Amid first starvation deaths of children in Gaza, WHO reiterates its urgent call for an immediate ceasefire to allow aid supplies in the Palestinian enclave.

Dire predictions from humanitarians about an impending famine in Gaza were tragically confirmed on Friday by the World Health Organisation (WHO), who reported the tenth death of a child from starvation in the Palestinian enclave. 

“The official records yesterday or this morning said there was a 10^th child officially registered in a hospital as having starved to death. A very sad threshold, similar sad as the 30,000 deaths that were reached all over Gaza and similar like those these are official record,” said WHO’s spokesperson Christian Lindmeier. “The unofficial numbers can unfortunately be expected to be higher. And once we see them, once we see them registered in hospitals, once we see them registered officially, it’s already further down the line.”

News emerged overnight indicating that four children had passed away at Kamal Adwan hospital in northern Gaza. These tragic deaths added to the toll of six other young lives lost on Wednesday, with casualties reported both at and at Al Shifa hospital in Gaza City.

According to the UN aid coordination office OCHA, the current situation had left one in four people in Gaza facing catastrophic levels of food insecurity and pushed people into desperation as seen in a deadly incident in northern Gaza on Thursday in which more than 100 Palestinians were reportedly killed and hundreds injured while seeking life-saving aid from a convoy.

This tragedy prompted hospital theaters, like the one in Al Amal – despite not being functioning and operational - to reopen their operating theatres to help victims. Mr. Lindmeier reported that in Al Shifa hospital people were lying next to each other on the floor waiting for any treatment while the system in Gaza “is more than on its knees”. 

“The fresh water supply has been cut off since immediately after October 7^th. The electricity has been cut off since immediately after the horrifying attacks of 7^th October. All the lifelines in Gaza have more or less been cut,” said Mr. Lindmeier. 

Referring to information from UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, Mr. Lindmeier said that “the aid supplies coming in February were only half of what has come in in January,” he said. Adding that “we all know that what has come in in January was not enough at all. All this leads to a desperate situation, as we saw yesterday in the unfortunate, horrifying incidents where hundreds of people got killed.”

According to WHO’s spokesperson, Thursday’s tragic aid convoy deaths had highlighted how distressed Gazans were.  “People are so desperate for food, for fresh water, for any supplies that they risk their lives in getting any food, any supplies to support their children, to support themselves. This is the real drama. This is the real catastrophe here, that food and supplies are so scars that we see these situations coming up. And the food supplies have been cut off deliberately.”

Reiterating repeated UN calls for a ceasefire, Mr. Lindmeier said that “we need an urgent, urgent ceasefire now. If not now, when then? But let’s not forget, once we have a ceasefire, we also need a sufficient, steady, sustainable supply of food and supplies to help the people of Gaza.”

 -ends- 

STORY: Gaza Humanitarian situation-WHO

TRT: 2:39”

SOURCE: UNTV CH 

RESTRICTIONS: NONE 

LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS 

ASPECT RATIO: 16:9 

DATELINE: 1 March 2024 GENEVA, SWITZERLAND 

SHOTLIST

1. Exterior medium shot: UN flag alley at the United Nations Office in Geneva
2. Medium shot: Spokesperson at the podium and journalists in Press briefing room
3. SOUNDBITE (English) – Christian Lindmeier, spokesperson for the World Health Organization (WHO): “The official records yesterday or this morning said there was a 10^th child officially registered in a hospital as having starved to death. A very sad threshold, similar sad as the 30,000 deaths that were reached all over Gaza and similar like those these are official record. As you all point exactly, the unofficial numbers can unfortunately be expected to be higher. And once we see them, once we see them registered in hospitals, once we see them registered officially, it’s already further down the line.”
4. Wide shot: Journalists in press room with speaker on screen
5. SOUNDBITE (English) – Christian Lindmeier, spokesperson for the World Health Organization (WHO): “The system in Gaza is what – we said it many times – it’s on its knees. It’s more than on its knees. The fresh water supply has been cut off since immediately after October 7^th. The electricity has been cut off since immediately after the horrifying attacks of 7^th October. All the lifelines in Gaza have more or less been cut. UNRWA’s stated just this week that the aid supplies coming in February were only half of what has come in in January. And we all know that what has come in in January was not enough at all. So and all this leads to a desperate situation, as we saw yesterday in the unfortunate, horrifying incidents where hundreds of people got killed.”
6. Medium shot: Camerawomen looking at their phones
7. SOUNDBITE (English) – Christian Lindmeier, spokesperson for the World Health Organization (WHO): “People are so desperate for food, for fresh water, for any supplies that they risk their lives in getting any food, any supplies to support their children, to support themselves. This is the real drama. This is the real catastrophe here, that food and supplies are so scars that we see these situations coming up. And the food supplies have been cut off deliberately.”
8. Wide shot: Journalists in press briefing
9. SOUNDBITE (English) – Christian Lindmeier, spokesperson for the World Health Organization (WHO): “We need an urgent, urgent ceasefire now. If not now, when then? But let’s not forget, once we have a ceasefire, we also need a sufficient, steady, sustainable supply of food and supplies to help the people of Gaza.”
10. Wide shot: Journalists in press room with speaker on screen
11. Medium shot: Journalists in press room and screen with speaker
12. Close up: journalist working with laptop
13. Medium shot: journalists listening
14. Close up: journalist listening