The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
Edited News | OHCHR , WFP , WHO
Israel and OPT - Humanitarian situation OHCHR, WFP, WHO 17 October 2023
Gaza: “There is no shortage of supplies, but the opportunity to get them where needed,” says WFP
With military operations showing no signs of abating in Gaza and with the continued siege on food, fuel and water, UN humanitarians kept up their call on Tuesday for urgent and unimpeded access to enable aid delivery to the civilian population to prevent further suffering.
“We call for unimpeded access, safe passage for desperately needed humanitarian supplies to Gaza,” said Abeer Etefa, Senior Communications Officer of the UN World Food Programme (WFP) when briefing reporters at UN Geneva. “We've mobilized over 300 tons of food that are either at or on the way to the Egyptian border in Rafah. That's enough to feed around a quarter million people for one week.”
With the shortage of electricity and goods, only five of the 23 bakeries contracted by WFP to provide fresh bread in shelters, are currently operational. As a result, WFP has been forced to reduce the food ration per person.
The UN agency hopes that within the coming days, the supplies could arrive where they are most needed.
“There is no shortage of supplies”, said Ms. Etefa. “What's missing at the moment is this opportunity to get these supplies to the people who are just a few kilometres away from it and needed desperately and are unable to benefit from it.”
Two planes arrived from Dubai to Al Arish airport carrying ready-to-eat food – 20 metric tons of high energy biscuits and two mobile storage units for warehousing. There are also food supplies on the way to the border procured from regional suppliers - mainly canned food and date bars.
“At the moment, WFP has assisted and reached around - just as of yesterday alone - 220,000 people who are displaced in the UN-designated shelters. And we think, of course, you know, the waves of the displacement is manifesting itself in the number of people in these shelters.”
WFP plans to provide a vital food lifeline to 805,000 people in Gaza and the West Bank who desperately need food, water and essential supplies that are running out fast. Despite immense challenges, WFP has been providing food and cash assistance each day in Palestine for a total of 522,000 Palestinians since the start of the crisis.
According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the UN’s top aid official Martin Griffiths was due to visit Egypt on Tuesday discuss sending relief supplies to the Gaza Strip through the Rafah border crossing. He also plans to visit Israel.
The UN human rights office (OHCHR) stressed on Tuesday, that “military operations show no sign of abating. The continued siege on Gaza is affecting water supply, food, medicine and other basic needs,” said its spokesperson, Ravina Shamdasani. “There are daily indications of violations of the laws of war and of international human rights law.”
In the latest report from the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) as of 16 October, citing the Palestinian Ministry of Health, 2,670 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza (an average of 267 per day, or 11 every hour) and 9,600 are injured. In Israel, 1,300 people were killed and at least 4,121 were injured.
“We urge the Israeli forces to avoid targeting civilians and civilian objects or conducting area bombardments, indiscriminate or disproportionate attacks, and to take precautions to avoid and in any event, to minimize loss of civilian life, injury to civilians and damage to civilian objects,” said Ms. Shamdasani.
Addressing a question about Hamas militants hiding in civilian houses which are then targeted by the Israeli military, Ms. Shamdasani condemned the “violation of the customary law prohibition to use human shields”.
And regarding the Israeli military’s order for 1.1 million people to relocate away from the northern to the southern part of the Gaza Strip, Ms. Shamdasani insisted that international law “imposes obligations on Israel to ensure their security. It imposes on them the obligation to ensure proper hygiene, health, safety and nutrition. And there appears to have been no attempt by Israel to ensure this for the civilians who are ordered to move.”
Echoing the extremely difficult humanitarian conditions of the displaced people in the Gaza Strip, Dr. Margaret Harris, spokesperson for the UN World Health Organization (WHO), said that around 2,000 patients were still in hospitals in northern Gaza. “These are really, really people who need critical care, who really can't be moved. And also, babies and women have just delivered and people on life support or people on dialysis or needing dialysis. Remember, the north is where most of the hospitals are and most of the more advanced care has been available.”
According to WHO, 20 hospitals are treating more than 2,000 in patients in Gaza City. Four hospitals are no longer functioning.
There is a lack of drinking water and people have started to drink unsafe water. “We're expecting large outbreaks of gastroenterological disease. We also fear large outbreaks of respiratory disease like COVID 19 and influenza. Those are already circulating massively”, said Dr. Harris. “These respiratory diseases, particularly the respiratory diseases among small children, will kill them very quickly. It's not something we can just stand by and witness.”
-ends-
STORY: Israel and OPT - Humanitarian situation OHCHR, WFP, WHO
TRT: 3 min 55s
SOURCE: UNTV CH
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 17 October 2023 GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
- Exterior medium shot: UN flag alley, UN Geneva
- Wide shot: speakers at the podium
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Abeer Etefa, Senior Communications Officer of the UN World Food Programme (WFP): “So WFP, we call for unimpeded access, safe passage for desperately needed humanitarian supplies to Gaza. We've mobilized over 300 tons of food that are either at or on the way to the Egyptian border in Rafah. That's enough to feed around a quarter million people for one week.”
- Wide shot, attendees at the press conference
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Abeer Etefa, Senior Communications Officer of the UN World Food Programme (WFP): “There is no shortage of supplies. What's missing at the moment is this opportunity to get these supplies to the people who are just a few kilometers away from it and needed desperately and are unable to benefit from it.”
- Wide shot, press room with attendees
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Abeer Etefa, Senior Communications Officer of the UN World Food Programme (WFP): “At the moment, WFP has assisted and reached around just as of yesterday alone, 220,000 people who are displaced in the UN designated shelters. And we think, of course, you know, the waves of the displacement is manifesting itself in the number of people in these shelters.”
- Wide shot, press room with attendees and speakers at the podium
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Ravina Shamdasani, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “Military operations show no sign of abating. The continued siege on Gaza is affecting water supply, food, medicine and other basic needs. And there are daily indications of violations of the laws of war and of international human rights law.”
- Wide shot, speakers at the podium
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Ravina Shamdasani, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “We urge the Israeli forces to avoid targeting civilians and civilian objects or conducting area bombardments, indiscriminate or disproportionate attacks, and to take precautions to avoid and in any event, to minimize loss of civilian life, injury to civilians and damage to civilian objects.”
- Medium shot, attendees
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Ravina Shamdasani, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “The failure, you know, where armed groups carry out military operations within or in the immediate vicinity of civilian objects with the intent to use the presence of these civilians to prevent their military assets from being attacked. This would constitute a violation of the customary law prohibition to use human shields.”
- Wide shot: attendees at the press conference
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Ravina Shamdasani, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “International law requires that any lawful temporary evacuation by Israel as the occupying power of an area that on the basis of the security of the population, it imposes obligations on Israel to ensure their security. It imposes on them the obligation to ensure proper hygiene, health, safety and nutrition. And there appears to have been no attempt by Israel to ensure this for the civilians who are ordered to move.”
- Wide shot: attendees at the press conference
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Margaret Harris, Spokesperson for the World Health Organization (WHO): “So the numbers are an estimate, but it's around 2000 patients who we understand are still in those hospitals. And these are really, really people who need critical care, who really can't be moved. And also, babies and women have just delivered and people on life support or people on dialysis or needing dialysis. Remember, the north is where most of the hospitals are and most of the more advanced care has been available.”
- Close up, UNHCR spokesperson
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Margaret Harris, Spokesperson for the World Health Organization (WHO): “We're expecting large outbreaks of gastroenterological disease. We're also fear large outbreaks of respiratory disease like COVID 19 and influenza. Those are already circulating massively. And these respiratory diseases, particularly the respiratory diseases among small children, will kill them very quickly. It's not something we can just stand by and witness.”
- Close up: Camerawomen writing on cell phone
- Medium shot, attendees with photographer
- Close up: journalist listening
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Edited News | IOM , OHCHR , UNFPA , UNOG , UNHCR , WHO
Yemen’s humanitarian crisis growing by the hour amid spike in displacement
Yemenis displaced by renewed fighting have described fleeing for their lives amid shelling and gunfire, aid agencies reported on Friday, while highlighting the dramatic increase in humanitarian needs in the country and in Djibouti, where thousands have sought shelter.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
The UN Human Rights Office issued on Friday a report documenting a shocking pattern of sexual violence amid Russia’s full-scale armed attack on Ukraine.
2
1
2
Edited News , Press Conferences | WMO
As world’s water reserves change, countries must prepare for a new reality: WMO
New data showing that rivers were at their lowest level for decades last year provides further evidence that the climate crisis is real and countries must act immediately to protect themselves from the increasing threat to communities and livelihoods, the UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Thursday.
The key findings from WMO’s State of Global Water Resources 2025 report covering the hydrological cycle and extreme events in the five-year period to last year:
- 2025 was one of driest years for river discharge in 35 years
- Past seven years have seen abnorfmal river flows
- Water storage on Earth’s land surface has decreased in past decade
- Widespread glacier loss across all regions for fourth consecutive year
- Asia and Africa are regions most affected by water-related disasters
- Water data availability has improved, but gaps remain in hard-hit areas
Highlighting the long-term decline in the Earth’s freshwater storage and glacier melt, WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo explained that the planet’s water reserves used to act as a planetary “savings account” that absorbed the occasional dry season, avoiding a water crisis. “One of the central stories of the 2025 report is what is happening to that savings account? And the simple answer is that we are depleting it,” she told journalists in Geneva.
Groundwater reserves are equally stretched and have been in decline since 2014, WMO’s report states, with nearly two-thirds of monitored wells worldwide showing levels lower than the historical norm and indicating a shift “further toward deficit…not recovery”.
“At the same time, we are seeing more water-related disasters,” Ms. Saulo said, while also stressing that the currently strengthening El Niño “will increase the risk of drought in some areas, and flooding in others”.
Glaciers disappearing
In 2025, for the fourth consecutive year, every major glaciated region on Earth lost ice mass, leading to short-term hazards including floods and long-term water insecurity, according to WMO.
Responding to a question about whether the changing global water cycle might have contributed to the deadly Nepal-China flooding disaster, Ms. Saulo explained that melting ice and rock was just one factor in the chain of events that ultimately sent a massive and deadly wall of water and debris downstream on 26 August, killing at least 1,367 people.
“You asked if it could happen again? Absolutely; the problem in this region is that there’s 63,700 glaciers at the last count,” she told a Press Conference in Geneva. “Even if you’re looking with remote sensing with satellites at these glaciers, you might see some faults, you might see some slight shifting, that does not mean necessarily catastrophic collapse. So, in order to plan for this, it’s very, very difficult. But the international community is looking very hard at ways in which we can bring people together to solve some of these monitoring issues.”
Data indicates that glaciers shrank between 2023 and 2025 with cumulative losses of 1,400 gigatonnes of water – or about one third of annual fresh water needs.
Every major glacier region on Earth lost ice for the fourth consecutive year.
“All 19 glacier regions around the globe lost ice; in Central Asia, Iceland, the Russian Arctic and western Canada and the United States, it was among the three worst years on record,” said Wayne Jenkinson, WMO’s Director of Hydrology and Cryosphere.
Some regions with smaller glaciers such as Central Europe, the Caucasus, the western Canada and the United States may already have reached “peak water”, Mr. Jenkinson warned.
“After this point, the glacier gives less meltwater each year simply because there is less ice left to melt. That matters for every community downstream that relies on water during hot, dry summers,” he explained.
Narelle van der Wel, WMO’s Head of Cryosphere Monitoring, Predictions and Services, stressed that while some further glacier loss is unavoidable, the eventual scale of the decline is not predetermined.
“Some glacier loss is inevitable, but total loss of glaciers is not yet inevitable,” she said, pointing to emissions reductions as central to limiting future losses.
Preparing for moving baselines
The report does not attribute every observed change to climate change alone. WMO says pressure on water resources and natural variability also contribute.
Mr. Jenkinson said governments need to prepare for “moving baselines” as historical patterns become less reliable.
“The situation 30 years ago is not where we are today,” he said. Countries, he added, need to prepare “for those changes that have really already arrived”.
ends
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , WHO
The deadly Ebola virus outbreak in DR Congo continues to spread across the vast country despite some success in containing it, aid officials said on Tuesday, in a renewed call for international support to help responders on the ground.
2
1
2
Press Conferences , Edited News | WFP
‘Super El Niño’ and converging crises worsen hunger in South Sudan and across the region - WFP
South Sudan’s hunger crisis is becoming increasingly catastrophic as violence, extreme weather and dwindling aid leave millions without enough food, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) warned on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | UN WOMEN
In war-torn Gaza, a growing number of women-headed households face “impossible decisions” every day, amid ongoing Israeli airstrikes and still-scarce resources, UN humanitarians said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk made the following remarks to the Enhanced Interactive Dialogue on the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar at the 63rd Human Rights Council.
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk today delivered an update on the global human rights situation to the 63rdsession of the Human Rights Council in Geneva.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
Repeated attacks on humanitarian warehouses put vital medical aid at risk in Ukraine - WHO
A new airstrike overnight damaged one of the main warehouses used by the UN health agency to store humanitarian medical supplies in the Kyiv region, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday. This is the third attack to affect a WHO-used storage in the last three months.
2
2
2
Press Conferences , Edited News | WMO
Powerful El Niño heightens extreme-weather risks through 2027, as countries brace for impact - WMO
Fuelled by extraordinarily warm waters across the tropical Pacific Ocean, the El Niño climate pattern is expected to intensify in the coming months. Forecasters are almost certain that it will persist through February next year, with unusually warm conditions expected across the globe.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , IFRC , UN WOMEN , WHO
Nepal flood deaths near 1,000 as those spared struggle to survive – UN humanitarians
With the death toll in Nepal’s catastrophic flash floods inching towards 1,000, rescue workers are facing harsh conditions while survivors lack access to food, safe water and health care, humanitarians said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , UNDRR , IFRC , WHO
Nepal: Flooding disaster “not over” as humanitarians work around the clock
While search and rescue efforts continued Friday following flash floods and mudslides in northern Nepal, UN humanitarians are taking stock of the devastation amid concerns over more flooding to come.