In a statement released by the UN Humanitarian Country Team – which leads coordinated relief efforts across the Occupied Palestinian Territory – officials condemned Israeli efforts to dismantle the current aid system. The team led by the UN’s top aid official in the region representing UN and non-governmental organizations (NGOs)...
In a powerful statement on Thursday, Tom Fletcher, the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator, condemned Israel’s decision to halt humanitarian assistance as a “cruel collective punishment” of the Palestinian population. “Two months ago, the Israeli authorities took a deliberate decision to block all aid to Gaza and halt our efforts to...
Mr. Shahada lost his leg due to a severe injury he suffered in Nuseirat in central Gaza in April 2024, but he picked up his camera and returned to document the tragic events that have been unfolding in Gaza. He will not let his disability stop him from working. “It...
Speaking from Gaza City OCHA spokesperson Olga Cherevko told journalists in Geneva that a friend of hers “saw people burning a few days ago from the explosions – and there was no water to save them.” Since all entry points into the war-torn enclave were “sealed by the Israeli authorities...
Speaking to journalists in Gaza City, Jonathan Whittall, local Head of Office for the UN aid coordination wing, OCHA, painted a dire picture of life under what he called a “total and complete blockade” now approaching its third month. “The coming days in Gaza are going to be critical. Today...
On Friday, WFP announced it had delivered its last remaining supplies to kitchens preparing hot meals which are expected to be completely gone within days. The UN agency warned that it may be forced to end critical assistance to families unless urgent action is taken. Back to ‘breaking point’ “The...
In the makeshift coastal encampments of Al Mawasi, families have no choice but to live in unsanitary conditions that are rapidly turning deadly, Louise Wateridge, Senior Emergency Officer at Palestine refugee agency, UNRWA, told UN News. She described an increasingly dire situation: malnourished children and families, already worn down by...
The UN relief coordination office, OCHA, said on Tuesday that this marks the longest period without aid or commercial supplies entering the Strip since the conflict began in October 2023. “Right now, it is probably the worst humanitarian situation ever seen throughout the war in Gaza,” OCHA spokesperson Jens Laerke...
“Palestinian journalists continue to do heroic work, paying a heavy price; 170 have been killed to date,” said UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini. “The free flow of information and independent reporting are key to facts and accountability during conflicts.” In his appeal, Mr. Lazzarini noted that in the more than 18 months...
More than 500,000 people are reported to have been newly displaced since 18 March, many of them uprooted multiple times due to ongoing military operations across the Gaza Strip. Conditions on the ground are deteriorating rapidly, with critical shortages in basic supplies and growing malnutrition, especially among children. “Tents are...
On Monday, World Health Organisation (WHO) Representative Rik Peeperkorn told UN News about the desperate conditions he had seen at Al-Ahli before the attack, and the severe restriction on movement that is preventing thousands being evacuated for medical treatment outside of Gaza. “I was in Gaza several weeks ago and...
“It has now been a month and a half since any supplies were last allowed through the crossings into Gaza,” UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric told journalists at the daily media briefing in New York. OCHA said about 70 per cent of the Gaza Strip is currently under displacement orders or in...