“Gaza was a desperate humanitarian situation before the most recent hostilities. It is now catastrophic. The world must do more,” they said. The statement was issued by the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the World Food Programme (WFP) and the World Health Organization (WHO). ‘Far from…
The 20 trucks carried food, water and medical supplies – items that are desperately needed, along with fuel – as stocks in Gaza dwindle, amid fears of increased deaths due to disease outbreaks and lack of healthcare. While welcoming the development, agencies such as the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) have insisted that this cannot be…
The Summit, convened by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, took place one day after the UN chief travelled to the Rafah border crossing in north Sinai, the sole border crossing open with Gaza. “There I saw a paradox — a humanitarian catastrophe playing out in real time,” he said, noting that hundreds of trucks “teeming…
The 20-truck convoy that passed through the Rafah border crossing with Egypt includes life-saving supplies provided by the Egyptian Red Crescent and the UN. They were approved to cross and be received by the Palestinian Red Crescent, with UN support. “I am confident that this delivery will be the start of a sustainable effort to…
After viewing some of the shipments himself in Egypt close to Gaza, pallets of medical supplies, food, and water among them, UN Secretary-General António Guterres told reporters that right now, the trucks urgently need to move to the other side of the border, as a matter of “life and death”. The ongoing siege imposed shortly…
Briefing reporters in Geneva on Friday morning, UN humanitarian affairs coordination office (OCHA) spokesperson Jens Laerke said on behalf of UN relief chief Martin Griffiths, “we are in deep and advanced negotiations with all relevant sides to make sure that an aid operation into Gaza starts as quickly as possible and with the right conditions”….
Some 3,000 tonnes of supplies have been awaiting entry on the Egyptian side of the crossing since Saturday. On Wednesday, the UN Security Council failed to agree on a resolution that would have called for “humanitarian pauses” for aid delivery. UN chief expected in Cairo UN Secretary-General António Guterres was expected to arrive in Cairo…
“For nearly two weeks the people of Gaza have gone without any shipments of fuel, food, water, medicine, and other essentials. Disease is spreading. Supplies are dwindling. People are dying,” he said at a press conference in Cairo alongside Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry. Mr. Guterres is in the Middle East to witness UN preparations…
In a news release, the experts denounced the ruthless attacks by Hamas on Israeli civilians starting 7 October. They also stressed their concern for the victims of subsequent counter-terrorism measures by Israeli forces. “We decry the scale of the brutal assault on mothers, children, babies, the elderly and ordinary citizens going about their daily lives…
The latest upsurge in violence between Israel and Hamas which began on 7 October swiftly reached the radar of the UN Security Council, tasked by the UN Charter with maintaining international peace and security. But, to date, the 15-member organ has rejected similarly worded draft resolutions aimed at, among other things, establishing a ceasefire and…
