The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
The UN's emergency relief chief Martin Griffiths on Monday expressed deep concern about the deepening humanitarian crisis in Gaza and the fate of Israeli hostages, while also anticipating "good news" regarding aid access into southern Gaza from Egypt.
“History is watching,” Martin Griffiths told UN News in Geneva, highlighting the desperate situation facing around one million Gazans uprooted in recent days, after the Israeli military warned of an imminent offensive following the deadly 7 October attack on Israel by militant group Hamas.
“Aid access is our overwhelming priority. And we are in deep discussions hourly with the Israelis, with the Egyptians, with the Gazans about how to do that,” Mr. Griffiths said, adding that he was optimistic about hearing “some good news” soon that a solution could be found to the political impasse.
Transcription:
“We're living in the worst of times. The first thing I want to emphasize is the unacceptable, illegal act to take those hostages from Israel, many of whom, for God's sake, are children, women, old and sick, and keep them hidden in Gaza against some future eventuality. They have to be let out straight away.
Number two: the response to that egregious act also includes humanitarian rules of war. You cannot ask people to move out of harm's way without assisting them to do it, to go to places of their choice where they want to be safe and with the humanitarian aid that they need to make that journey safely.
And right now, the movement that has happened has not had those provisions and it must have it; hospitals are running out of fuel, are running out of supplies up in the north. People can't move without help.
Number three: we need access for aid. We are in deep discussions with the Israelis, with the Egyptians and with others, hugely helped by Secretary Blinken in his travels around the region. And I'm hoping to hear some good news this morning about getting aid through Rafah, one of the crossing points but an important one, into Gaza to help those million people who have moved south as well as those who live there already. So, rules of war, aid, access.
I shall be going myself tomorrow to the region to try to help in the negotiations, to try to bear witness and to express solidarity with the extraordinary courage of the many thousands of aid workers who have stayed the course and who are still there helping the people in Gaza and in the West Bank.
And I want to leave you with one final thought. History tells us that an act of war has consequences which are often unconsidered, when people move into those acts of war. We have seen this movie far too often before. We need to be concerned about creating a situation - absurd as it may seem at the moment - where Israelis and Palestinians can live as neighbours, as friends, ideally, certainly as interlocutors, where they do not need to teach each other lessons through war.
Thank you.”
Similar Stories
1
1
Edited News | WHO , UNMAS
Desperate and dangerous conditions in Gaza continue to hamper recovery efforts for the wartorn enclave's people, the UN health agency said on Friday, while demining experts warned that they’ve “barely scratched the surface” in assessing the level of contamination of unexploded ordnance.
2
1
2
Press Conferences , Edited News
The continued support of UN Member States to Lebanon will be “indispensable” to boost the country’s national armed forces and provide humanitarian assistance with more than one million people still uprooted by the Middle East war, the UN's peacekeeping chief said on Wednesday.
2
1
2
Press Conferences , Edited News | UNECE
Middle East war: After oil and gas shortages, concerns grow over critical minerals crunch
The shipping crisis in the Strait of Hormuz caused by war in the Middle East has exposed a new threat: a looming shortage of strategic minerals needed to drive economies all over the world and a race by countries to obtain them.
1
1
1
Edited News | IOM
Millions of desperate Sudanese return home amid dire conditions as war rages – IOM
Three years into the devastating conflict in Sudan, nearly four million displaced people have returned to their places of origin across the country, only to face “another struggle for survival”, the UN International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNESCO
UNESCO protects cultural sites in war-torn Middle East, confirming damage to key heritage.
1
1
1
Edited News | UN WOMEN
The war in Gaza has inflicted a far higher toll on women and girls than in previous conflicts in the Palestinian enclave, with more than 38,000 killed by Israeli air bombardment and land military operations since Hamas-led terror attacks in Israel sparked the war in October 2023, UN Women said on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNHCR
In 2025, nearly 900 Rohingya refugees were reported missing or dead in the Andaman Sea and Bay of Bengal, making it the deadliest year on record in South and Southeast Asia, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNFPA , IFRC
Lebanon faces escalating violence, with new mothers uncertain of safety amid ongoing crises.
1
1
1
Edited News | FAO , UNHCR , WHO
Sudan: 14 million displaced; hunger and attacks on health continue as war enters fourth year
As Sudan approaches the third anniversary of a brutal civil war, millions remain displaced and hungry while the health system lies in ruins, with no end to the violence in sight, UN agencies said on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO , UNHCR , WFP
Lebanon: People ‘still under the rubble’ after massive strikes as ambulances, hospitals come under threat – UN humanitarians
With Lebanon still reeling from Israel’s devastating airstrikes on 8 April, UN humanitarians reported new fears of attacks on ambulances and looming food shortages in the south of the country on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNHCR , WHO
Lebanon: disease risks on the rise as displacement surges
With displacement in Lebanon past the one million mark, UN humanitarians warned on Tuesday about the spread of infectious diseases in shelters and surging mental health needs.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNIFIL
UN peacekeepers are supporting civilians who’ve chosen to stay in the south amid deadly dangers from Israel-Hezbollah clashes, UNIFIL spokesperson Kandace Ardiel tells us.