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 10th 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 7th. The electricity has been cut off since immediately after the horrifying attacks of 7th 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
1
1
Edited News | UNFPA
Ukraine's birthrate plummets amid war, prompting a new demographic strategy.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , UNICEF , UNIFIL
UN peacekeepers determined to stay in south Lebanon, while humanitarians report more civilian suffering in Gaza and West Bank
UN peacekeepers are keeping their positions in South Lebanon despite heavy shelling and targeted attacks; their commitment to bringing back stability to the region is unwavering, the UN said on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
Volker Türk calls on Tunisia to uphold rule of law and democratic freedoms, following pre-electoral context marred by human rights concerns
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk today called on the Tunisian authorities to protect the country’s democratic processes and uphold fundamental freedoms after a presidential campaign marred by a crackdown on the opposition, independent activists and journalists.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNHCR , UNICEF , OHCHR
With no let-up to the ongoing Israel-Lebanon conflict, the UN human rights office on Tuesday called for an independent probe into an Israeli airstrike that hit an apartment block in northern Lebanon a day earlier that left a reported 22 dead.
1
1
2
Edited News | OHCHR , WHO
Amid reports of intensifying Israeli bombing in Lebanon and Gaza overnight and continuing Hezbollah rocket fire into Israel, the UN human rights office, OHCHR, called on Friday for an end to the “killing, destruction [and] bellicose posturing” by those in power.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk updates the Human Rights Council in Geneva on the situation in Haiti
1
1
1
Edited News | HRC
Volker Türk, Haut-Commissaire des Nations Unies aux droits de l'Homme au sujet de la République démocratique du Congo (RDC)
1
1
1
Edited News | WFP , OHCHR
UN humanitarians in Lebanon on Tuesday described the massive challenge of trying to reach some 1.2 million people who have fled heavy Israeli bombardment and evacuation orders, driven by the fear that what happened in Gaza may befall them, too.
1
1
1
Edited News | IOM , UNHCR
Main road connecting Lebanon to Syria closed to vehicles after Israeli strike, says UN refugee agency
The major road connecting Lebanon to Syria was hit by Israeli airstrikes overnight near the key Masnaa border crossing where tens of thousands have been fleeing Lebanon into Syria in the past two weeks, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
The UN Human Rights Office on Tuesday published its latest report on Ukraine. It covers key human rights developments from 1 June to 31 August 2024, during which civilian casualties and damage to civilian infrastructure increased significantly.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , OHCHR
Amid the start of a reported Israeli ground offensive against the Hezbollah armed group in southern Lebanon and fears of more civilian suffering, the UN launched an urgent humanitarian appeal on Tuesday to support those most in need in the country.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
At the bi-weekly press briefingUN Human Rights spokeperson Liz Throssell made the following comments on hostilities in the Middle East.