The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
As Gaza continues slide towards famine, UN humanitarians plead for urgent access
A child dreaming of a slice of cucumber to eat and teenage girls saying they hope for death to “end their nightmare”: these are just some of the facets of the horror unfolding in Gaza, UN humanitarians said on Tuesday.
Briefing the press in Geneva, UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) spokesperson James Elder expressed his hopes for a “substantive, not symbolic” ceasefire that would offer relief to civilians in the enclave on the brink of famine. On Monday, the UN Security Council adopted a resolution demanding a pause in hostilities during the month of Ramadan as well as the immediate and unconditional release of hostages, emphasizing "the urgent need to expand the flow" of aid into Gaza.
Speaking from Gaza, Mr. Elder described his recent visit to Jabalia in the north, where “up to tens of thousands of people crowd the streets”.
“They make that universal signal as you go through the streets again, as they stand in rubble, that universal signal of hand-to-mouth, desperately asking and seeking for food,” he said.
Mr. Elder stressed that there were “hundreds of trucks of lifesaving humanitarian aid waiting to get to these people in urgent need. But on the wrong side of the border, hundreds of trucks of UN and INGO supplies are currently backlogged,” he said.
The UNICEF spokesperson also highlighted that “an existing old crossing point” in Erez in the north could be used to reach desperate Gazans “10 minutes from where those people are putting their hands to their mouth, pleading for food”.
“Open that and we could turn this humanitarian crisis around in a matter of days,” he insisted.
Last week the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said that famine is projected to occur “anytime between now and May 2024” in Gaza’s northern governorates,” following the most recent Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report on Gaza. The report’s data indicated that the “entire population” of Gaza – some 2.3 million people – are enduring high levels of “acute” food insecurity. Among them, over 1.1 million are suffering from “catastrophic” food insecurity, known as IPC Phase 5.
Speaking from Cairo, AbdulHakim Elwaer, FAO’s Assistant Director-General and Regional Representative for the Near East and North Africa, confirmed to journalists that the north of the Strip “remains [under] a total blockade and it's inaccessible”.
Asked by journalists about comments from Israeli politicians refuting the notion of famine in Gaza, Mr. Elwaer insisted that “definitely, we have enough evidence that shows there is ongoing starvation and extreme acute food insecurity, a lack of major food supplies and water”.
“Those who claim otherwise probably have to provide evidence for that,” he added.
“There are cases of death as a result of starvation, and those are the early indications of famine,” Mr. Elwaer said. “I hope we're not waiting for full famine declaration because the situation as it exists calls for action, which is long overdue.”
Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the UN Humanitarian Affairs Coordination Office (OCHA), insisted that according to international humanitarian law, the parties to the conflict “must allow and facilitate rapid and unimpeded passage of humanitarian relief for civilians in need”, creating an “enabling environment” so that lifesaving aid can reach those who need it most.
“You cannot claim to adhere to these international provisions of law when you block [UN Palestine refugee agency] UNRWA food convoys, when you just last week denied five missions to the north, when we have now reports of Israeli attacks on warehouses and the police that are supposed to help secure this aid inside Gaza,” he said.
“This is not a facilitated or enabled environment at all,” Mr. Laerke stressed, repeating UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ call for the Israeli authorities to revoke their decision barring UNRWA from reaching north Gaza with aid.
- ENDS -
STORY: Gaza humanitarian update: UNICEF - FAO - OCHA
TRT: 2:37”
SOURCE: UNTV CH
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 26 March 2024 GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
1. Exterior medium shot: UN flag alley
2. Wide shot: speaker at the podium of the press conference
3. SOUNDBITE (English) – James Elder, spokesperson, UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF): “Yesterday I was again in Jabalia, up tens of thousands of people crowd the streets. So they make that universal signal, sign, as you go through the streets again, as they stand in rubble, that universal signal of hand-to-mouth, desperately asking and seeking for food.”
4. Medium shot: Journalists in the press room
5. SOUNDBITE (English) – James Elder, spokesperson, UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF): “When I came to the Gaza strip just over a week ago, there were hundreds of trucks of lifesaving humanitarian aid waiting to get to these people in urgent need. But on the wrong side of the border, hundreds of trucks of UN and INGO supplies are currently backlogged, waiting to get into Gaza.”
6. Medium shot: Journalists in press room
7. SOUNDBITE (English) – James Elder, spokesperson, UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF): “Now there is an existing old crossing point that could be used in the north. 10 minutes from where those people are putting their hands to their mouth, pleading for food. 10 minutes. Open that and we could turn this humanitarian crisis around in a matter of days.”
8. Wide shot: speakers at the podium filmed from behind during the press conference with journalists in the press room
9. SOUNDBITE (English) – AbdulHakim Elwaer, Assistant Director-General and Regional Representative for the Near East and North Africa, UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO): “The north remains [under] a total blockade and it's inaccessible. And definitely we have enough evidence that shows there is ongoing starvation and is extreme acute food insecurity, a lack of major food supplies and water. And then those who claim otherwise probably have to provide evidence for that.”
10. Wide shot: Journalists in press room
11. SOUNDBITE (English) AbdulHakim Elwaer, Assistant Director-General and Regional Representative for the Near East and North Africa, UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO): “There are cases of death as a result of starvation. And those are the early indications of famine. And I hope we're not waiting for full famine declaration because the situation as it exists calls for action, which is long overdue.”
12. Wide shot: Journalists in the press room
13. SOUNDBITE (English) - Jens Laerke, spokesperson, UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA): “You cannot claim to adhere to these international provisions of law when you block UNRWA food convoys, when you just last week denied five missions to the north, when we have now reports of Israeli attacks on warehouses and the police that are supposed to help secure this aid inside Gaza.”
16. Medium shot: journalists in the press room
17. Medium shot: Journalists, cameraman and people in the gallery of the press room
18. Medium shot: journalists in the press room
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Edited News | WFP
In Sudan, deep concerns persist for the many tens of thousands of people believed to still be trapped in the city of El Fasher in the Darfur region, but UN aid agencies believe they may soon get access to the embattled city.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
Human rights are underfunded, under attack and undermined worldwide, but activism is still powerful, undeterred and mobilising, says UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Human Rights Day press conference
1
1
1
Edited News | UNICEF
Gaza newborns ‘scarred by war before first breath’ by preventable maternal malnutrition: UNICEF
Starving mothers in Gaza are giving birth to underweight or premature babies who die in intensive care units or struggle to survive as they endure acute malnutrition, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
UN Human Rights Office spokesperson Seif Magango delivered the following remarks on Friday at the bi-weekly press briefing in Geneva.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA
The humanitarian situation in northern Mozambique continues to deteriorate sharply as prolonged attacks by non-State armed groups in Nampula trigger one of the largest displacement surges of the year, the UN warned on Friday.
1
1
Edited News | UNMAS
The deadly legacy of conflicts old and new from Gaza to Sudan and beyond continues to kill and maim civilians on a near-daily basis, mine action workers said on Wednesday, as they appealed for greater support for their lifesaving work in a context of deep funding cuts.
1
1
1
Edited News | WMO , UNICEF
Asia: Lives upended in cyclone disasters, ‘extreme’ rainfall on the rise - UN agencies
Across southeast Asia, record-breaking rains and flooding caused by back-to-back tropical storms have claimed hundreds of lives and brought devastation and displacement upon entire communities, UN agencies said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
At the bi-weekly press briefing in the Geneva on Friday the UN Human Rights Office raised grave concerns about the recent constitutional amendments adopted in Pakistan.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
At the bi-weekly press briefing in Geneva, UN Human Rights Spokesperson made the following comment on the most recent killings in the occupied West Bank yesterday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
At the bi-weekly press briefing in the Geneva on Friday the UN Human Rights Office raised concerns about the military-controlled election in Myanmar, which starts next month and will be conducted in an atmosphere rife with threats and violence putting the lives of civilians at risk.
2
1
2
Press Conferences , Edited News | UNAIDS
World AIDS Day 2025: Overcoming disruption, transforming the AIDS response
1
1
1
Edited News | UN WOMEN
Gaza women are ‘last line of protection’ for their families amid attacks, hunger and harsh winter – UN Women
Women in Gaza are ensuring their families’ survival “with nothing but courage and exhausted hands” while violence continues and essentials remain in short supply, the UN’s gender equality agency warned on Tuesday.