The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
UN humanitarians deplore unacceptable conditions for medical evacuations and humanitarian aid delivery in Gaza
UN humanitarians in conflict-ridden Gaza again expressed their deep discontent on Tuesday about the access llimitations imposed by the Israeli military for desperately needed aid operations. Last weekend, ambulances transporting patients in need of medical attention from the Al Amal hospital in Gaza's Khan Younis were halted for several hours by the Israeli Defense Forces, as paramedics were stripped of their clothes and other humanitarian staff detained, they said.
“The Israeli forces blocked the World Health Organization (WHO)-led convoy for many hours the moment it left the hospital. The Israeli military forced patients and staff out of ambulances and stripped all paramedics of their clothes,” said Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) at a UN press briefing in Geneva. “Three Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) paramedics were subsequently detained, although their personal details had been shared with the Israeli forces in advance, while the rest of the convoy stayed in place for over seven hours.”
Mr. Laerke explained that the UN had not "had any information or any communication from the Israeli authorities why this clearly notified movement, which they, by the way, acknowledged that we had sent them the notification, was still detained, as I said, at least seven hours.”
One paramedic has now been released, according to OCHA, who are appealing for the immediate release of the other two, as well as all other detained health workers.
According to WHO, the 24 patients, including a pregnant woman, a mother and a newborn, had to be transferred to hospitals in Rafah as several of them required surgical intervention which could not be performed at Al Amal. Al Amal Hospital has been the epicenter of military operations in Khan Younis for nearly a month now. . Forty attacks on the hospital from 22 January to 22 February have at least 25 people and left the facilities non-functional, OCHA says.
“You can imagine being already transferred under life-threatening circumstances, not being able to move or being able to move and then being made to stand outside and having to wait for seven hours is pretty unimaginable,” said Christian Lindmeier, a spokesperson for WHO.
The WHO informed that only 12 out of 36 hospitals are “partially functioning in Gaza of which six are in the south and six in the north. However, 23 hospitals are not functioning at all." The inadequate facilitation aid delivery through Gaza means that humanitarian workers are unable to safely deliver aid both to northern Gaza and, increasingly, to parts of southern Gaza.
“No humanitarian aid has reached the North since 23 January,” noted Mr. Lindmeier. “That's over a month now, five weeks. WHO last time reached Al Shifa Hospital, for example, on 22 January. And the urgent access now of humanitarian aid is needed to avoid further preventable deaths from malnutrition and diseases.”
OCHA also raised alarms of the ineffectiveness of the current way of that goods must be brought into Gaza. “It is very complicated at the moment because there is only the opening into Gaza from the South, which means you have to traverse an entire war zone from the extreme south to the extreme north to deliver aid,” said OCHA’s spokesperson. “Whereas it would be much more logical, practical and efficient if we had border crossings directly in the north where we could just cross in and deliver aid.”
Describing Gaza as a “chaotic war zone”, Mr. Laerke added that “we acknowledge that we have tremendous difficulties distributing the aid that does get in across Gaza. That is certainly not a situation of our making. It is the war itself that creates it. On the top of our list of things that needs to happen, and there is no way around it, is a humanitarian cease fire.”
-ends-
STORY: Gaza Update OCHA-WHO
TRT: 3:21”
SOURCE: UNTV CH
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 27 February 2024 GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
SHOTLIST
- Exterior medium shot: UN flag alley at the United Nations Office in Geneva
- Medium shot: Speakers at the podium and journalists in Press briefing room
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Jens Laerke, OCHA spokesperson: “The Israeli forces blocked the WHO-led convoy for many hours the moment it left the hospital. The Israeli military forced patients and staff out of ambulances and stripped all paramedics of their clothes. Three Palestinian Red Crescent Society paramedics were subsequently detained, although their personal details had been shared with the Israeli forces in advance, while the rest of the convoy stayed in place for over seven hours.”
- Medium shot: Journalists in press room with speaker on screen
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Jens Laerke, OCHA spokesperson: “We have not had any information or any communication from the Israeli authorities why this clearly notified movement, which they, by the way, acknowledged that we had sent them the notification, was still detained, as I said, at least 7 hours.”
- Wide shot: Press briefing room with speakers at podium and journalists
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Christian Lindmeier, spokesperson for the World Health Organization (WHO): “You can imagine being already transferred under life threatening circumstances, not being able to move or being able to move and then being made to stand outside and having to wait for 7 hours is pretty unimaginable.”
- Wide shot: Journalists in press briefing listening with camerawomen filming
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Christian Lindmeier, spokesperson for the World Health Organization (WHO): “No humanitarian aid has reached the North since 23 January. That's over a month now, five weeks. WHO last time reached Al Shifa Hospital, for example, on 22 January. And the urgent access, just over and over again now of humanitarian aid, is needed to avoid further preventable deaths from malnutrition and diseases.”
- Medium shot: Conference staff working in control room
- SOUNDBITE (English) - Jens Laerke, OCHA spokesperson: “It is very complicated at the moment because there is only the opening into Gaza from the south, which means you have to traverse an entire war zone from the south, extreme south, to the extreme north to deliver aid. Whereas it would be much more logical, practical and efficient if we had border crossings directly in the north where we could just cross in and deliver aid.”
- Medium shot: Spokespersons sitting at the podium
- SOUNDBITE (English) - Jens Laerke, OCHA spokesperson: “We acknowledge that we have tremendous difficulties distributing the aid that does get in across Gaza. That is certainly not a situation of our making. It is the war itself that creates it. On the top of our list of things that needs to happen, and there is no way around it, is a humanitarian cease fire.”
- Close up: journalist listening
- Medium shot: Camerawomen filming with conference staff in the control room behind
- Close up: journalist listening
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Office spokesperson Seif Magango today told the bi-weekly UN press briefing in Geneva of more details that are emerging on the atrocities committed in El Fasher, in Sudan during and after its takeover by the Rapid Support Forces.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Office spokesperson Seif Magango made the following comment on Friday at the bi-weekly press briefing in Geneva.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Office spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani made the following comment on Friday at the bi-weekly press briefing in Geneva.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , WHO
Sudan: UN Raises Alarm Over Mass Atrocities in El Fasher as Survivors Report Executions, Killings and Rapes
More details continue to emerge about atrocities committed during and after the fall of El Fasher to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Sudan on 23 October. Since the powerful paramilitary group made a major incursion into the city last week, the UN Human Rights Office has received “horrendous accounts of summary executions, mass killings, rapes, attacks against humanitarian workers, looting, abductions and forced displacement,” said Seif Magango, spokesperson for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA
Ukraine: Russian attacks on energy terrorize population as winter starts; could trigger major ‘crisis within crisis’
The UN’s top aid official in Ukraine expressed concern on Friday about “continuous attacks” on energy production sites and distribution facilities.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
The telecommunications shutdowns in Afghanistan in September had serious and far-reaching impacts on people’s lives, according to a briefing paper published today by the UN Human Rights Office and the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA).
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Office spokesperson Jeremy Laurence at the UN Geneva press briefing made the following comment on the ASEAN declaration on the right to a healthy environment.
1
1
1
Edited News | IFRC , OCHA , WMO
‘Catastrophic’ Hurricane Melissa hours from landfall in Jamaica as humanitarians rush to save lives
Millions in Jamaica and across the Caribbean are bracing for massive impact from Hurricane Melissa on Tuesday as the UN and partners are warning of a “severe” and “immediate” humanitarian threat.
1
1
Edited News | WHO
‘We need all routes to open’: in Gaza WHO calls for ramp-up of medevacs, easier access for essentials
Two weeks since a ceasefire agreement entered into force in Gaza the World Health Organization (WHO) noted progress on the flow of aid while calling for more evacuations of critical patients and eased entry for essential medicines and supplies.
1
12
1
1
Edited News | WMO , UNITED NATIONS
UN chief urges boost to life-saving weather warning systems, stresses role of climate change science
No country is safe from the devastating impacts of extreme weather — and saving lives means making early-warning systems accessible to all, UN chief António Guterres said on Wednesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | WFP
Gazans’ response to food distributions ‘overwhelming’ as humanitarians scale up under fragile ceasefire
In Gaza, the ceasefire is enabling UN humanitarians to reach more desperate people with life-saving food, but greater access is needed to contain the spread of famine.
1
1
1
Edited News | WFP , OCHA
UN urges opening of all Gaza crossings to deliver three-month food supply
The UN World Food Programme (WFP) has warned food aid cannot reach everyone in Gaza unless all border crossings are opened, particularly in the north where famine was declared in August. The agency says it already has enough supplies in place to feed the entire population of the Strip for three months – if full access is granted by Israel.