Response To Jenin Crisis - UNRWA
/
1:53
/
MP4
/
140.7 MB

Edited News | UNITED NATIONS , UNOG

Response To Jenin Crisis - UNRWA

Jenin: Significant damage and loss of life after Israel’s military operation, says UNRWA

The latest escalation of violence at the Jenin refugee camp in the Occupied West Bank has resulted in the loss of life and significant damage to infrastructure, said Tamara Alrifai, Director of the Department of External Relations and Communications of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) on Friday.

“The Israeli military operation on the 4th and 5th of July in Jenin was the most intense in over two decades with 12 Palestinians killed, including four children and 140 injured, some in critical conditions,” said Ms. Alrifai when briefing journalists at the United Nations in Geneva.

Jenin is one of 19 camps for Palestine refugees across the West Bank, housing refugees who fled or were forced to leave their home in 1948. In the absence of a political solution, they have since then become “refugees”. Nearly 23,000 people live in Jenin’s densely populated camp.

“The Jenin camp for Palestine refugees sustained significant damage this week”, said UNRWA’s communication director. “The streets are full of rubble, electricity and water are cut in most parts of the camp. There are some 900 houses that have been damaged, some of them unlivable. My colleagues at UNRWA in Jenin are still assessing the scope of the damage today.”

Quoting her UNRWA colleagues working in the Jenin camp, Ms. Alrifai said that the cemetery "is full in such a densely populated camp, people don’t know what to do”.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres stated at a press briefing last night that “Israel’s airstrikes and ground operations in a crowded refugee camp were the worst violence in the West Bank in many years.”

He called on “Israel to abide by its obligations under international law, including the duty to exercise restraint and use only proportional force, and the duty to minimize damage and injury and respect and preserve human life. The use of airstrikes is inconsistent with the conduct of law enforcement operations.”

During the Israeli military operation, nearly 500 families left the camp to stay with family and friends.

UNRWA’s health centre, the only one in the camp, was severely damaged. The UN Agency for Palestine refugees has set up a temporary health point.

The priority for UNRWA is to restore basic services in the camp and support those families whose homes were damaged with emergency cash assistance and to re-open the four UNRWA schools which provide education for 1,700 children.

“The children in Jenin have undergone severe trauma as a result of the recent military operation and the violence”, said Ms. Alrifai. “Since the beginning of the year, they have witnessed horror, noting that the situation in the northern part of the West Bank in and around Jenin and Nablus has been extremely violent in 2023. So reopening schools is a top priority for UNRWA both for educational and psychological reasons.”

UNRWA is calling on donors to step in, especially as the Agency faces huge financial challenges made far worse by the recent crisis in Jenin.

-ends-

  1. Exterior medium shot: UN Palais with flags
  2. Wide shot: attendees and moderator at the press conference, screen with speakers
  3. SOUNDBITE (English) – Tamara Alrifai, Director of Department of External Relations and Communications, UNRWA: “The Israeli military operation on the 4th and 5th of July in Jenin was the most intense in over two decades with 12 Palestinians killed, including four children and 140 injured, some in critical conditions.”
  4. Medium shot: attendees at the press conference
  5. SOUNDBITE (English) – Tamara Alrifai, Director of Department of External Relations and Communications, UNRWA: “It’s a statement from my colleague reporting back to us, saying: ‘The cemetery is full. In such a densely populated camp, the cemetery is already full. People don’t know what to do’.”
  6. Medium shot: attendees at the press conference, screen with speaker in the background
  7. SOUNDBITE (English) – Tamara Alrifai, Director of Department of External Relations and Communications, UNRWA: “The Jenin camp for Palestine refugees sustained significant damage this week. The streets are full of rubble; electricity and water are cut in most parts of the camp. There are some 900 houses that have been damaged, some of them unlivable. My colleagues at UNRWA in Jenin are still assessing the scope of the damage today.”
  8. Medium shot: attendees at the press conference
  9. SOUNDBITE (English) – Tamara Alrifai, Director of Department of External Relations and Communications, UNRWA: “The children in Jenin have undergone severe trauma as a result of the recent military operation and the violence. Since the beginning of the year, they have witnessed horror, noting that the situation in the northern part of the West Bank in and around Jenin and Nablus has been extremely violent in 2023. So reopening schools is a top priority for UNRWA both for educational and psychological reasons.”
  10. Medium shot: attendees at the press conference, screen with speakers in the background
  11. Medium shot: attendees at the press conference

Similar Stories

UN Human Rights Spokesperson Elizabeth Throssell on DPRK

1

1

1

Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG

UN Human Rights Spokesperson Elizabeth Throssell on DPRK ENG FRA

New UN Human Rights report finds 10 years of increased suffering repression and fear

The UN Human Rights Office on Friday published a report on the human rights situation in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) since 2014. 

Afghanistan update - UNICEF UNHCR 12 September 2025

1

1

2

Edited News | UNICEF , UNHCR

Afghanistan update - UNICEF UNHCR 12 September 2025 ENG FRA

The ongoing humanitarian response to the devastating Afghanistan earthquake disaster continued on Friday, although essential services have been cut for operational reasons following reinforced Taliban restrictions on women working with the UN, the global body said.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights report on DRC at the 60th Human Rights Council

1

1

1

Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights report on DRC at the 60th Human Rights Council ENG FRA

Un nouveau rapport du Haut-Commissariat des Nations Unies aux droits de l'homme sur la République démocratique du Congo évoque le spectre de crimes de guerre et de crimes contre l'humanité dans le Nord et le Sud-Kivu., 

HRC60 Press Conference: Report of the Sudan Fact-Finding Mission - 09 September 2025

2

1

2

Press Conferences , Edited News | HRC

HRC60 Press Conference: Report of the Sudan Fact-Finding Mission - 09 September 2025 ENG FRA

A high-level independent rights probe into the Sudan crisis on Tuesday condemned the many grave crimes committed against civilians by all parties to the war, citing disturbing evidence indicating that they had been “deliberately targeted, displaced and starved”.

Ukraine attacks - health update - WHO

1

1

1

Edited News | WHO

Ukraine attacks - health update - WHO ENG FRA

Ukraine: ‘Relentless’ attacks rattle health system as winter approaches: WHO

Ambulances attacked, chronically ill patients lacking care and no peace in sight: for millions of Ukrainians, the run-up to another winter of war is just the latest life-or-death challenge they face, the UN health agency (WHO) said on Tuesday.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights presents report on Sri Lanka to 60th HRC

1

1

1

Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights presents report on Sri Lanka to 60th HRC ENG FRA

UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Monday delivered his report on Sri Lanka to the 60th session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva.

HRC 60 HC Volker Türk Global update speech

1

1

1

Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG

HRC 60 HC Volker Türk Global update speech ENG FRA

UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Monday delivered his global update to the 60th session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva.

DRC: UN report raises spectre of war crimes and crimes against humanity

1

1

1

Edited News | OHCHR

DRC: UN report raises spectre of war crimes and crimes against humanity ENG FRA

A UN report on the Democratic Republic of Congo raises specter of war crimes and crimes against humanity in North and South Kivu, according to UN Human Rights Spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani.

Global air pollution update - WMO 04 September 2025

1

1

1

Edited News | WMO

Global air pollution update - WMO 04 September 2025 ENG FRA

As billions of people continue to breathe polluted air that causes more than 4.5 million premature deaths every year, UN climate experts on Friday highlighted how damaging microscopic smoke particles from wildfires play their part, travelling half-way across the world.

UN Human Rights Spokesperson Jeremy Laurence on Cameroon

1

1

1

Edited News | OHCHR

UN Human Rights Spokesperson Jeremy Laurence on Cameroon ENG FRA

UN Human Rights Office Spokesperson Jeremy Laurence made the following comment on the on-going presidential election process in Cameroon at the bi-weekly press briefing in Geneva. 

UN Human Rights Spokesperson Jeremy Laurence on Myanmar

1

1

1

Edited News | OHCHR

UN Human Rights Spokesperson Jeremy Laurence on Myanmar ENG FRA

The UN Human Rights Office released a new report on Myanmar, describing death, destruction and desperation which reflect atrocities committed in 2017. 

Afghanistan earthquake update OCHA - IFRC - UNHCR

1

1

1

Edited News | OCHA , IFRC , UNHCR

Afghanistan earthquake update OCHA - IFRC - UNHCR ENG FRA

Afghanistan: Humanitarians scramble to reach survivors of deadly quake; response at ‘breaking point’

In remote eastern Afghanistan, aid workers are racing to assist survivors of Sunday’s devastating earthquake as the death toll continues to climb, UN humanitarians said on Tuesday.