperkorn.The team comprised two surgeons, two emergency nurses, one gynaecologist and one logistician. “They are just there, and within one week they are gone again. This is not only for me incomprehensible but also incredibly, incredibly sad,” said the senior WHO medic, who added that no surgeons remain at Kamal Adwan Hospital.Missions denied or impededSince October 2023, 58 per cent of the 273 WHO-led missions inside Gaza have been either denied, cancelled or impeded.This has added to the urgent but extremely difficult task of evacuating patients who need specialist medical support outside the enclave.Since 7 Oct 2023 and the start of the war sparked by Hamas-led terror attacks in Israel, 5,325 patients have been evacuated from Gaza.Evacuation crisisAlmost 5,000 travelled via the Rafah crossing before it was closed last 7 May, including 4,000 children. The UN health agency estimates that at least 12,000 patients across Gaza still need medical evacuation to survive.At least 44,612 Palestinians have been killed and 105,834 wounded since the beginning of the war on October 7, 2023, according to the Palestinian health authorities. The majority of those killed were women and children.Gaza’s children paying horrific priceGaza’s children continued to die this week while sheltering inside tents, or desperately queuing for bread, said UNICEF Middle East and North Africa Regional Director Edouard Beigbeder on Friday.An airstrike in Nuseirat Camp, central Gaza, reportedly claimed the lives of four children near a local food distribution point on Wednesday.“They were amongst civilians lining up for a meal until bombs started falling from the sky. Two boys and a girl under 10 years old, and a teenage boy of 16”, he said, adding that an airstrike reportedly hit 40 tents that evening in Al Mawasi, a unilaterally designated “humanitarian zone,” causing massive explosion and fires. At least 22 people were reportedly killed, including eight children, with dozens more injured.Last week, two children and a woman were reportedly crushed to death while waiting in line outside a bakery in central Gaza. “Hungry children swept up by despair,” he continued.“The overall humanitarian response in Gaza is teetering toward full collapse. The lives of virtually all children are at risk or have been shattered by unimaginable trauma, loss, and deprivation,” said the senior UNICEF official.”“Their safety and access to essential humanitarian aid is not being facilitated as explicitly demanded by international law…The ongoing normalization of such horror needs to turn into action to stop it. Enough is enough.”
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03 December 2024
The nightmare in Gaza must stop, urges UN deputy chief
To alleviate suffering and prevent the further devastation of the enclave.Speaking at a ministerial conference on humanitarian aid for Gaza, convened in Cairo by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, UN deputy chief Amina Mohammed emphasised the urgent need for lifesaving assistance and a plan for the enclave’s long-term recovery.“We are here to help secure an immediate surge in lifesaving aid for the Palestinian people, ensure preparedness for a potential ceasefire, and begin laying the groundwork for recovery and reconstruction – this cannot happen soon enough,” she said, speaking on behalf of the UN Secretary-General António Guterres.Organized looting forces UNRWA to pause aid Deliveries of desperately needed food and other supplies into Gaza have had to be halted through the enclave’s Kerem Shalom crossing because of looting by armed gangs, the UN agency assisting Palestine refugees, UNRWA, has announced.The agency took the decision on Sunday after it said that lorries carrying food were “all taken” after crossing into Gaza through what is the main aid corridor.Explaining the move, UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said that the route had not been safe “for months”. On 16 November, a large convoy of aid trucks which also crossed through Kerem Shalom was stolen by armed gangs.Further inside Gaza, aid workers are deeply concerned that malnutrition levels are spiralling.UNRWA Senior Emergencies Officer, Louise Wateridge, speaking from one of the UN agency’s schools in Deir Al-Balah where 6,000 people are sheltering on Monday, described families sleeping on cold, wet floors and witnessing one young child “crying and screaming in the corner, just screaming for a piece of bread. She was just crying for a piece of bread.”Children worst hitIn Cairo, Ms. Mohammed outlined the devastating toll of the conflict: with over 44,000 Palestinian lives reportedly lost, according to the authorities in Gaza, widespread displacement and the collapse of essential services.Children have been the worst impacted, with nearly 19,000 hospitalised in the past four months alone due to acute malnutrition. Gaza now has the highest number of child amputees per capita globally, with many surgeries conducted without anaesthesia.“What we are seeing may well amount to the gravest international crimes,” she said.Aid ‘outrageously’ blockedMs. Mohammed expressed deep concern over the severe restrictions on humanitarian aid to Gaza, describing the flow of supplies as “outrageously” insufficient and unpredictable“Aid by exception is neither humane nor effective,” she said, citing challenges such as looting, unexploded ordnance, and destroyed roads.Last month, a large convoy of aid was stolen on the road out of Kerem Shalom: “Humanitarian staff and operations must be guaranteed security. Access must be granted to all those in need, wherever they are. United Nations premises must remain inviolable at all times,” she stressed.Robust support neededMs. Mohammed called for robust support for the entire humanitarian aid system in Gaza, particularly UNRWA, describing it as an irreplaceable lifeline for Palestinians.“If UNRWA is forced to close, the responsibility of replacing its vital services – and meeting the core needs of Palestinians in Gaza – would rest with Israel as the occupying Power,” she said, adding that there is no alternative to the UNRWA.“Not the United Nations. Not the international community. But Israel – and Israel alone.”Reiterating the need for a political solution, Ms. Mohammed urged an immediate ceasefire and the unconditional release of hostages. She also emphasised the urgency of a two-State solution, in line with international law and relevant UN resolutions, with Israel and Palestine living side-by-side in peace and security, with Jerusalem as the capital of both States.“The catastrophe in Gaza is nothing short of a complete breakdown of our common humanity,” she concluded. “The nightmare must stop.”Recovery and mental healthSigrid Kaag, Senior Humanitarian and Reconstruction Coordinator for Gaza, painted a grim picture of the destruction and trauma she witnessed during her visits.“Nothing prepares you as a fellow human being to the toll, the trauma, the suffering, the loss and the sense of abandonment Palestinian civilians feel,” she told delegates in Cairo.Ms. Kaag underscored the importance of mental health support, particularly for children.“The scars of war are not only physical,” she noted, calling for investments in psychosocial programmes alongside immediate aid and recovery efforts.Build a futureMs. Kaag also urged stakeholders to prioritise early recovery initiatives, which include restoring basic services, rehabilitating infrastructure and fostering economic stability, in partnership with the Palestinian Authority.“Early recovery, after all, is also an investment in future stability, in prospects of peace of a Palestine of Gaza of which Gaza is an extricable link and entity of a future Palestinian State,” she said.“Statehood is not only about bricks and mortar,” she added, “Recovery is about restoring lives, dignity, and hope.”
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26 November 2024
No end in sight to ‘horror’ in Gaza, UN official tells Security Council
Briefing Ambassadors on the Security Council, Muhannad Hadi, Deputy Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, outlined the impact of the conflict, which is now in its second year.“As winter approaches, the horror in Gaza continues to grind on with no end in sight,” he said.Sparked by last October’s terror attacks by Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups in southern Israel, the conflict has reportedly claimed the lives of over 44,000 Palestinians and 1,700 Israelis and foreign nationals.Tens of thousands more have been injured, and more than 100 Israelis hostages remain in Gaza under dire conditions.Situation remains dire in GazaMr. Hadi highlighted the devastating impact of Israel Defense Forces (IDF) operations in northern Gaza, which have led to mass displacement and scores of fatalities, including women and children.Humanitarian assistance to those in need has also been severely impacted, with UN convoys of lifesaving aid looted by armed Palestinian groups.A UN convoy of 109 trucks carrying food was looted on November 16, with 97 trucks lost. Days later, over 20 individuals were reportedly killed during operations targeting looters, led by Gaza authorities.“Attacks on humanitarians and humanitarian convoys must cease immediately. Law and order must be restored, and the civilian population must have safe access to vital aid,” Mr. Hadi said. Violence escalating in the West BankMr. Hadi further informed the Security Council about increasing violence in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem.Thirty-two Palestinians were killed during Israeli security operations over the past few weeks, and Israeli settler attacks on Palestinian communities, particularly during the olive harvest, have escalated.Shooting and ramming attacks by Palestinians also continued, though no fatalities were reported in the occupied West Bank or Israel, he said.He added that Israel’s advancement of settlements and demolition of Palestinian-owned structures also continued, with some ministers “now openly calling” for the annexation of the occupied West Bank.“I reiterate that annexation constitutes a violation of international law and must be firmly rejected,” he noted.Impact on the wider regionMr. Hadi also noted the impact of the conflict in Israel, where civilians continue to face attacks from both Hamas and Hezbollah.“Regrettably, the situation remains grave across the region. Israeli military operations continued across the Blue Line with Lebanon, as did the firing of rockets by Hezbullah toward Israel, including a barrage this weekend,” he said.He welcomed the ongoing diplomatic efforts to reach a cessation of hostilities and urged the parties to accept a ceasefire “anchored in the full implementation of Security Council resolution 1701.”Call for ceasefireMr. Hadi also warned that developments across the occupied Palestinian territory suggested “an imminent risk of losing the frameworks” we have been operating under since 1967 and 1973 when the Security Council adopted the resolutions “aimed at laying the foundations for a just and lasting peace”.“We continue to call for an immediate ceasefire, the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages and the de-escalation of tensions around the region,” he added, appealing for political and security frameworks that would help resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, ending the occupation and achieving a two-State solution.To avert further escalation, he urged the international community to renew its commitment to diplomacy and support measures that ensure long-term safety and security for both Israelis and Palestinians.“We need a ceasefire; we need to get the hostages out; we need life-saving support delivered safely now,” Mr. Hadi added.
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Press Release
06 December 2024
Seven attacks on tent encampments in the past two weeks kill 34 Palestinians including 10 children
Yesterday, 4 December, an Israeli airstrike hit a makeshift tent encampment sheltering 21 families in Al Mawasi, Khan Younis, which had been unilaterally declared a “safe humanitarian zone” by the Israeli military. The strike, together with secondary explosions, destroyed all 21 tents and killed at least 23 Palestinians, including at least 4 children and 2 women – one of them pregnant - while seriously injuring others. The Israeli military claims to have targeted “senior Hamas commanders” and alleges that secondary explosions were likely caused by weapons present in the area. However, according to the information available to UN Human Rights Office, it was the gas cylinders for domestic use that appear to have caused these secondary explosions.This is the seventh attack on an IDP tent encampment in the past two weeks, altogether killing at least 34 Palestinians, including 10 children and 3 women. Four of these attacks occurred in the Israeli-declared “humanitarian zone” in Al Mawasi, killing at least 11 Palestinians including a woman who died with her 2 daughters, and 4 additional children.Almost everyone in Gaza has been displaced more than once due to ceaseless Israeli displacement orders and bombardment. In this context, the pattern of attacks on shelters including schools and tent camps raise concerns about Israel's failure to comply with its obligations under International Humanitarian Law including the principles of distinction, proportionality, and precautions in attack. Depending on the circumstances, such strikes may amount to the deliberate targeting of civilians- a war crime and could also amount to crimes against humanity when conducted as part of a widespread or systematic attack against a civilian population.The UN Human Rights Office urges the Israeli military to prioritize the protection of civilians in Gaza. We call for independent, impartial and effective investigations for all such attacks on tents sheltering displaced families that have led to the deaths of civilians, including women and children, since the beginning of the war on 7 October 2023 and for accountability for those found responsible. We also urge the Palestinian armed groups to refrain from any activities that may expose civilians to the risk of attacks.
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Press Release
21 October 2024
UN Human Rights Office is concerned over the potential destruction of the Palestinian population in north Gaza
For two weeks since 6 October, the Israeli military has taken measures that make life in North Gaza impossible for Palestinians while repeatedly ordering the displacement of the entire governorate. Israeli authorities prevented the entry of all essential supplies to North Gaza between 1 and 14 October, exacerbating the already dire situation under which food and fuel supplies to the north were dwindling, and many were facing starvation. After 15 October, a token amount of aid seems to have entered the North, but this does not commensurate with the needs of the population.While the Israeli military has demanded that all civilians leave North Gaza, it has continued to relentlessly bomb and attack the area, especially in and around Jabalya Camp. These attacks have made it extremely dangerous for civilians to flee, and the UN Human Rights Office has received reports over the last weeks of Palestinians targeted while fleeing. Many Palestinians in the North have also expressed fears that should they flee; they will never be allowed to return to their homes in North Gaza. Israeli troops have also destroyed residential buildings and attacked schools serving as shelters, resulting in numerous civilian casualties and further limiting available shelter as winter approaches. One strike on a residential block in Beit Lahiya on 19 October killed at least 87 Palestinians according to the Gaza Ministry of Health. Keeping with the trend in this escalation, many of the casualties appear to be children and women.The Israeli military’s resumed attacks on two of the three main hospitals in North Gaza put even more pressure on the civilian population. All three hospitals, already damaged in previous IDF attacks, are also struggling with shortages of supplies and fuel. Rescue teams and medics continue to report restrictions and direct and indirect attacks by the Israeli military, hindering lifesaving operations, including the recovery of Palestinians trapped under rubble. Internet services in North Gaza have been disrupted since 19 October, and at least 3 Palestinian journalists were killed in the last 2 weeks, limiting the available information about the conditions of life in North Gaza.Reports also indicate that tens of Palestinian men are being taken into custody by the IDF, raising fears that they may be subjected to arbitrary detention as well as torture and other ill-treatment, especially considering previous violations documented by the UN Human Rights Office. Israel must promptly announce the identity of all those taken into custody and ensure their access to their lawyers and families.We reiterate that all parties must respect and protect civilians. Palestinian armed groups must refrain from deliberately co-locating military objectives and civilians or civilian objects and must take all feasible precautions to protect the civilian population and civilian objects under their control against the effects of attacks. Even where Palestinian armed groups have failed to comply with these norms of IHL, Israeli forces retain their obligations to respect the principles of distinction, proportionality and precautions in attack.The UN Human Rights Office reminds the State of Israel of the provisional measures ordered by the International Court of Justice on 26 January 2024 that it take all measures within its power to prevent the commission of all acts within the scope of Article II of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in relation to Palestinians in Gaza. It also reminds Israel that, as the occupying power, it must ensure the provision of food, medical supplies and shelter for the population of Gaza, as also ordered by the International Court of Justice.
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Press Release
09 September 2024
Defending the Right to Learn: Education in the Face of War
According to UN data, the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip has left 625,000 students completely deprived of their access to education, and 23,000 teachers deprived of the ability to deliver learning adequately. Following 7 October all UNRWA schools in the Gaza Strip were closed. Hundreds of thousands of displaced people are now using these schools as shelters. About 93 per cent of school buildings are estimated to have sustained some level of damage. At least 84.6 per cent of schools in Gaza will either need full reconstruction or major rehabilitation work to be functional again.Since the beginning of the war, around 9,000 students and 400 teachers have been killed in the Gaza Strip. In the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, the total number killed is around 76 students and two teachers.Movement restrictions, military operations, and violence have exacerbated a pre-existing education crisis to unprecedented levels, affecting at least 782,000 students across the West Bank. The threats to the right to education for Palestinian students have never been so serious.Attacks on education have serious, long-term physical and psychological repercussions for students and teachers. Formal teaching and learning have been suspended for over an entire school year now, with no indication as to when they may resume, which may lead to a significant increase in dropout rates. Military use and destruction of schools and other educational institutions remain a constant threat, creating significant barriers to learning, and impacting access to quality, equitable, inclusive, and safe education - which is a human right of all children. António Guterres, the Secretary-General of the United Nations highlighted “This important day reminds us of the damage of war on young learners’ bodies, minds, and spirits. From injuries and loss of life to abduction, forced displacement, sexual violence, recruitment to the fighting, and lost opportunities, the risks are enormous”.It is crucial to ensure that every individual has the opportunity to learn and grow in a safe environment. We must stand united in safeguarding our educational institutions, promoting peace, and fostering a culture of respect and understanding to provide consistent, safe, and high-quality education to all Palestinian children.We also echo once again the Secretary-General's call for ‘an immediate cessation of hostilities and a sustained ceasefire in Gaza’ and the ‘immediate and unconditional release of all hostages,’ some of whom are also students.
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Press Release
12 August 2024
International Youth Day: Resilience and Humanitarian Action of Palestinian Youth in Times of War
Relentless airstrikes in densely populated areas, forced displacement and staggering deprivation have resulted in the death of almost 40,000 Palestinians- around a quarter of whom are reported to be youth, brutally disrupting the futures of Palestinian youth in Gaza. While 85% of Gaza's schools have incurred various degrees of damage, all universities have been destroyed. As a result, eighty eight thousand university students in Gaza are unable to continue their education. The extensive damage to educational, social, and cultural institutions will have severe, long-term impacts on the future prospects of youth.Despite high levels of educational attainment, youth unemployment rates are high across the Occupied Palestinian Territory. In Gaza, the war has significantly worsened Gaza’s already severe poverty and pervasive unemployment. ILO warns that unemployment rates will continue to rise, limiting the future potential of Palestinian youth.Centering youth in the humanitarian response and building peace in PalestineDespite the risks, youth are taking action as part of the humanitarian response in Palestine. 23-year-old Atta from Gaza, a member of the Youth Advisory Panel (YAP) says: “I amplified my voice as a survivor of the war to spread awareness about the innocent civilians living in Gaza, sharing their eagerness for just peace and self-determination.” Palestinian youth contribute to humanitarian action by supporting first-response efforts and delivering food and emergency supplies to displaced people. Youth also provide mental health and psychosocial support to displaced people in shelters. Numerous young Gazan journalists are covering events on the ground, with other young Palestinian influencers raising international awareness online.The UN in Palestine actively supports the meaningful youth engagement. Youth should participate not only as beneficiaries but also as leaders and partners in humanitarian response and peacebuilding. Their visions for a brighter, peaceful, and prosperous future are crucial for rebuilding Gaza, and ultimately achieving lasting peace across the region.This year’s International Youth Day theme, “From Clicks to Progress: Youth Digital Pathways for Sustainable Development,” marks the innovative spirit of young individuals who leverage digital technologies for humanitarian action and sustainable development. In Gaza, the electricity and connectivity issues mean that youth can hardly access such pathways. For those youth, and their peers in the West Bank, the UN in Palestine will continue to amplify their voices as they continue to strive to pave the way toward a more sustainable world.
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Press Release
31 July 2024
Israel must immediately end practices of forced eviction that threaten to displace more than eighty Palestinian families from their homes in Batn al-Hawa, Silwan, East Jerusalem.
Overall, around 87 Palestinian families, totalling approximately 600-680 individuals, are facing legal proceedings initiated by settlers to evict them from their homes in Batn al-Hawa. On 9 and 10 July, the Jerusalem District Court rejected the appeals of the Gheith, Abu Nab and Al-Rajabi families against eviction rulings in lawsuits submitted by Jewish Israeli settlers demanding the families' eviction. These families live in nine residential units accommodating over 80 Palestinians, including children, women, elders, and residents with special needs.In one example of particular concern, authorities are escalating steps towards the forced eviction of the Shehadeh family - consisting of 15 people, including 8 children – following the Israeli High Court's rejection of a petition appealing a Supreme Court decision of 11 April 2024 that had ordered the Shehadeh family to vacate their four-story home in Batn al-Hawa, Silwan, East Jerusalem, in favour of Jewish Israeli settlers. On 14 July, the family received an eviction notice demanding that they vacate their home within 20 days, at the expiry of which the settlers could have the eviction order enforced.These cases are examples of an ongoing systematic settlers' campaign and application of a range of laws discriminatorily (some dating to the Ottoman and British Mandate periods), including Israel's Absentees' Property Law and the 1970 Legal and Administrative Matters Law, to uproot Palestinians from their homes, take over their property and implant Israeli settlers in the heart of Palestinian neighbourhoods in East Jerusalem. International humanitarian law prohibits Israel from imposing its own laws in occupied territory, which includes the application of Israeli laws to evict Palestinians from their homes. Furthermore, the laws in themselves are inherently discriminatory against Palestinians, in violation of Israel's international human rights obligations.
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