Edited News , Press Conferences | OHCHR , UNOG
Ajith Sunghay, who heads the UN Human Rights Office for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, was speaking after a visit to Gaza last week. In Khan Younis he had met people who had fled their homes to seek shelter in overcrowded, makeshift camps.
“In Rafah, I saw displaced people who had been ordered by Israeli authorities to leave their homes, with no provision for their accommodation, literally living on the street, with sewage running in the streets and conditions of desperation conducive to a complete breakdown in order,” Sunghay added.
“And even in the midst of it all, human rights and humanitarian NGOs, our counterparts in Gaza, continue their courageous work, trying to make sure human rights violations are properly documented and humanitarian response continues – even as their own lives fall apart,” he said.
Over the past few days, there have been near continuous attacks, including on medical facilities and schools in Khan Younis, UN facilities, as well as residential areas.
“The people I spoke to fear the extreme violence is spilling into Rafah – which will have catastrophic implications for the more than 1.3 million people already crowded there,” Sunghay warned.
Shelling by the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) continues in areas unilaterally designated as “safe” areas, including Al Mawasi in western Khan Younis.
“Having personally witnessed and heard the testimonies of those who have endured so much pain and suffering, I am very, very worried. I fear that many more civilians will die. The continued attacks on specifically protected facilities, such as hospitals, will kill civilians, and there will be a further, massive impact on access to health care, safety and security in general of Palestinians,” said Sunghay.
The apparent disregard for international law needs to end, Sunghay stressed.. The violence needs to end. Humanitarian aid needs to be delivered without impediment to all those who need it.
The UN Human Rights Office has repeatedly called for an immediate ceasefire, the release of hostages, and the need for a political solution that respects and ensures the rights of all Palestinians and Israelis.
In Geneva:
Ravina Shamdasani - + 41 22 917 9169 / ravina.shamdasani@un.org
Liz Throssell + 41 22 917 9296 / elizabeth.throssell@un.org
Jeremy Laurence - + 41 22 917 9383 / jeremy.laurence@un.org
Tag and share - Twitter: @UNHumanRights and Facebook: unitednationshumanrights
STORY: UN Human Rights Spokesperson Ajith Sunghay on “catastrophic situation” for civilians in Gaza
TRT: 01:35
SOURCE: OHCHR/UNTV
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: English/NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 26 January 26, 2024, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
SHOTLIST
1
1
1
Edited News | UNHCR
Ongoing Russian attacks in Ukraine force frontline areas to empty: UNHCR
With Ukrainian cities still reeling from this week’s deadly Russian missile and drone attacks, communities on the front line continue to be targeted too, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said on Friday. “We also see attacks on frontline regions increasing and it's, as always, civilians that are bearing the highest cost of the war,” said Karolina Lindholm Billing, UNHCR Representative in Ukraine.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | BRS
2025 BRS Conventions Conference of the Parties (COPs)
1
1
1
Press Conferences | WFP , UNHCR , WHO
Rolando Gómez, Chief of the Press and External Relations Section at the United Nations Information Service (UNIS) in Geneva, chaired the hybrid briefing, which was attended by spokespersons and representatives from the World Food Programme, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the World Health Organization.
1
1
1
Edited News | WFP
Funding and supply shortfalls for the UN World Food Programme (WFP)'s work in Ethiopia will halt lifesaving treatment for 650,000 malnourished women and children at the end of the month. “We are at the breaking point,” it said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | WFP
Alessandra Vellucci, Director of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired a hybrid press briefing, attended by the representative of the World Food Programme (WFP).
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
Israeli military operations in Lebanon continue to kill and injure civilians, and destroy civilian infrastructure, raising concerns regarding the protection of civilians, the UN Human Rights Office warned today.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | IOM , OHCHR , UNDP , UNHCR , UNICEF , UNWOMEN
Alessandra Vellucci, Director of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired a hybrid press briefing, which was attended by the representatives and spokespersons of the United Nations Development Programme, UN Women, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the United Nations Children’s Fund, the International Organization for Migration, and the United Nations Refugee Agency.
1
1
1
Edited News | IOM , UNWOMEN , UNDP
Sudan: Aid teams report massive displacement after latest Darfur atrocity; women’s bodies ‘turned into battlegrounds’
In Sudan’s North Darfur, tens of thousands of people have fled a displacement camp following the massacre of civilians and aid workers as the country enters the third year of a conflict marked by horrific levels of sexual violence, UN humanitarians said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | ITC
Global trade could shrink by three per cent as a result of the United States’ new tariff measures which in the longer term could reshape and boost as-yet untapped regional commercial links, a top UN economist confirmed on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
Warring parties in Sudan are overseeing a wholesale assault on human rights amid global inaction, the UN Human Rights Office said on Friday, as the conflict is about to enter its third year.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
The UN Human Rights Office on Friday said Israel’s increasing issuance of so-called “evacuation orders” for Palestinians in Gaza have resulted in their forcible transfer.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , OHCHR , UNHCR , UNWOMEN , WFP , WHO
Two years of war in Sudan have created epic suffering, aid agencies say
Two years since Sudan’s brutal conflict began, UN agencies warned that famine is spreading and civilians of all ages continue to suffer shocking abuse, including rape and gang rape.