Tag: UN News

Fuel deliveries for aid operations in the enclave, home to 2.3 million Palestinians, have been largely prohibited since Hamas’ attack on Israel on 7 October left at least 1,200 dead and 240 taken hostage. This has severely hampered aid efforts and services to provide water and electricity, UN agencies said.

Al-Shifa Hospital

In northern Gaza, WHO led a mission to the besieged Al-Shifa Hospital, where thousands of civilians were seeking shelter alongside medical crews who were scrambling to tend to patients.

The mission was deconflicted with the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to ensure safe passage along the agreed route, however, this was a “high-risk operation” in an active conflict zone, with heavy fighting ongoing in close proximity to the hospital, according to WHO.

“The team saw a hospital no longer able to function: no water, no food, no electricity, no fuel, medical supplies depleted,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a post on social media. “Given this deplorable situation and the condition of many patients, including babies, health workers requested support to evacuate patients who cannot receive lifesaving care there anymore.”

There are 25 health workers and 291 patients remaining in Al-Shifa, with several patient deaths having occurred over the previous two to three days due to the shutting down of medical services, the UN agency said. Patients include 32 babies in extremely critical condition, two people in intensive care without ventilation and 22 dialysis patients whose access to life-saving treatment has been severely compromised. The vast majority of patients are victims of war trauma, WHO said.

WHO and partners are swiftly developing plans for the immediate evacuation of the remaining patients, staff and their families. Over the next 24 to 72 hours, pending guarantees of safe passage by parties to the conflict, additional missions are being arranged to urgently transport patients to hospitals in southern Gaza, according to WHO.

“We continue to call for protection of health and of civilians,” the WHO chief said. “The current situation is unbearable and unjustifiable.”

‘Tough decisions’

Following weeks of delays, Israeli authorities just approved only half of the daily minimum fuel requirements for humanitarian operations in Gaza, Philippe Lazzarini, who heads the UN agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA), said in a statement.

“Humanitarian organizations should not be forced to make tough decisions between competing lifesaving activities,” he said.

More than 11,000 Gazans have been killed and thousands others wounded since the conflict began, according to the latest situation report by the UN humanitarian agency (OCHA). The lack of fuel has led to communications shutdowns, shuttered water stations, hospital closures and reduced aid deliveries across Gaza.

Authorized deliveries fall short of needs

The situation has worsened since Israel closed all borders for aid deliveries into Gaza on 7 October and, through a deal with Egypt, allowed limited shipments two weeks later through the Rafah crossing.

On Wednesday, Israel allowed about 23,000 litres, or half a tanker truck, of fuel to be delivered to UNRWA for humanitarian purposes.

Israel authorized 120,000 litres to be delivered on Saturday, which will only cover half of daily critical needs. UNRWA was informed that the same amount would be delivered every two days.

Current approved fuel deliveries into Gaza are not enough, UNRWA’s chief said.

‘Major health hazard’

“This is far from enough to cover the needs for desalination plants, sewage pumps, hospitals, water pumps in shelters, aid trucks, ambulances, bakeries and communications networks to work without interruption,” Mr. Lazzarini said. “Fuel should not be restricted for these activities.”

Without the full amount of fuel, he said, people will have only two thirds of their daily needs of clean drinking water.

Without adequate fuel supplies, large parts of Gaza will continue to be flooded with sewage further increasing risks of diseases, and 70 per cent of solid waste will not be removed, posing “a major health hazard”, Mr. Lazzarini said.

OCHA reported that “with no fuel, public sewage pumping stations, 60 water wells in the south, a desalination plant in the middle area, the two main sewage pumps in the south, and the Rafah wastewater treatment plant have all ceased operations in the past few days.”

75 per cent of Gaza’s hospitals not functioning

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), as of Friday, almost 75 per cent of the hospitals in Gaza – 25 out of 36 – were not functional due to lack of fuel, damage, attacks and insecurity. Eleven hospitals across the Strip are currently partially operational and admitting patients with extremely limited services.

Fuel shortages make it impossible to deliver lifesaving aid at a time when needs are soaring, UN agencies said.

Aid ‘cannot be conditional’

“We are forced to handle a reduced number of aid trucks crossing daily into Rafah,” he said. “The last few days have seen a drastic reduction in these services including water availability and sewage clearance with serious consequences on people in need.”

Calling for “adequate, regular, and unconditional delivery of fuel to maintain all our critical lifesaving activities in the Gaza Strip”, he said “humanitarian aid cannot be conditional and must not be used for political or military agendas and gains”.

Attacks on schools

On Saturday morning, media reports indicated fresh attacks on schools.

Adele Khodr, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) regional director for the Middle East and North Africa, said in a social post that the scenes of carnage and death following attacks on Al-Fakhoura and Tal Al Zaatar schools in Gaza that killed many children and women are horrific and appalling.

“These horrible attacks should cease immediately,” she wrote. “Children, schools and shelters are not a target. Immediate ceasefire needed now!”

Echoing that call, Mr. Lazzarini reacted to reports of attacks on UNRWA schools that were sheltering thousands of displaced people.

“These attacks cannot become commonplace, they must stop,” he said in a social media post on X. “A humanitarian ceasefire cannot wait any longer.”

On Friday, the UN General Assembly held a meeting on the situation in Gaza, with many delegates and heads of UN agencies calling for a humanitarian ceasefire. Last week, the Security Council found unity after a month-long deadlock, calling for urgent, extended humanitarian pauses.

More than 1.5 million Gazans are displaced, 18 hospitals have shut down, and hundreds of thousands are living in fear and under continuing Israeli bombardment.

“Casualties continue to mount, with the dead reportedly exceeding 11,000 people – the majority of them children and women,” said Emergency Relief Coordinator and Humanitarian Affairs chief, Martin Griffiths.

“The actual total, however, is likely much higher as figures have not been updated for five days due to a collapse of communication networks in Gaza,” he added.

Mr. Griffiths, who is also the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator, further stated that across Gaza, but particularly in the north, food and water supplies are running perilously low, and the lack of fuel means communications and essential services like water desalination are progressively failing.

Free the hostages

Across the border, civilians in Israel endure deep pain of their own as they mourn the brutal, inhumane killing of 1,200 people, he added, stressing that the nearly 240 hostages – from babies to octogenarians – must be released immediately and without condition.

Mr. Griffiths reiterated the UN’s 10-point plan setting out the necessary requirements for an effective humanitarian response.

He called on UN Member States to help achieve these objectives.

Basic needs

“We are not asking for the moon. We are asking for the basic measures required to meet the essential needs of the civilian population and stem the course of this crisis,” he stressed.

In conclusion, Mr. Griffiths warned that for as dire as the situation is in Gaza, “it could get far worse.”

“If we do not take action now, this is a conflict that could spread its tendrils further into other parts of the Occupied Palestinian Territory and beyond, and drag the region into a conflagration with even more catastrophic consequences,” he said.

Our work ‘mission impossible’: UNRWA official

Natalie Boucly, Acting Deputy Commissioner-General for the UN agency assisting Palestine refugees, UNRWA, said that no part of the Gaza Strip has been spared from the bombardment.

“Hospitals, mosques, churches, bakeries, and over 60 UNRWA buildings and schools have been hit across Gaza,” she said.

Most of the agency’s impacted facilities were in the middle areas and in the south, Ms. Boucly added, noting that this was where people were told to go for safety.

“They came to UNRWA buildings to be protected by the UN flag,” she said.

The UNRWA official stressed that the work of the agency has become “mission impossible”.

“We cannot fully protect people in UN premises, under the UN flag. We cannot reach people in need, including thousands still trapped in the north. We cannot provide sufficient assistance to those we can reach,” she said.

UNRWA’s fuel stocks are almost depleted, with massive implications for the civilian population, including its 13,000 staff.

Concluding her briefing, Ms. Boucly said that there is a collective responsibility on the part of the international community to ensure that the war ends now.

“We must remain steadfast in our determination, and I must quote from a famous text: ‘to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, and reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person’,” she said, recalling the preambular text from the UN Charter.

Crisis creating ‘deeper fractures’: UN rights chief

Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), voiced deep concern over the growing risk of spillover into the wider Middle East region, if the fighting continues.

He also emphasized that the crisis posed another global shock to the multilateral system “driving more polarization and creating deeper fractures, with terrible impact on the solutions that humanity so urgently needs.”

He recalled the resolution adopted by the General Assembly at its emergency special session on the crisis, which called for an immediate and sustained humanitarian truce leading to a cessation of hostilities, and the resolution adopted by the Security Council on Wednesday that called for urgent and extended humanitarian pauses and corridors throughout the Gaza Strip.

Mr. Türk underscored that these resolutions must not be ignored by Israel or Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip.

“There must be a ceasefire on humanitarian and human rights grounds, and an end to the fighting – not only to deliver urgently needed food and provide meaningful humanitarian assistance, but also to create space for a path out of this horror,” he stressed.

The UN rights chief also warned against rising hate speech and disinformation, which is fuelling dehumanization and thwarting the search for an enduring political solution.

“I am very concerned about the risk of further grave violations, even potentially amounting to atrocity crimes, in light of recent statements by some in leadership positions,” he said.

Stop attacks on healthcare, protect patients: WHO chief

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the UN World Health Organization (WHO), informed Member States that it is becoming harder to evaluate the functioning of the health system in Gaza.

“What is clear is that the health needs of the people of Gaza are growing all the time, and the health system is near collapse,” he said.

Only 10 of Gaza’s 36 hospitals are still functioning, with just 1,400 hospital beds, and many health workers have been displaced, forced to flee with their families.

“Here’s what that means: more and more casualties, and fewer and fewer beds, health workers, medicines and supplies,” said Mr. Tedros, adding that there are rising cases of respiratory and skin infections, and acute watery diarrhoea due to lack of sanitation.

The head of WHO called for the immediate implementation of the Security Council resolution adopted on Wednesday, and for the parties to abide by it.

“We call for attacks on healthcare to stop, and for patients, health facilities, health infrastructure and health workers – as well as aid workers – to be protected,” he stressed.

“And we continue to call for an end to this conflict, to prevent further deaths of civilians and further damage to Gaza’s hospitals and health facilities,” he said.

Massive economic losses: UNDP head

Achim Steiner, Administrator of the UN Development Programme (UNDP), told Member States that the almost six weeks of war have created a crisis of massive scale.

“On top of this humanitarian catastrophe […] a development crisis of massive proportions is already unfolding,” he said, warning that it could have generational implications.

He presented findings from UNDP’s latest assessment, which projected that if the fighting continues for a second full month, poverty could soar by 34 per cent, pushing half a million additional people into poverty.

“A third full month of war would see poverty increase by almost 45 per cent, expanding poverty to include over 39 per cent of the population for a total of more than 2.1 million people,” he said.

He also informed Member States of the impacts on the Palestinian economy, with the GDP declining by an estimated 4.3 per cent, sustaining a loss of over $857 million.

“With a third full month of war, the decrease of GDP would reach 12.2 per cent, with losses of over $2.5 billion,” he said.

The UNDP head said that even with the most conservative scenario, it is estimated that the war will set back development in the State of Palestine by 11 years, with Gaza suffering a setback of 17 years. Under higher impact scenarios, the impact in Gaza would rise to 19 years and in the State of Palestine as a whole by 16 years, he said.

“Every additional month that this war continues will come with huge and compounding cost to all Palestinians now and in the medium term,” he said, underscoring the need to step up efforts to stop the war, “as a humanitarian but also as a development imperative.”

Catastrophic situation for women, girls: UNFPA

Laila Baker, Regional Director for Arab States at the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), drew attention to the catastrophic situation faced by women and girls in Gaza.

“At the moment, some 50,000 Palestinian pregnant women are in Gaza, every day approximately 180 women give birth there […] and are facing appalling conditions during those deliveries,” she said, with the situation most critical for the women facing obstetric complications.

Their lives and the lives of their unborn children are at risk, due to severely limited access to healthcare and emergency obstetric care, Ms. Baker added, noting that with supplies running low, women are forced to undergo caesarean sections without anaesthesia, and as military strikes land near hospitals.

“This situation is unconscionable. Hospitals, health workers and civilians must never be targets,” she stressed.

Impacts on children ‘will last a lifetime’: UNICEF

Lana Al Wreikat, Director of Emergency Programmes ad interim at UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), highlighted the impact of the crisis on children.

“The magnitude of reported child deaths is devastating. Children’s living conditions are getting worse by the day, and their safety and wellbeing is under constant threat,” she said.

“The impact of this war on generation of children, many of whom have already experienced multiple wars, will last a lifetime,” she added.

The UNICEF official called for all crossing points into Gaza to be opened to allow continuous and safe passage of essential supplies and personnel.

Food stocks nearly depleted: WFP

Paul Skoczylas, Director of the UN World Food Programme’s (WFP) New York Office, noted that food stocks across the Gaza Strip are nearly depleted, and prices of any food still available are skyrocketing.

“Gaza has never witnessed such a surge in pricing before,” he said, noting that no commercial goods are entering the Strip.

“Information gathered from the people we serve indicate that people are surviving on one meal a day – if they are lucky,” he added.

“What we do know is that the health system is on its knees,” said Dr. Richard Peeperkorn, World Health Organization Representative in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, in the wake of Hamas militants’ terror attack on Israel on 7 October that left 1,200 dead and the heavy bombardment of the enclave by the Israeli military in response.

‘Endless need’

Speaking from Jerusalem to journalists in Geneva via Zoom, he explained that 47 out of 72 primary healthcare centres were no longer functioning and others were only partially functioning. Close to 75 per cent of hospitals (35 to 36) were no longer operational. “So there’s clearly not enough support for this endless need,” he said.

The development comes after the UN agency for Palestine refugees, UNRWA, reported a communications blackout in Gaza on Thursday as telecoms firms ran out of fuel to run their generators. The shutdown threatened to disrupt the coordination of humanitarian aid convoys on Friday, the UN agency said.

Rescue teams halted

Dr.Peeperkorn said that before the conflict erupted, Gazans had access to some 3,500 hospital beds. Today, only an estimated 1,400 are available, although the actual requirement is likely closer to 5,000. He added that in Gaza City, meanwhile, “active ground operations” “along with the lack of fuel, had halted the movement of rescue teams and ambulances in many areas”.

In its latest update on Thursday evening, the UN aid coordination office OCHA reported the previous24 hours had seen “heavy airstrikes, shelling and fighting”.

The bulletin detailed an airstrike on 15 November at about 6pm “during the evening prayer time (in) the vicinity of the Ihya’ As Sunna Mosque in As Sabra neighbourhood” of Gaza City “reportedly killing 50 people and injuring others”.

The OCHA bulletin also updated information about Israeli troops and tanks that have been continuing their raid on the vast Al-Shifa hospital compound, reportedly taking control of several sections.

Citing the hospital’s director, the UN agency said that the southern section of the compound had been damaged “including the radiology department, and the forces took several corpses from within the hospital”.

Some 807,000 Palestinians remain in the north of the enclave, which represents about two-thirds of the population there before the latest escalation, according to OCHA. The other third of the population, about 400,000, have been likely displaced to the south.

“Hundreds of thousands” of those left in the north now shelter in public facilities, including schools, hospitals and with host families.

Soaring needs

As health needs soar, Dr.Peeperkorn said that a lack of fuel, water, food and medical supplies has made it harder for the hospitals and health facilities still “partially operational” to help them.

“WHO is extremely concerned about the spread of diseases as the rainy season and winter arrive. Overcrowding in shelters and the overall lack of water and sanitation across Gaza could increase the risk of transmission,” he said.

Citing data from the Gazan Ministry of Health, UNRWA and WHO, he added that there had been 71,224 recorded cases of acute respiratory infections, 44,202 cases of diarrhoea (22,554 in children under five), 808 cases of chickenpox, and more than 14,195 skin rashes, 10,952 cases of scabies and lice.

Weaponizing water

In a related development, a UN-appointed independent rights expert on Friday urged Israel to stop using water as a weapon of war.

Clean water and fuel needs to be allowed into Gaza to activate the water supply network and desalination plants in the besieged enclave “before it is too late”, said Pedro Arrojo-Agudo, UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation.

“Every hour that passes with Israel preventing the provision of safe drinking water in the Gaza strip, in brazen breach of international law, puts Gazans at risk of dying of thirst and diseases related to the lack of safe drinking water,” he said.

Special Rapporteurs and other independent experts are appointed by the Human Rights Council and are neither UN staff nor paid for their work. They are independent of any government or organisation.