The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
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
- Exterior medium shot: UN flag alley at the United Nations Office in Geneva
- Medium shot: Spokesperson at the podium and journalists in Press briefing room
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Christian Lindmeier, spokesperson for the World Health Organization (WHO): “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. 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.”
- Wide shot: Journalists in press room with speaker on screen
- 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 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. 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.”
- Medium shot: Camerawomen looking at their phones
- 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.”
- Wide shot: Journalists in press briefing
- 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.”
- Wide shot: Journalists in press room with speaker on screen
- Medium shot: Journalists in press room and screen with speaker
- Close up: journalist working with laptop
- Medium shot: journalists listening
- Close up: journalist listening
Similar Stories
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.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNHCR , WFP
Middle East war fallout: Hundreds of thousands flee Lebanon to Syria; vital food aid blocked – UN agencies
The trauma of mass displacement and humanitarian supply chain disruptions throughout the world are among the devastating impacts of the war raging in the Middle East, UN humanitarians warned on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNRWA
Bitterness, sadness and pride for UNRWA staff, says departing chief
Asking the softly spoken, veteran humanitarian worker Philippe Lazzarini how he feels as he comes to the end of his second term as the head of the UN agency for Palestinians, UNRWA, is perhaps an unfair question.
1
1
1
Edited News | IFRC , UN WOMEN , UNHCR , UNICEF , WHO
Middle East war causes civilian terror and disrupts aid, but some relief efforts resume.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk addressed the Human Rights Council, delivering a video statement on the strike that hit a girls school in Minab, Iran recently, calling for accountability and protection of children.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
A new UN Human Rights report published on Tuesday details the human rights impacts of the expanding reach of gangs in Haiti. According to data verified by the Office, at least 5,519 people were killed in Haiti, and 2,608 were injured between 1 March 2025 and 15 January 2026.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights spokesperson Marta Hurtado on Tuesday described the deadly impact of drone strikes in Sudan.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO , OHCHR
Sudan: Hospital strike highlights surge in drone attacks on civilians
The death toll from a horrific attack on a hospital in Sudan’s Darfur has risen further, amid a “sharp increase” in drone attacks against civilians this year, UN agencies said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNCTAD
Middle East conflict impacts global trade, raising oil and commodity prices due to disruptions.