The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
Edited News | UNICEF , WHO
Update on health situation in Gaza UNICEF - WHO 05 December 2023
STORYLINE
WHO in Gaza: We are close by humanity’s darkest hour, the bombing must stop now
Amid intensifying Israel bombardments in the southern Gaza Strip, the UN health agency expressed deep concern on Tuesday that “we are close by humanity’s darkest hour, this bombing must stop now, we need a sustained ceasefire”.
Speaking from the city of Rafah in southern Gaza, the World Health Organization (WHO’s) representative on the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Dr. Richard Pepperkorn, said that the situation was “getting worse by the hour. This intensified bombing is going on all around, including in the southern area of Khan Younis and even at Rafah.” He added that over the last couple of days, “a vastly increasing number of IDPs” (internally displaced people) had moved from the so-called Middle area and even now to certain areas … more to the south.”
According to WHO data, in less than 60 days of war, around 16,000 people have been killed, 60 per cent of them children and women. A child is killed every 10 minutes in Gaza, the UN health agency said.
Stressing the need for the protection of hospitals in this ongoing bombardment, Dr. Peeperkorn said that “we are looking at an increasing humanitarian disaster. We cannot afford what had happened in the north, the one-by-one non- functionality of hospitals, it absolutely cannot happen in the south.”
The WHO official stressed that the agency was making sure that sustained supplies were coming in and that the number of beds would be increased from 1,400 to 2,500.” However, he said that “for the situation we are in, we actually need 5,000 beds, we are not getting there”.
Speaking from Cairo, spokesperson for the UN Children’s Fund, James Elder, stressed that “this war on children has resumed with a ferocity at scale beyond anything we've seen in the South and certainly at a horrendous power of anything in the North”.
The UN humanitarian also questioned the designation of “so-called safe areas” for Gazan civilians by the Israeli military as nowhere is safe.
“In the current context of the so-called safe zones, they are not scientific, they are not rational. They are not possible. And I think the authorities are aware of this,” Mr. Elder said. “I think it's callous, I think it's cold and I think it reinforces the indifference towards children and women in Gaza. And I've seen in hospitals from the South to the North that that indifference is lethal. It's heartbreaking and it's confounding.”
Mr. Elder told journalists in Geneva via video link that “in this specific case of Gaza, Israel is the occupying power. It's there, you have to provide food, water, medicines. So now, given we're talking about hundreds of thousands of people, right now this minute people who are moving somewhere with bombardments at scale, 200 a day yesterday, aerial bombardments as we speak, the only possible way to create safe spaces in Gaza that are truly safe, that protect human life, is for the hell to stop raining down from the sky. Only a ceasefire, only a ceasefire is going to save the children of Gaza right now.”
According to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, at least 19 additional colleagues had been killed during airstrikes, bringing the total number to 130 since 7 October.
-ends-
STORY: UNOG NEWS Gaza Humanitarian situation UNICEF WHO
TRT: 3:19”
SOURCE: UNTV CH
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 05 December 2023 - GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
SHOTLIST
- Exterior medium shot: UN building with UN flag, UN Geneva.
- Wide shot, press briefing room with moderator UN Geneva
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) – James Elder, UNICEF spokesperson: “This war on children has resumed with a ferocity at scale beyond anything we've seen in the South and certainly at a horrendous power of anything in the North.”
- Cutaway: Wide shot, press briefing room with moderator, UN Geneva
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) – James Elder, UNICEF spokesperson: “We have the perfect storm for disease outbreak, remembering, of course, in this specific case of Gaza, Israel is the occupying power. It's there, you have to provide food, water, medicines. So now, given we're talking about hundreds of thousands of people, right now this minute who are moving somewhere with bombardments at scale, 200 a day yesterday, aerial bombardments as we speak, the only possible way to create safe spaces in Gaza that are truly safe, that protect human life, is for the hell to stop raining down from the sky. Only a ceasefire, only a ceasefire is going to save the children of Gaza right now.”
- Cutaway: Wide shot, press briefing room with spokesperson, journalists and screens, UN Geneva
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) - James Elder, UNICEF spokesperson: “In the current context of the so-called safe zones, they are not scientific, they are not rational. They are not possible. And I think the authorities are aware of this. I think it's callous. I think it's cold and I think it reinforces the indifference towards children and women in Gaza. And I've seen in hospitals from the South to the North that that indifference is lethal. It's heartbreaking and it's confounding.”
- Cutaway: Wide shot, press briefing room with journalists and screens, UN Geneva
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) - Dr Richard Peeperkorn, WHO Representative on the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt): “The situation is getting worse by the hour. I mean, like this intensified bombing going on all around, including in the southern area of Khan Younis and even at Rafah. Even what I've seen over the last couple of days, that we see an increase vastly increasing number of IDP’s coming from the so-called middle area and even now from the southern areas towards furthermore to the South.”.
- Cutaway: Wide shot, press briefing room with camerawoman, journalists and screens, UN Geneva
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) - Dr Richard Peeperkorn, WHO Representative on the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt): “We are close by humanity's darkest hour. And this has been the message by WHO, the U.N. in general, that these bombings. And I would say that senseless loss of lives must stop now. I mean, we need a sustained cease fire.”
- Cutaway: Wide shot, press briefing room with camerawoman, journalists and screens, UN Geneva
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) - Dr Richard Peeperkorn, WHO Representative on the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt): “We are looking at an increasing humanitarian disaster. So we cannot afford what had happened in the north, the one by one non- functionality of hospital it absolutely cannot happen in the south. So strengthening that system and making sure sustained supplies are coming in, making sure that we support the system as good as possible and that we expand the number of beds from the 1,400 that are now going to 2, 000, 2, 500. For the situation we are in, we actually need 5,000 beds, we are not getting there.”
- Cutaway: medium shot, press briefing room with journalists and camera man, UN Geneva
- Cutaway: close up, journalist listening, UN Geneva
- Cutaway: close up, journalist listening, UN Geneva
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
The appointment on Thursday of Karla Quintana as head of the Independent Institution on Missing Persons in the Syrian Arab Republic is a key development after nearly a year and a half of work by the UN Human Rights Office supporting the institution’s launch.
1
1
1
Edited News | IOM , UNICEF , UNRWA , WHO
The head of the UN migration agency stressed on Friday that Syria is in no position to take back millions of Syrians following the fall of the Assad regime, while there is an urgent need to “re-evaluate” sanctions impacting the war-ravaged country.
1
1
1
Edited News | IIIM , UNHCR
Syria: ‘Key priority’ is to preserve evidence of crimes – UN investigators
In Syria, new access to evidence of horrific human rights violations means that accountability may be closer than ever – if only proof can be preserved, a top UN investigator said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OSE , ICRC , UNHCR
Syria: UN and partners urge action to preserve evidence of prison atrocities, stabilize country
Since the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria five days ago, hundreds of people have rushed to Saydnaya prison, desperate to find loved ones. Disturbing images from the prison and other detention centers have since surfaced, exposing the “unimaginable barbarity Syrians have endured for years,” said Jenifer Fenton, spokesperson for the UN special envoy for Syria, on Friday.
1
1
2
Edited News | UNRWA
Gaza: “Sickening normalisation” of suffering, amid attacks on people and aid convoys
Ongoing military operations by the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) in Gaza continue to devastate Palestinian children and families, with mounting casualties and a critical lack of humanitarian aid for the desperate population.
“Local media reporting here that last night, 30 people were killed in this area in strikes” said a senior emergency officer with the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), Louise Wateridge, speaking to reporters in Geneva from central Gaza.
2
1
2
Press Conferences , Edited News | OHCHR
Rights experts call for end to impunity for Israel’s violations of international law
Four independent human rights experts have jointly called for the international community to sanction Israel’s conduct of hostilities in the Occupied Palestinian Territory as well as in the wider Middle East region - including in Syria, Lebanon and Iran. They also called for the restoration of trust in the international justice system through the abandonment of “extreme interpretations” and “double standards” in the application of the universal norms regulating the conduct of war.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , UNHCR
Syria: needs continue to grow amid highly uncertain situation, say aid teams
The historic power shift in Syria and the still volatile situation two days after the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime have increased humanitarian needs in a country where nearly 17 million people, including millions of internally displaced, already depended on humanitarian aid before the recent events, UN aid teams said on Tuesday.
2
1
3
Edited News , Press Conferences | OSES
Barely 48 hours since opposition forces including Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) swept into Damascus and forced out President Bashar al-Assad, the top UN negotiator tasked with helping Syrians’ create a peaceful and democratic future insisted that nothing could be taken for granted.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Monday called on States to do all in their power to end senseless conflicts and suffering.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
No evacuation order given before Kamal Adwan Hospital strike, says WHO
One of the last partially functional health centres in northern Gaza was reportedly hit again overnight into Friday by several strikes, leaving four health workers among the casualties and the dead, according to the UN World Health Organization (WHO).
2
1
2
Edited News , Press Conferences | OCHA
More than 280,000 people have been uprooted in northwest Syria in a matter of days following the sudden and massive offensive into Government-controlled areas led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which is sanctioned by the Security Council as a terrorist group.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk has called on the Georgian authorities to respect and protect the rights to freedoms of expression and peaceful assembly following several nights of protests that were marred by violence, and dispersed using disproportionate, and in some cases unnecessary, force by the police in the capital, Tbilisi.