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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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25 April 2024
UN coordinator in Gaza announces new plan to deliver lifesaving aid
“The operationalisation of the mechanism will allow for pipeline prioritisation, predictability, visibility and tracking of supplies to Gaza,” she told ambassadors.The new plan stemmed from Security Council resolution 2720, adopted in December, which established Ms. Kaag’s position and requested her to forge a UN mechanism to accelerate aid deliveries into the war-torn enclave, which now faces looming famine.Since Hamas-led attacks in southern Israel in October that left 1,200 people dead and 250 taken hostage, Israeli military operations have killed more than 34,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, as UN and other humanitarian agencies continue to report long delays by Israeli authorities to allow lifesaving aid in at a scale that meets ever growing needs.“As the resolution intended, the mechanism is designed to facilitate and support the work of all humanitarian partners on the ground,” Ms. Kaag said.Monitoring in Gaza starts ‘as soon as possible’The mechanism will initially be applied to the Cyprus and Jordan aid routes, and technical consultations will soon be finalised with Egypt on its route, she said, adding that she has informed Israel about the operationalisation of the mechanism.“Verification and monitoring inside Gaza will commence as soon as possible,” she explained. “In the coming weeks, my office in Gaza will also be operational.”In addition, a database and notification system will go online for all cargo destined for Gaza along supply routes, with the approval for placing international monitors at crossings, inspection and supply points having been requested from relevant authorities, she said.Paradigm shift needed nowThe UN coordinator underlined “the importance of a paradigm shift” to continue to meet the immense needs of the civilian population in a safe and secure manner.That means a further scale up in the quality and quantity of assistance and distribution alongside irreversible steps to enable safe, secure and unhindered delivery inside Gaza as well as planning and timely preparations for early recovery and reconstruction.“There is no substitute for political will to sustain these efforts,” she said, emphasising that aid agencies must be able to move food, medicine and other supplies safely and via all possible routes and crossings, into and throughout every part of Gaza.“Effective humanitarian operations cannot be reduced to counting trucks,” she said. “This is a false metric for gauging whether humanitarian assistance is sufficient, let alone whether it responds to the basic humanitarian requirements.”In this vein, she said the UN agency for Palestine refugees, UNRWA, is “irreplaceable and indispensable as a humanitarian lifeline and must be allowed to deliver on its mandate”.Israel’s commitments to ramp up aid deliveriesIsrael has taken a number of steps to improve aid delivery since it made commitments on 5 April in response to requests by the UN and the international community, the UN Coordinator said.That included an increase in the volume of aid cleared, inspected and crossed into Gaza, the temporary opening of the Erez crossing and the opening of the Ashdod port for humanitarian goods as well as repairing the Nahal Oz water supply line.“Whilst implementation of some measures is ongoing, further definitive and urgent steps are needed to set the course for a sustained flow of humanitarian and commercial goods into Gaza in terms of volume, need and reach,” she said. “Given the scale and scope of destruction and the extent of human suffering every day counts.”Implementation is urgentIn this regard, she said the UN is in contact with the Israeli Government on other measures that need urgent or continuous implementation, including issues pertaining to checkpoint procedures, road repairs and timely clearances to allow humanitarian convoy movements to take place as scheduled.“Implementation is urgent,” she said, adding that her office is establishing a monitoring framework to determine the progress and impact of respective measures taken.Delivering aid at scale requires a functioning humanitarian notification system and improved and direct communications between humanitarians and military decisionmakers on the ground, she said. “Effective and credible deconfliction is vital for all humanitarian actors on the ground.”Air and maritime corridorsWhile air and sea aid deliveries can never be a substitute for land transportation, she said the Cyprus maritime corridor provides for additionality of humanitarian aid to Gaza. UN monitors have been deployed to Cyprus as part of the mechanism outlined in resolution 2720.At the same time, preparations for building a floating port and pier on the shores of Gaza are advancing, with the involvement of the US and other Member States, she said, adding that the UN has outlined the parameters under which it can play a meaningful role in the distribution of aid via this corridor.She said her office proposed a multi-donor funding mechanism in addition to providing Secretariat support to the maritime corridor to ensure full coordination with the operations on the ground in Gaza, noting that several Member States have indicated their intent to phase out air drops in conjunction with scaling up assistance via land and sea.Reconstruction plansThe extent of the destruction and the devastating impact of this war on the entire population call for an ambitious and comprehensive plan of support with commensurate investments, Ms. Kaag said.The recent UN, European Union and World Bank interim disaster assessment illustrates the scale of the damage and the magnitude of investments required across all sectors, including rebuilding and repairing of the more than 84 per cent of destroyed health facilities.Echoing the UN Secretary-General’s message, she said the Palestinian Authority has a critical role to play in Gaza, adding that “the international community must work toward enabling its return, strengthen its governance capacity and prepare it to reassume its responsibilities” in the enclave.Israeli operation in Rafah would compound ongoing catastropheMs. Kaag echoed the UN’s grave concern over the prospect of an Israeli operation in Rafah, where at least 1.2 million people are seeking shelter following evacuation orders months ago.“Such action would compound an ongoing humanitarian catastrophe, with consequences for people already displaced and enduring severe hardships and suffering,” she said.In addition, “the UN’s ability to deliver will be constrained,” she added.“Let us remember that behind every statistic is a human story of loss and suffering,” she concluded. “It isour duty to provide protection, support and therefore hope to the Palestinian population in Gaza. It is also our duty to advocate for lasting peace between Israel and a fully independent, viable and sovereign Palestinian State.”
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24 April 2024
Mass graves in Gaza show victims’ hands were tied, says UN rights office
prompting renewed concerns about possible war crimes amid ongoing Israeli airstrikes, the UN human rights office, OHCHR, said on Tuesday.The development follows the recovery of hundreds of bodies “buried deep in the ground and covered with waste” over the weekend at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, central Gaza, and at Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City in the north. A total of 283 bodies were recovered at Nasser Hospital, of which 42 were identified. “Among the deceased were allegedly older people, women and wounded, while others were found tied with their hands…tied and stripped of their clothes,” said Ravina Shamdasani, spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. Al-Shifa discoveryCiting the local health authorities in Gaza, Ms. Shamdasani added that more bodies had been found at Al-Shifa Hospital.The large health complex was the enclave’s main tertiary facility before war erupted on 7 October. It was the focus of an Israeli military incursion to root out Hamas militants allegedly operating inside which ended at the beginning of this month. After two weeks of intense clashes, UN humanitarians assessed the site and confirmed on 5 April that Al-Shifa was “an empty shell”, with most equipment reduced to ashes.“Reports suggest that there were 30 Palestinian bodies buried in two graves in the courtyard of Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City; one in front of the emergency building and the others in front of the dialysis building,” Ms. Shamdasani told journalists in Geneva.The bodies of 12 Palestinians have now been identified from these locations at Al-Shifa, the OHCHR spokesperson continued, but identification has not yet been possible for the remaining individuals. “There are reports that the hands of some of these bodies were also tied,” Ms. Shamdasani said, adding that there could be “many more” victims, “despite the claim by the Israeli Defense Forces to have killed 200 Palestinians during the Al-Shifa medical complex operation”.200 days of horrorSome 200 days since intense Israeli bombardment began in response to Hamas-led terror attacks in southern Israel, UN human rights chief Volker Türk expressed his horror at the destruction of Nasser and Al-Shifa hospitals and the reported discovery of mass graves. “The intentional killing of civilians, detainees and others who are hors de combat is a war crime,” Mr. Türk said in a call for independent investigations into the deaths.Mounting tollAs of 22 April, more than 34,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, including 14,685 children and 9,670 women, the High Commissioner’s office said, citing the enclave’s health authorities. Another 77,084 have been injured, and over 7,000 others are assumed to be under the rubble. “Every 10 minutes a child is killed or wounded. They are protected under the laws of war, and yet they are ones who are disproportionately paying the ultimate price in this war,” said the High Commissioner. Türk warningThe UN rights chief also reiterated his warning against a full-scale Israeli incursion of Rafah, where an estimated 1.2 million Gazans “have been forcibly cornered”.“The world’s leaders stand united on the imperative of protecting the civilian population trapped in Rafah,” the High Commissioner said in a statement, which also condemned Israeli strikes against Rafah in recent days that mainly killed women and children.This included an attack on an apartment building in the Tal Al Sultan area on 19 April which killed nine Palestinians “including six children and two women”, along with a strike on As Shabora Camp in Rafah a day later that reportedly left four dead, including a girl and a pregnant woman.“The latest images of a premature child taken from the womb of her dying mother, of the adjacent two houses where 15 children and five women were killed, this is beyond warfare,” said Mr. Türk.The High Commissioner decried the “unspeakable suffering” caused by months of warfare and appealed once again for “the resulting misery and destruction, starvation and disease and the risk of wider conflict” to end. Mr. Türk also reiterated his call for an immediate ceasefire, the release of all remaining hostages taken from Israel and those held in arbitrary detention and the unfettered flow of humanitarian aid.Massive settler attacks in West BankTurning to the West Bank, the UN rights chief said that grave human rights violations had continued there “unabated”. This was despite international condemnation of “massive settler attacks” between 12 and 14 April “that had been facilitated by the Israeli Security Forces (ISF)”.Settler violence has been organized “with the support, protection, and participation of the ISF”, Mr. Türk insisted, before describing a 50-hour long operation into Nur Shams refugee camp and Tulkarem city starting on 18 April.“The ISF deployed ground troops, bulldozers and drones and sealed the camp. Fourteen Palestinians were killed, three of them children,” the UN rights chief said, noting that 10 ISF members had been injured.In a statement, Mr. Türk also highlighted reports that several Palestinians had been unlawfully killed in the Nur Shams operation “and that the ISF used unarmed Palestinians to shield their forces from attack and killed others in apparent extrajudicial executions”. Dozens were reportedly detained and ill-treated while the ISF “inflicted unprecedented and apparently wanton destruction on the camp and its infrastructure”, the High Commissioner said.
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23 April 2024
Independent review panel releases final report on UNRWA
“Israel made public claims that a significant number of UNRWA employees are members of terrorist organisations. However, Israel has yet to provide supporting evidence of this,” according to the 54-page final report, Independent review of mechanisms and procedures to ensure adherence by UNRWA to the humanitarian principle of neutrality.The UN Secretary-General, who received the final report at the weekend, had appointed the independent review group days after Israel announced the allegations against UNRWA, which employees 30,000 people and serves 5.9 million Palestine refugees in the West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and war-torn Gaza.The much-awaited final report found that UNRWA, established by the General Assembly in 1949, has extensive tools in place to ensure it remains unbiased in its work and routinely provides Israel with employee lists and “the Israeli Government has not informed UNRWA of any concerns relating to any UNRWA staff based on these staff lists since 2011.”UNRWA has ‘most elaborate’ rules within UN system“The set of rules and the mechanisms and procedures in place [at UNRWA] are the most elaborate within the UN system, precisely because it is such a difficult issue to work in such a complex and sensitive environment,” Catherine Colonna, former French foreign minister and head of the review group, told journalists at UN Headquarters following the report’s launch. “What needs to be improved will be improved. I’m confident that implementing these measures will help UNRWA deliver on its mandate.”Strongly encouraging "the international community to work side by side with the agency so it can perform its mission and overcome the challenges when they are there", she said “this is the purpose of the review.”In its nine-week-long review of existing mechanisms, the group conducted more than 200 interviews, met with Israeli and Palestinian authorities and directly contacted 47 countries and organisations, presenting a set of 50 recommendations on issues ranging from education to fresh vetting processes for recruiting staff.Report steers new UN action planThe report’s recommendations include creating a centralised “neutrality investigations unit”, rolling out an updated Code of Ethics and associated training to all staff, and identifying and implementing additional ways to screen UNRWA applicants at an early stage of the recruitment process.The report also suggested exploring the possibility of third-party monitoring for sensitive projects and establishing a framework with interested donors to ensure transparency.In a statement on Monday, the UN Secretary-General’s Spokesperson said the UN chief accepts the recommendations contained in Ms. Colonna’s report. He has agreed with Commissioner General Philippe Lazzarini that UNRWA, with the Secretary-General’s support, will establish an action plan to implement the recommendations contained in the final report.”Claims financially hobbled UNRWAAccording to the review group’s final report, Israel’s claims against UNRWA triggered the suspension of funding amounting to around $450 million.The direct impact of Israel’s allegations swiftly hobbled UNRWA’s ability to continue its work. Operating solely on voluntary donations, UNRWA saw major donors, including the United States, cancelling or suspending funds for the agency.In April, Washington banned funding for UNRWA until at least 2025, but other donors have pledged additional funding or restored their donations.The new report recommended increasing the frequency and strengthening the transparency of UNRWA’s communication with donors on its financial situation and on neutrality allegations and breaches. The review group suggested regular updates and “integrity briefings” for donors interested in supporting UNRWA on integrity and related issues. Findings on UNRWA schoolsThe UN agency delivers on its obligation to ensure neutrality of its 1,000 installations, including schools, healthcare centres and warehouses, according to the report, which also stated that “security and capacity challenges may hamper” existing due diligence mechanisms.The review group said UNRWA “has consistently worked on ensuring neutrality in education” as it provides elementary and preparatory education for 500,000 pupils in 706 schools with 20,000 educational staff, including in Gaza, where right now all children are out of school following attacks destroying the enclave’s education system amid the ongoing conflict.Claims of anti-Semitic textbooksInvestigating “sustained criticism, mainly from Israel”, about the alleged presence of hate speech, incitement to violence and anti-Semitism in Palestinian Authority educational material, the review group examined three major international assessments and studies.The new report showed that two identified bias and non-compliant content, but did not provide evidence of anti-Semitic reference. A third, the Eckert report, identified two examples that displayed anti-Semitic content, but noted that one had already been removed and the other significantly altered.As such, the report recommended several actions, including the review of the content of all textbooks with host countries, Israel and the Palestinian Authority.UNRWA remains a pivotal ‘lifeline’ for PalestineThe report stated that “in the absence of a political solution between Israel and the Palestinians, UNRWA remains pivotal in providing lifesaving humanitarian aid and essential social services, particularly in health and education, to Palestinian refugees in Gaza, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and the West Bank” and is “irreplaceable and indispensable to Palestinians’ human and economic development”.“In addition, many view UNRWA as a humanitarian lifeline,” according to the report.The UN chief on Monday said he counted on the cooperation of the donor community, the host countries and the staff to fully cooperate in the implementation of the new report’s final recommendations, the UN Spokesperson said.“Moving forward, the Secretary-General appeals to all stakeholders to actively support UNRWA, as it is a lifeline for Palestine refugees in the region,” he said.Other top UN officials have voiced strong support for the agency, calling on donors to reverse funding cuts and allow UNRWA to perform its work, especially in Gaza.In late March, Israel announced it would reject UNRWA’s requests to deliver aid into northern Gaza, where a famine is unfolding as Israeli authorities continue to block or severely delay lifesaving aid shipments, according to UN officials, who launched an appeal last week for emergency funding.Lazzarini: Report will further strengthen UNRWAUNRWA chief Lazzarini welcomed the report’s findings and recommendations.“UNRWA is developing an action plan, with a timeline and budget to take forward the report’s recommendations,” he said in a statement on Monday. He said implementing some of the recommendations will require extensive engagement with staff and partners, including Member States, host nations and donor countries, adding that the UN agency looks forward to cooperating with all concerned stakeholders to implement the recommendations.“UNRWA is firmly dedicated to applying UN values and humanitarian principles,” he said. “The recommendations in this report will further strengthen our efforts and response during one of the most difficult moments in the history of the Palestinian people.”First of two investigationsFollowing Israel’s allegations against UNRWA in late January, the UN agency immediately fired the staff members in question and requested a swift, impartial investigation. The UN chief ordered two.Days later, the Secretary-General appointed an independent review team, led by Ms. Colonna and researched by Raoul Wallenberg Institute in Sweden, the Michelsen Institute in Norway and the Danish Institute for Human Rights, to investigate the UNRWA’s process of ensuring neutrality in its work.At the same time, the UN chief ordered the UN’s top watchdog, the Office of Internal Oversight (OIOS), to investigate the veracity of Israel’s claims against the 12 UNRWA staff members.At the outset, OIOS investigators reached out to Member States concerned, visited UNRWA headquarters in Jordan and reviewed initial information received by the agency from Israeli authorities and from a variety of sources, including that released through the media and other public outlets.That investigation is ongoing.
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19 April 2024
UN experts decry ‘systemic obliteration’ of education system
Since the brutal 7 October attacks by Hamas and other Palestinian militants on southern Israel, and the ensuing military assault by Israel, over 5,800 students and teachers have been killed and a further 8,575 have been injured across the enclave.Many others have been arrested, while attacks on places of learning have left more than 625,000 students without any ability to study.UN schools sheltering civilians displaced from their homes have also come under fire, including some inside Israeli military-designated “safe zones”.Hopes and dreams destroyed“With more than 80 per cent of schools in Gaza damaged or destroyed, it may be reasonable to ask if there is an intentional effort to comprehensively destroy the Palestinian education system, an action known as ‘scholasticide’,” the experts said.The term “scholasticide” refers to the systemic obliteration of education through the arrest, detention or killing of teachers, students and staff, and the destruction of educational infrastructure.The experts called on all parties to respect international humanitarian law and international human rights law, and to protect educational institutions, teachers, and students.“We remind Israel in particular of its obligations to comply with the provisional measures ordered by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on 26 January,” they said.Devastating long-term impactsThe experts, including UN Special Rapporteurs on the right to education and on the situation in the Palestinian Territory occupied since 1967, also warned of the far-reaching impacts of attacks on education in Gaza.“The persistent, callous attacks on educational infrastructure in Gaza have a devastating long-term impact on the fundamental rights of people to learn and freely express themselves, depriving yet another generation of Palestinians of their future,” the experts said.“When schools are destroyed, so too are hopes and dreams.”Not isolated incidentsIn addition to schools, a further 195 heritage sites, 227 mosques and three churches have also been damaged or destroyed, including the Central Archives of Gaza which catalogued 150 years of history.Israa University, the last remaining university in Gaza was demolished by the Israeli military on 17 January. The experts noted that without a safe place to go to school, women and girls face multifaceted risks, including increased gender-based violence.More than one million Palestinian children in Gaza are now in need of mental health and psychosocial support and will suffer the trauma of this war throughout their lives.“These attacks are not isolated incidents. They present a systematic pattern of violence aimed at dismantling the very foundation of Palestinian society,” the experts said.Independent expertsThe human rights experts raising the alarm included several UN special rapporteurs and members of human rights working groups.Appointed by the UN Human Rights Council, they work on a voluntary basis, are not UN staff and do not receive a salary. They are independent from any government or organization and serve in their individual capacity.
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19 April 2024
US vetoes Palestine’s request for full UN membership
In a vote of 12 in favour to one against, with two abstentions, the Council did not adopt a draft resolution that would have recommended the General Assembly to hold a vote with the broader UN membership to allow Palestine to join as a full UN Member State.The draft resolution is among the shortest in the Council’s history: “The Security Council, having examined the application of the State of Palestine for admission to the United Nations (S/2011/592), recommends to the General Assembly that the State of Palestine be admitted to membership in the United Nations.”For a draft resolution to pass, the Council must have at least nine members in favour and none of its permanent members – China, France, Russia, United Kingdom, United States – using their veto power.Amid the ongoing war in Gaza, Palestine had submitted a request to the Secretary-General on 2 April, asking that a 2011 request to become a UN Member State be reconsidered.In 2011, the Security Council considered the request but was not able to find unity in sending a recommendation to the General Assembly, which according to the UN Charter must hold a vote involving its 193 Member States.Earlier this month, the Security Council sent the latest request to its Committee on the Admission of Member States, which met on 8 and 11 April to discuss the matter.Palestine has been a Permanent Observer at the UN since 2012, before which it was an observer in the UN General Assembly.Read our explainer to find out more about Palestine’s status at the UN here.US completely isolated: RussiaRussian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said this marked the fifth time the United States has vetoed a Council resolution since the start of the current hostilities in Gaza.The US “once again demonstrated what they really think of the Palestinians”, he said. “For Washington, they do not deserve to have their own State. They are only a barrier on the path towards realising the interests of Israel.”He said at present, an absolute majority of the global community supports Palestine’s application to become a full member of the UN.“Today’s use of the veto by the US delegation is a hopeless attempt to stop the inevitable course of history. The results of the vote, where Washington was practically in complete isolation, speak for themselves,” he said.Reforms needed: USUS Deputy Permanent Representative Robert Wood said Council members have a special responsibility to ensure that their actions further the cause of international peace and security and are consistent with the requirements of the UN Charter.He said the report of the Committee on the Admission of New Members reflected that there was not unanimity among members as to whether the applicant met the criteria for membership, in line with Article IV of the UN Charter.For example, there are unresolved questions as to whether the applicant meets the criteria to be considered a State, he said.“We have long called on the Palestinian Authority to undertake necessary reforms to help establish the attributes of readiness for statehood and note that Hamas, a terrorist organisation, is currently exerting power and influence in Gaza – an integral part of the State envisioned in this resolution,” he said.It is for these reasons, that the US voted “no”, he explained.Mr. Wood said the US continues to strongly support a two-State solution.“This vote does not reflect opposition to Palestinian statehood, but instead is an acknowledgment that it will only come from direct negotiations between the parties,” he said.China: UN membership more urgent than ever beforeChinese Ambassador Fu Cong said the decades-long dream of the Palestinian people has been quashed at a time when the admission of Palestine as a full member of the UN is more urgent than ever before.Over the past 13 years, the situation in Palestine has changed, namely settlement expansion, so questioning Palestine’s ability to govern is not acceptable, he said.The establishment of an independent State is an inalienable right that cannot be questioned, he continued. The admission of Palestine as a full member at the UN would indeed help in negotiations with Israel on a two-State solution.The wheels of history are rolling forward, and Palestine and Israel will one day live in peace, side by side, Mr. Fu said, pledging China’s support with a view to seeing that day happen.Palestine upholds right to self-determinationRiyad Mansour, Permanent Observer of the State of Palestine, said his people’s right to self-determination has never once been subject to bargaining or negotiation.It is a natural, historic and legal right “to live in our homeland, Palestine, as an independent State that is free and that is sovereign,” he said.“We came to the Security Council today as an important historic moment, regionally and internationally, so that we could salvage what can be saved. We place you before a historic responsibility to establish the foundations of a just and comprehensive peace in our region.”Council members were given the opportunity “to revive the hope that has been lost among our people” and to translate their commitment towards a two-State solution into firm action “that cannot be maneuvered or retracted”, and the majority of Council members “have risen to the level of this historic moment, and they have stood on the side of justice and freedom and hope, in line with the ethical and humanitarian and legal principles that must govern our world and in line with simple logic.”Mr. Mansour expressed appreciation to the countries who supported Palestine’s request for UN membership and to those voted in favour of the draft resolution.“The fact that this resolution did not pass will not break our will, and it will not defeat our determination,” he said.“We will not stop in our effort. The State of Palestine is inevitable. It is real. Perhaps they see it as far away, but we see it as near, and we are the faithful.”Israel: ‘Your vote will make peace almost impossible’Israeli Ambassador Gilad Erdan said the Palestine Authority is a terror-supporting entity, “paying terrorists to slaughter us”, and Palestinians do not even recognise Israel as a Jewish State.He said Hamas was not mentioned here today because the Palestinian representative here does not represent at least half the Palestinian population.“Regardless of the Palestinians’ failure to meet the necessary criteria for UN membership, most of you sadly decided to reward Palestinian terror with a Palestinian State,” he said. “It’s very sad because your vote will only embolden Palestinian rejectionism even more and make peace almost impossible.”
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18 April 2024
$2.8 billion appeal for three million people in Gaza, West Bank
as they launched a $2.8 billion appeal to provide urgent assistance for millions of people in the devastated enclave, but also in the West Bank, where Palestinians have been targeted by increasing settler violence.The development came amid reports of ongoing Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip including Gaza City in the north, Rafah in southern Gaza and central Gaza, where more than dozen people were believed to have died in an apparent missile attack on a refugee camp on Tuesday.Video images reportedly from Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir Al-Balah showed injured and dead victims including children after the strike on Maghazi refugee camp in the centre of the enclave.Hunger perilWednesday’s appeal covers assistance to 3.1 million people between now and the end of the year. It envisages helping 2.3 million people in the Gaza Strip where food insecurity experts have warned that imminent famine looms in the north after more than six months of intense Israeli bombardment and a ground offensive, launched in response to Hamas-led terror attacks in southern Israel last October.Street vendor kids “Famine is imminent in the northern governates and projected to occur anytime between now and May 2024; more than half the population of Gaza is facing catastrophic levels of hunger,” OCHA said, adding that markets lack basic food items and rely on informal suppliers offering aid rations. “A concerning trend identified is the rise of reselling humanitarian aid in markets, particularly informal street vendors, many of whom are young children.”Leading the appeal, OCHA noted that the funding request covered the requirements of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, which continues to be “the backbone” of the humanitarian response in Gaza and the West Bank.UNRWA’s key role“Two thirds of the population of Gaza - 1.6 million people - are Palestine refugees registered with UNRWA,” OCHA said, adding that nearly one million of the 1.7 million displaced people now shelter across 450 UNRWA and public shelters, or in the vicinity of the UN agency.OCHA added that UNRWA has more than 13,000 staff in Gaza, with more than 3,500 engaged in aid relief. “In times of emergency, (UNRWA’s) support is extended to the broader population,” it said, adding that the UN agency also serves 1.1 million Palestine refugees and other registered persons in the West Bank, of whom 890,000 are refugees. Water plightLack of access to clean water continues to be a major humanitarian concern, OCHA noted, with only one of three water pipelines coming from Israel still operational at only at 47 per cent capacity.There are also fewer than 20 groundwater wells which only work “when fuel is available” and no fully functional wastewater treatment systems, OCHA reported, adding that sewage overflow has happened “in many areas adding to the public health risk across Gaza”. Rafah concernsCiting a recent WASH assessment led by UNICEF, OCHA noted that it had found that within the 75 sites assessed in Rafah - covering a population of approximately 750,000 people - one third had water sources that were unsafe for drinking.This included 68 per cent of the UNRWA collective centres, and average water availability was just three litres per person per day.Following the withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Gaza earlier this month, humanitarians have voiced repeated concerns about a military operation against Hamas’s military wing by Israeli Defense Forces in the city of Rafah which borders Egypt and where more than a million people currently shelter.Needs remain dire in northern Gaza amid ongoing aid obstacles including refusals from Israeli authorities to allow access for humanitarian missions.Tedros concernIn a social media post on Wednesday, UN World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus highlighted how Monday’s mission to Gaza City had been “severely delayed, leaving less time” to assess damage and requirements at the devastated Al-Shifa Hospital and Indonesian Hospital.“The removal of dead bodies at Al-Shifa is still ongoing,” Tedros said on X. “The emergency department is being cleaned by health workers and burnt beds have been removed. The safety of the remaining construction still needs a thorough engineering assessment.”The Indonesian Hospital is now empty but efforts are underway to open it again, Tedros said.The Palestinian Medical Relief Society medical point is admitting trauma patients but remains “in dire need of fuel and medical supplies”, which the UN health agency chief pledged to deliver. “The level of destruction of Gaza's hospitals is heartbreaking. We again call for hospitals to be protected, not attacked or militarized.”Latest data from the enclave’s health authorities indicates that at least 33,800 Palestinians have been killed and over 76,500 wounded in Gaza since 7 October. The death toll in Israel from Hamas’s October 7 attacks stands at 1,139 and dozens of people are still being held captive in Gaza. Some 259 Israeli soldiers have been killed in ground operations in the enclave with more than 1,570 injured, according to the UN aid coordination office, OCHA.Humanitarian actionWednesday’s appeal replaces a previous call for funds in October 2023 that was updated in November and extended through March 2024. The $2.8 billion figure represents only part of the nearly $4.1 billion that the UN and partners estimate is required to meet the needs of the most vulnerable but it reflects what aid teams believe is implementable over the coming nine months.Later on Wednesday, the UN Security Council was due to discuss the rapidly evolving situation in the Middle East, with a briefing by UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini.
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17 April 2024
No let up in deadly toll as rights chief demands end to suffering
Highlighting the plight of those in Gaza, UN human rights chief Volker Türk on Monday urged “all States with influence” to halt the “increasingly horrific human rights and humanitarian crisis” unfolding there.“Israel continues to impose unlawful restrictions on the entry and distribution of humanitarian assistance and to carry out widespread destruction of civilian infrastructure,” the High Commissioner for Human Rights maintained, before repeating calls for an immediate ceasefire and the release of all remaining hostages.West Bank spirallingThe High Commissioner for Human Rights also expressed deep concern about rising violence and “waves of attacks” in recent days against Palestinians in the West Bank “by hundreds of Israeli settlers, often accompanied or supported by Israeli Security Forces (ISF)”. Following the killing of a 14-year-old Israeli boy from a settler family, four Palestinians, including a child, were killed and Palestinian property was destroyed in revenge attacks, Mr. Türk said in a statement.Citing information received by his office, OHCHR, the UN rights chief reported that armed settlers and Israeli forces entered “a number of towns” including Al Mughayyer, Beitin village in Ramallah, Duma and Qusra in Nablus, as well as the Bethlehem and Hebron Governorates. Dozens of Palestinians were reportedly injured in the ensuing violence “and hundreds of homes and other buildings, as well as cars, were torched”, the High Commissioner said, before insisting that “neither Palestinians nor Israelis should take the law into their own hands to exact revenge”.Regional ‘trigger’In a related development in Geneva, the head of a high-level UN-appointed independent rights probe into the Occupied Palestinian Territory spoke of her “serious alarm” at the potential for military escalation between Israel and Iran and the risks of triggering a regional conflict. In a briefing to Arab League States days after Iran launched a massive drone and missile strike against Israel, Navi Pillay highlighted the “unprecedented” scale of war sustained by Israel.
To date, more than 33,200 people have been killed, according to Gaza’s health authority, Ms. Pillay said, with some 40 per cent of schools directly hit in attacks, and 1.7 million people displaced inside the enclave.“The complete siege imposed on Gaza since October 2023 has resulted in an unimaginable humanitarian catastrophe with famine and starvation now a reality for its residents,” said the head of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel. The destruction of roads and infrastructure has severely compromised the ability of humanitarian actors to bring in aid to the population.”
To date, more than 33,200 people have been killed, according to Gaza’s health authority, Ms. Pillay said, with some 40 per cent of schools directly hit in attacks, and 1.7 million people displaced inside the enclave.“The complete siege imposed on Gaza since October 2023 has resulted in an unimaginable humanitarian catastrophe with famine and starvation now a reality for its residents,” said the head of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel. The destruction of roads and infrastructure has severely compromised the ability of humanitarian actors to bring in aid to the population.”
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15 April 2024
No improvement in aid access to north, insists senior UN aid official
Jamie McGoldrick, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator overseeing crisis relief in Gaza, pushed back at Israeli claims that more than 1,000 trucks had entered Gaza in the last few days, but only around 800 had been collected on the Palestinian side.The veteran aid official also maintained that the deconfliction system in which humanitarians shared their coordinates with the warring sides was “consistently inaccurate”, but that he had raised these and other operational concerns with the Israeli military at their first meeting earlier this week.“It’s very easy for Israel to say we’ve sent you 1,000 trucks so please deliver them inside Gaza,” he said, in a renewed appeal to the Israeli authorities to recognise that their responsibility as the occupying Power “only ends when…aid reaches the civilians in Gaza”.Security vacuumDescribing long delays at checkpoints and a “security vacuum” inside the enclave that continues to hamper the delivery of aid where it is most needed, the UN official noted that the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) team, whose vehicle was hit by live ammunition on Thursday, had been held “for hours” at a checkpoint on Salah Al Deen Road.So far this month, some 60 hours have been wasted in this way, Mr. McGoldrick insisted. “And then what happens sometimes, it’s too late in the day – because you can only travel in daylight hours – to go north and therefore sometimes the mission is cancelled. And then we get blamed by Israel for cancelling the convoy, cancelling the mission to the north.”Only three roads are open to humanitarian relief in Gaza today: the middle route via Salah Al Deen Road, the coastal Al Rashid Road and the military road on the east side of Gaza. “At no point in time in the last month and more have we had three or even two of those roads working at the same time simultaneously,” the UN aid coordinator maintained, adding that all of the highways were in “very poor condition”.The consequences of “very limited” aid missions into the north of the enclave were already clear, judging by how underweight babies are when they are born, Mr. McGoldrick continued.Life-threatening hungerSpeaking from Jerusalem, he described visiting Kamal Adwan Hospital two weeks ago, where “every single patient” in the children’s ward faced life-threatening hunger. “The last child I saw was in an incubator who was a two-day-old boy, but who wasn't prematurely born – he was born after nine months – but he was 1.2 kg. There are going to be long-term consequences, which will be felt in the development possibility of that child.”Insisting on the need for a direct telephone line to the Israeli military “and the ability to speak to them”, Mr. McGoldrick noted that the targeting of the non-governmental organisation World Central Kitchen convoy two weeks ago was only recent evidence of the frequent dangers faced by aid teams operating in Gaza.“We have to have handheld radios, VHF radios, all the things you have in any normal issue, in a normal crisis. We don't have them,” he said, maintaining that the Israeli authorities had not allowed them for fear that they might be used by Hamas fighters.Evacuation callEchoing concerns about the dire healthcare situation in Gaza, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) called for a structured medical evacuations system to treat patients, instead of the current “ad hoc” arrangement.Damage to Al Shifa Hospital – Gaza’s biggest – during a two-week Israeli military raid had left a “huge crater” in the specialised surgery block, said Thanos Gargavanis, WHO trauma surgeon and emergency officer.Speaking from Gaza, Dr Gargavanis said that the hospital had been completely destroyed, including the oxygen plant, laboratory equipment and other critical equipment including a CT scanner and other machines required to provide lifesaving care. “The buildings themselves are burned down, walls are missing; there are holes of shrapnel and fire all along them,” the WHO officer noted, before describing how a recce of the hospital last week found open spaces littered with makeshift graves or with bodies lying either uncovered or with a plastic sheet over them.The WHO and other UN agencies have ensured that the deceased found at Al Shifa can receive a dignified burial, after naming the bodies or making it possible for them to be identified by DNA testing in future.“After this destruction, we feel that we are returning 60 years before when medical imaging was not available, where laboratory tests were not available,” Dr Gargavanis said. “We want to stress again that hospitals should never be militarized.”
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Story
12 April 2024
Ceasefire the only way to end killing and injuring of children in Gaza: UNICEF
Tess Ingram was part of a UNICEF team that was headed to northern Gaza on Tuesday when their vehicle was hit by live ammunition while waiting at a checkpoint. “Luckily, myself and my colleagues, we were all safe. But this just underscores how dangerous it is for humanitarian aid workers in Gaza at the moment: that incidents like this continue to happen when they absolutely shouldn't,” she told UN News, speaking from Rafah in the south.‘Critical mission’ rescheduled The UN has repeatedly warned of looming famine in Gaza, where roughly 70 per cent of the population in the north is going hungry, and as access restrictions persist.Ms. Ingram said the UNICEF team had hoped to proceed to the region “because it was such a critical mission with nutrition products for the children who were malnourished in the north of Gaza, among other things.” However, after waiting at the holding point for at least another two hours, they decided moving forward was no longer feasible as there would not be enough time to conduct all their activities, and returned to Rafah.While another mission is being scheduled for the coming days, she stressed the critical need for more aid corridors and, above all, for the fighting to end. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. Tess Ingram: It's tragic to see anybody suffering from malnutrition, which is such a painful condition, let alone in a place where malnutrition was almost non-existent before October. And it's now skyrocketed in the north of Gaza, because of disruptions to food production, but also because of restrictions on aid access to that area. We've really struggled to get up there with aid. And as a result, we know that children are dying of malnutrition there. At least 23 children have reportedly died at the Kamal Adwan Hospital, which is where we were trying to bring these nutrition treatments on Tuesday. UN News: Is there a particular story that you heard, a particular child that struck you, that that really resonated with you? Tess Ingram: There's a boy that I met, in the middle area at Al-Aqsa Hospital in Dier Al Balah. His name is Omar. He is seven years old. I wasn't able to speak to him because he was in such a terrible condition, so much pain. But I talked to his grandmother, and she was telling me that they had just come down from the north 48 hours earlier, and that in the north they had access to barely any food, and they were relying heavily on grass to sustain them. And you could see how sick Omar is. I really hope that he's okay now. The director of pediatrics at the hospital told me that he hoped that Omar would make a full recovery. But concerningly, he said that 90 percent of the children that they're admitting at the moment have some level of malnutrition, which is just shocking. UN News: Israel said that it has the intention at least to open the Erez crossing into northern Gaza. Has this materialized yet? Were you able to get anything in to relieve the situation? Tess Ingram: No, not yet - and that is such a critical step. We really need that crossing to be open, so that we can increase the volume of aid, but also so that we have direct access straight into the north. And that's important for two reasons. One, it'll allow us to bring aid in faster, and at scale to these children and families in the north who desperately need food and nutrition supplies. But also, it will prevent us, as the UN, having to drive through the whole Gaza Strip with our aid, which is important in such a dangerous place. UN News: So, you've seen these children, you've seen the conditions there. Is there still time to avoid the famine that the UN has been warning about, or are we already too late? Tess Ingram: Look, it's really hard to know. We've said that a famine could happen at any moment between now and May, and I think that still holds in the north of Gaza. For the south, the risk of famine is there. But I think we can still prevent it if we can just flood the Gaza Strip with aid. There is still time to prevent a famine in the middle and south of Gaza. UN News: We've been hearing many calls on the international stage for increased humanitarian access, increased humanitarian aid, in Gaza, but this has been to no avail. What needs to happen to make that happen? Tess Ingram: Well, the best way to make that happen is the ceasefire. It is the only way to end the killing and injuring of children. It is the best way to ensure that we can bring in more aid and to distribute that aid at scale, safely to all of the children and families in Gaza in need. UN News: You visited hospitals in Gaza, and we know that the healthcare system in the Strip is on the verge of collapse. Can you tell us what that means in practical terms, and in real-life terms?Tess Ingram: In real-life terms, what that means is doctors are struggling to provide the care that they want to, and that they’re used to in Gaza. It means that supplies are running out. It means that staff are unable to be paid salaries, and many more of them are having to become volunteers. And that's not sustainable because they have to be able to support their families in such desperate conditions. It means that children are dying without the appropriate medical care, or they're unable to receive treatment that they need. For example, I met a girl at the European Hospital this week. Her name's Juri and she's nine years old. She is from Rafah, here, at the south of the Gaza Strip. And despite this being an area where there hasn't been a ground offensive yet, she was in a building, her grandparents’ house, that was struck. And Juri said the last thing she remembers is playing with birds in a cage at the house, and then waking up in European hospital. And she has so many broken bones - the right side of her face and her arm and her wrist. But on the left side of her body, where she was struck by the impact of the blast, she has enormous open wounds that haven't been able to be treated in Gaza. When I met her, it had been 16 days since the incident. And she was still lying in a hospital bed with very painful, large, open wounds, waiting, hoping that she might be able to be evacuated from Gaza to get the treatment that she needs. But this has to be unacceptable to the world that a nine-year-old girl who was just visiting her grandparents ends up with such a traumatic injury that cannot be treated, and she's still waiting for help. UN News: You spoke about the fact that Rafah currently doesn't have a ground offensive, and there are growing fears, of course, that this incursion is going to happen after the government announced that it actually has a date for that operation. How is UNICEF preparing itself to deal with that? Tess Ingram: We're preparing contingency plans. We're trying to strategize about how we'll continue to do our job. We don't intend to go anywhere. We're going to stay and deliver and make sure that we can continue to provide support to the children and families of Gaza. UN News: With regard to education, the UN notes that 100 per cent of children in Gaza are out of school. Do you think we lost a generation in Gaza? Tess Ingram: Look, 625,000 students haven't had access to education since October. And when I meet kids here, one of the first things they tell me is how much they miss school – miss learning, miss their friends, what their favourite subject used to be. These children want to learn. They want to go back to school. But the longer it goes, the harder it becomes. So, we really need to make sure that these children can go back to school as soon as possible in formal learning, but in the meantime have some sort of temporary learning. And that's what we're trying to set up at the moment as UNICEF. UN News: Of course, with the attention on the immediate catastrophe at hand, longer-term effects can sometimes be overlooked. What are some of those long-term effects that UNICEF is expecting on children in Gaza? Is there anything being done now to address them once the guns fall silent? Tess Ingram: I think something that's often overlooked is the mental health impact of this war. And we know that children are experiencing repeated trauma, which will certainly have long-term impacts. If you think about other conflicts around the world, a child may experience one or two incidences of trauma, but generally, then they're able to flee to safety. But in Gaza, children are trapped and they're not able to leave. And every day they're experiencing some form of trauma - whether that's, an explosion, losing a family member, not knowing whether somebody is okay - living with that fear day in, day out definitely impacts them. And it can have developmental impacts on their bodies as well. So, this is something that we're very concerned about. We're working now to try and mitigate it in the small ways that we can. We can't yet provide counselling because children aren't safe. But what we're doing at the moment is providing recreational activities and psychosocial support in groups so that children can come together and play, or do arts and crafts or drama, or simply counsel each other if they're a bit older, and just for a moment have a sense of community or a sense of childhood. I've seen it, and it's a really nice thing to witness - these children laughing and smiling amid the horror around us. UN News: Many people want to do something about this situation, but they feel helpless. What can they do to support Gazans? Tess Ingram: I think the most important thing that we need to do is to continue advocating for a ceasefire - through whatever channels you are able to - to continue to call for an end to the fighting, because that really is the only way that we're going to be able to end this situation, and end the fear and the death and the destruction for the children of Gaza. But until that happens, the other thing that's really important is support for the humanitarian agencies on the ground. We're all here doing our best to try and help the people of Gaza, and we need the international community's support to continue that work.
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Story
11 April 2024
UN continues to face aid access denials in Gaza
Israeli authorities have not given a clear reason why, said OCHA Spokesperson Jens Laerke, speaking during the regular briefing by UN humanitarian agencies in Geneva. “They very often deny and that is it, and it ends there. We do not get an explanation,” he said. In a widely reported telephone call last Thursday between United States President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel committed to reopen the Erez border crossing into northern Gaza as well as facilitate aid delivery via the nearby port of Ashdod. The White House said it would be watching closely but no date has been set by Israel to act and the concession over expanding routes into Gaza has yet to materialize, according to news reports. Mr. Laerke was asked about the opening of more aid corridors, particularly the Erez crossing, but said as of Monday night, OCHA had not received any information that it had opened. Denials and impediments OCHA issued a report this week which said that restrictions and denials of planned aid movements by Israeli authorities continue to hamper the delivery of life-saving assistance to the shattered enclave.During March, more than half of UN-coordinated food missions to high-risk areas requiring coordination with Israeli authorities were either denied or impeded. Mr. Laerke was responding to journalists’ questions about the number of aid trucks entering Gaza and discrepancies between Israeli and UN figures. The Israeli defense ministry unit that coordinates and facilitates humanitarian aid for Gaza, known as COGAT, counts trucks that it screens and sends across the border while OCHA counts trucks that arrive at its warehouses, and “between those two, there are issues.”Comparison ‘makes little sense’ Trucks screened by COGAT are typically only half full, in line with its requirements, he said. “When we count the trucks on the other side when they have been reloaded…they are full. Already there, the numbers will never match up,” he continued. He explained that counting day to day and comparing numbers “makes little sense” as it does not take into account delays at the crossing and in moving to warehouses. Israeli-imposed restrictions also prohibit Egyptian drivers and trucks from being in the same area at the same time as Palestinian drivers and trucks, so handovers are not smooth. Access to north Gaza Mr. Laerke stressed that moving aid inside Gaza “is another complication”, referring to the impediments and access denials. “Food convoys that should be going particularly to the north, where 70 per cent of people face famine conditions, are more likely, actually three times more likely, to be denied than any other humanitarian convoy with other kinds of material,” he said. He told journalists that aid distribution inside Gaza “is a major issue” due to security and safety reasons, and the breakdown of law and order.“But we also stress that the obligation on the warring parties – and, in particular, I would say on Israel as the occupying power of Gaza - to facilitate and ensure humanitarian access does not stop at the border,” he said.
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Press Release
06 April 2024
Statement by the Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Mr. Jamie McGoldrick
Nearly 2 million people have been forced to flee their homes, many of them multiple times. Half of all people in Gaza are at risk of imminent famine, and child malnutrition has reached levels never before seen in Gaza.The situation is simply catastrophic.In recent days, Israel has acknowledged the immense scale of suffering in Gaza and its ability to facilitate the increase of humanitarian assistance to people in need. This is a welcome development, notably the several commitments that Israel has made in response to our repeated requests:A better functioning coordination cell will be established that links humanitarians directly with the IDF Southern Command.Plans to open Erez Crossing temporarily to move much needed food, water and sanitation items, shelter and health materials from Ashdod port.Plans to increase the number of trucks entering through the Allenby Bridge crossing towards Gaza from 25 to at least 50 per day.Intent to expand operating hours of Kerem Shalom and Nitsana crossings, while anticipating an increase in the number of trucks scanned by an additional 100 trucks per day.Deployment of additional scanner and staff capacity at Kerem Shalom crossing to accelerate the transfer of aid into Gaza.Assurance for approvals to activate 20 bakeries in North Gaza.Approval for the Nahal Oz water line in North Gaza to restart.As I have stated previously, the humanitarian community is prepared to scale-up assistance in Gaza, but this requires better security, greater access, and more reliable facilitation from Israeli authorities.We stand ready to work with all parties to alleviate the suffering of people in Gaza.
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Press Release
03 April 2024
Joint World Bank and UN Report Assesses Damage to Gaza’s Infrastructure
WASHINGTON, March 28, 2024 – The cost of damage to critical infrastructure in Gaza is estimated at around $18.5 billion according to a new report released today by the World Bank Group and the United Nations, with the financial support of the European Union. That is equivalent to 97% of the combined GDP of the West Bank and Gaza in 2022. The Interim Damage Assessment report used remote data collection sources to measure damage to physical infrastructure in critical sectors incurred between October 2023 and end of January 2024. The report finds that damage to structures affects every sector of the economy. Housing alone accounts for 73% of the identified cost. Public service infrastructure such as water, health and education account for 18%, and damages to commercial and industrial buildings account for 9%. For several sectors, the rate of damage appears to be leveling off as few assets remain intact. An estimated 26 million tons of debris and rubble have been left in the wake of the destruction, an amount that will take years to remove. The report also looks at the devastating impact on the people of Gaza. More than half the population of Gaza is on the brink of famine and the entire population is experiencing acute food insecurity and malnutrition. Over a million people have been left without homes and 75% of the population is displaced. The severe cumulative impacts on physical and mental health have hit women, children, the elderly, and persons with disabilities the hardest, with the youngest children facing life-long consequences to their development. With 84% of health facilities damaged or destroyed, and a lack of electricity and water to operate remaining facilities, people have minimal access to health care, medicine, or life-saving treatments. The water and sanitation system has nearly collapsed, delivering less than 5% of its previous output, with people dependent on limited water rations for survival. The education system has completely collapsed, with 100% of children out of school. The report also points to the impact on power networks as well as solar generated systems and the almost total power blackout since the first week of the conflict. This has had widespread effect on day-to-day life in Gaza. With 92% of primary roads destroyed or damaged and the communications infrastructure seriously impaired, the delivery of basic humanitarian aid to people has become all the more difficult. __________________________________________________________________________________About the Gaza Interim Damage Assessment Report The Gaza Interim Damage Assessment report provides a preliminary estimate of the impact of the on-going conflict in the Gaza Strip up to the end of January 2024. This technical report draws on remote data collection sources and analytics to provide a preliminary estimate of damages to physical structures in Gaza from the conflict. The estimate does not include the economic and social losses nor the financing needs for recovery and reconstruction the cost of which is expected to be multiple times higher based on experience in post-disaster and post-conflict settings. A comprehensive Rapid Damage & Needs Assessment (RDNA) will be completed as soon as the situation allows and in which the total amount of damages, losses and needs are expected to rise exponentially. RDNAs follow a globally recognized methodology that has been applied in multiple contexts to inform recovery and reconstruction planning.
Media Contacts: World Bank Group In West Bank: Mary Koussa - (972) 2-2366500; mkoussa@worldbank.org In Washington: Serene Jweied - (202) 473-8764; sjweied@worldbank.org United Nations In West Bank: Murad Bakri – (972) 2-5687287; bakri1@un.org
Media Contacts: World Bank Group In West Bank: Mary Koussa - (972) 2-2366500; mkoussa@worldbank.org In Washington: Serene Jweied - (202) 473-8764; sjweied@worldbank.org United Nations In West Bank: Murad Bakri – (972) 2-5687287; bakri1@un.org
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Press Release
08 March 2024
UN Human Rights Chief deplores new moves to expand Israeli settlements in occupied West Bank
“Reports this week that Israel plans to build a further 3,476 settler homes in Maale Adumim, Efrat and Kedar fly in the face of international law,” Türk said.In a report to the Human Rights Council, Türk said that the establishment and continuing expansion of settlements amount to the transfer by Israel of its own civilian population into the territories that it occupies, which amounts to a war crime under international law.The size of existing Israeli settlements has expanded markedly, says the report which covers the period from 1 November 2022 to 31 October 2023. About 24,300 housing units within existing Israeli settlements in the West Bank were advanced during this period, the highest on record since monitoring began in 2017. This included approximately 9,670 units in East Jerusalem.The report finds that the policies of the current Israeli Government appear aligned, to an unprecedented extent, with the goals of the Israeli settler movement to expand long-term control over the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and to steadily integrate this occupied territory into the State of Israel.“They also run counter to the views of a broad range of States laid out during hearings just two weeks ago at the International Court of Justice,” the High Commissioner said, referring to the hearings examining the legal consequences of Israeli policies and practices in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.The establishment and continuing expansion of illegal Israeli settlements are occurring alongside the displacement of Palestinians through Israeli settler and state violence, as well as through forced evictions, non-issuance of building permits, home demolitions and movement restrictions for Palestinians.“The West Bank is already in crisis. Yet, settler violence and settlement-related violations have reached shocking new levels, and risk eliminating any practical possibility of establishing a viable Palestinian State,” Türk said.The report highlights the dramatic increase in the intensity, severity and regularity of Israeli settler and state violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, particularly since 7 October, 2023, which is accelerating Palestinians’ displacement from their land.Latest UN figures show that, since 7 October, there have been 603 settler attacks against Palestinians. A total of 1,222 Palestinians from 19 herding communities have been displaced as a direct result of settler violence. Since 7 October, the UN Human Rights Office has documented nine Palestinians killed by settlers using firearms. A further 396 have been killed by Israeli security forces, and two killed by either Israeli security forces or settlers.Since 7 October, 592 people, including 282 children, have been displaced in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, after their homes were demolished due to the lack of Israeli-issued building permits, which are almost impossible to obtain.The report says that since 7 October, the UN Human Rights Office has documented dozens of cases of settlers wearing full or partial Israeli army uniforms and carrying army rifles, and harassing and attacking Palestinians. These developments have also further blurred the line between settler violence and state violence, including violence with the declared intent to forcibly transfer Palestinians from their land, it states.“Israel’s actions against the Palestinian population must cease immediately. The only way forward is to find a viable political solution that finally ends the occupation, establishes an independent Palestinian state and guarantees the realization of the fundamental rights of the Palestinian people,” said Türk.To read the full report, please click here
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Press Release
24 January 2024
UN agencies: End to Conflict is Imperative for a Return to Learning in Palestine
The urgency of this message is underscored by the stark reality that learning has been devastated in the Gaza Strip since the hostilities began in October 2023. Over 625,000 students and 22,564 teachers have been deprived of education and a safe place for over three months, and thousands of learners and education personnel are amongst the more than 25,000 people who have reportedly been killed.
Children and youth, as well as educators, have lost the anchor that is education – all UNRWA schools are closed in the Gaza Strip, depriving the 300,000 children who attended them of their education. The longer they stay out of school, the more difficult it is to catch up, with lasting consequences.
Most UNRWA schools in the Gaza Strip have been turned into shelters, hosting over 1.2 million displaced people. Communities and support networks have been fractured, and educational infrastructure damaged or destroyed. 75% of all school buildings across the Gaza Strip have been impacted, while numerous higher education institutions have also sustained damages . At least 340 internally displaced people have been killed while seeking safety in UNRWA shelters and more than 1,100 injured. Attacks on educational premises and UN premises violate international humanitarian law.
While all eyes are on Gaza, in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, access to safe education has also been disrupted amid escalating violence in recent months. According to the Education Cluster, at least 782,000 students have been affected by movement restrictions, increased violence, and fear of harassment from Israeli settlers and forces since October. In the West Bank, the UN has recruited addition counsellors and teachers from the vicinity of schools given that many staff are unable to reach their workplace. We have also activated remote learning on days that schools are not operating.
In Gaza, despite the conflict, the United Nations and partners from the Education Cluster have been striving to offer much needed recreational activities for children, as well as psychosocial support in shelters.
Education is a fundamental human right and critical lifeline for the millions of children and young people affected by the war, and it must be sustained even throughout this crisis. Ending the conflict is imperative to enable Palestinian students and educators to begin to rebuild the foundations for a safe return to learning.
A just and sustainable future for Palestine begins with fostering peace and mutual understanding and improving livelihoods through education.
In Gaza, despite the conflict, the United Nations and partners from the Education Cluster have been striving to offer much needed recreational activities for children, as well as psychosocial support in shelters.
Education is a fundamental human right and critical lifeline for the millions of children and young people affected by the war, and it must be sustained even throughout this crisis. Ending the conflict is imperative to enable Palestinian students and educators to begin to rebuild the foundations for a safe return to learning.
A just and sustainable future for Palestine begins with fostering peace and mutual understanding and improving livelihoods through education.
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Press Release
11 January 2024
UN Human Rights Office in Occupied Palestinian Territory warns Israeli strikes are placing civilians at serious risk in Deir Al Balah, Middle Gaza
On 28 and 31 December 2023, and again on 6 and 8 January 2024, the Israeli Defence Forces urged residents of most populated areas of Middle Gaza, such as Al Bureij and Al Nuseirat, to evacuate to known shelters in Deir Al Balah. However, Israeli strikes and ground battles in those areas were ongoing, while strikes on Deir Al Balah itself intensified. The UN Human Rights Office has received reports that during the last ten days, four individual strikes in Deir Al Balah killed more than 40 Palestinians. It is clear – as the UN has repeatedly stressed – that there is no safe place in Gaza.
The operations of Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir Al Balah, the only functioning hospital in Middle Gaza, have also been severely restricted by Israeli strikes and sniper shootings. The hospital was reportedly sheltering thousands of displaced persons in Deir al Balah. The severity of the situation has led many medical staff to take the difficult decision to evacuate the hospital, despite the high need for medical care resulting from the continuing strikes. Today, 10 January, IDF strikes reportedly hit a residential building in front of the hospital, as well as an ambulance vehicle belonging to the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS). The strikes reportedly killed 13 Palestinians. PRCS has stated that four among the fatalities were ambulance crew members.
Hospitals enjoy special protection under international humanitarian law because of their life-saving function for the wounded and sick – they must be respected and protected.
Israel Defense Forces must take immediate measures to protect civilians in line with its obligations under international law. Forcing the relocation of civilians in no way absolves the IDF from its obligations under IHL to protect civilians in carrying out military operations.
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