The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
Press Conferences , Edited News | UNRWA
UNRWA Press conference: Update on the Occupied Palestinian Territory - 25 June 2024
Every day in Gaza 10 children lose one or both legs, says top UN aid official
There’s been no let-up in the terrible human cost of the war in Gaza where 10 children lose one or both legs every day, amid ongoing Israeli bombardment and renewed fears of famine, a top UN aid official said on Tuesday.
“Basically, we have every day 10 children who are losing one leg or two legs on average. This gives you an idea of the scope of the type of childhood, a child can have in Gaza,” said the head of the UN agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA) Philippe Lazzarini.
In an update on the situation in the shattered enclave, the UNRWA Commissioner-General noted that some 4,000 children have been reported missing and 17,000 are unaccompanied after nearly nine months of intense hostilities. “Add this to the reported 14,000 children who have been killed since the beginning of the war.” he added, before condemning the latest reported attack on a school run by the UN agency in Gaza City.
“Last night, again, a school has been hit at the level of the Beach (Shati) camp, which is on the northern part of Gaza. And reportedly we have heard about 12 people killed, 22 would have been injured,” he told journalists.
In total, some 190 UNRWA premises have been “hit or damaged or targeted” since the beginning of the war, sparked by Hamas-led terror attacks and hostage-taking in Israel on 7 October. This number “is more than half the premises and the infrastructure that we have in the Gaza Strip,” Mr. Lazzarini said. “And as you know, these premises and these shelters are also used by the population to seek what remains of the possible protection. But more than 500 people so far have been killed while seeking the UN’s protection.”
Responding to the latest report from food insecurity experts at IPC - the leading international authority on hunger emergencies, that more than one in five households “go entire days without eating” – the UNRWA chief said: “You saw the latest IPC (report), one in five persons living in a catastrophic nutritional situation. The acute malnutrition impacts nearly the entire population in Gaza, more than 90 per cent.
“Between those being in emergency and catastrophic situation - and catastrophic means risk of famine is here at any time between now and September - we have in total more than one million people.”
Mr. Lazzarini also echoed growing concerns among humanitarians about ongoing aid obstacles that have prevented UN relief teams from reaching Gaza’s most vulnerable people. “We work with contractors and if they see that their trucks might be looted or torched and the drivers beaten up, they are going to think twice about making their trucks available and yes, this is exactly the problem we have.”
The UNRWA chief also insisted on the need for accountability for attacks on UN facilities and all humanitarian personnel, which contravene international humanitarian law.
“We cannot say that all the strikes came from the Israeli army - the vast majority did, but all of them? Certainly not - or I don't know - and that is the reason why I have asked several times that when it concerns UN facilities, UN personnel, UN facilities, UN operations or the humanitarian community in general, there is a need for a commission of inquiry once conditions are in place. We need to be sure about what happened.”
ends
STORY: Gaza update – Lazzarini UNRWA Occupied Palestinian Territory
SOURCE: UNTV CH
LENGTH: 3’3(”
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / FRENCH / NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
DATELINE: 25 JUNE 2024 GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
SHOTLIST
1. Exterior medium-wide, UN Geneva flag alley.
2. Wide, podium speakers and journalists.
3. SOUNDBITE (English) – Philippe Lazzarini, Commissioner-General, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA): “The figures are quite staggering there, they are talking about 4,000 children missing and 17,000 being unaccompanied, so more than 20,000. And you add this to the reported 14,000 children who have been killed since the beginning of the war.”
4. Medium-wide of the Press room with journalists.
5. SOUNDBITE (English) – Philippe Lazzarini, Commissioner-General, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA): “Basically, we have every day 10 children who are losing one leg or two legs on average. This gives you an idea of the scope of the type of childhood, a child can have in Gaza.”
6. Medium, photographer preparing to take shot.
7. SOUNDBITE (English) – Philippe Lazzarini, Commissioner-General, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA): “You saw the latest IPC (food insecurity report), one in five persons living in a catastrophic nutritional situation. The acute malnutrition impacts, nearly the entire population in Gaza, more than 90 per cent. And between those being in emergency and catastrophic situation - and catastrophic means risk of famine is here at any time between now and September - we have in total more than one million people.”
8. Medium-wide, rear of podium, journalists and wider Press room.
9. SOUNDBITE (English) – Philippe Lazzarini, Commissioner-General, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA): “Last night, again, a school has been hit at the level of the Beach (Shati) camp, which is on the northern part of Gaza. And reportedly we have heard about 12 people killed, 22 would have been injured.
10. Medium-wide, Press room.
11. SOUNDBITE (English) – Philippe Lazzarini, Commissioner-General, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA): “This brings also the total of premises which have been hit or damaged or targeted since the beginning of the war to 190, which is more than half the premises and the infrastructure that we have in the Gaza Strip. And as you know, these premises and these shelters are also used by the population to seek what remains of the possible protection. But more than 500 people so far have been killed while seeking the UN’s protection.”
12. Medium, journalist taking video on mobile phone.
13. SOUNDBITE (French) – Philippe Lazzarini, Commissioner-General, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA): « On travaille avec des contracteurs et si effectivement les contracteurs voient que le camion pouvait être à risque d’être saccagé ou brûlé et que les chauffeurs sont, comment dire, tabassés, ils vont hésiter à remettre leurs camions à disposition, et effectivement nous avons ce genre de problème. »
14. Wide, Press room.
15. SOUNDBITE (French) – Philippe Lazzarini, Commissioner-General, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA): « On ne peut pas vous dire que toutes les frappes viennent de l’armée israélienne, en grande majorité oui, toutes, certainement pas ou je ne sais pas et c’est la raison pour laquelle j’ai demandé plusieurs fois que lorsqu’il s’agit des installations des Nations Unies, du personnel des Nations Unies, des installations des Nations Unies, des opérations des Nations Unies ou de la communauté humanitaire en générale, on a besoin d’une commission d’enquête une fois que les conditions seront en place. On doit déterminer ce qui s’est passé. »
16. Medium-wide rear shot, podium speakers, Press room.
17. Medium-wide, Press room.
Similar Stories
1
1
Press Conferences | OCHA
Embargoed until Monday, December 8, at midnight (NY)/6:00am (Geneva)
Tom Fletcher, the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, on funding requirements ahead of the release of the 2026 Global Humanitarian Overview
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
1
Press Conferences | UNESCO , OCHA , UNICEF , IFRC , FAO , OHCHR , IPU
Alessandra Vellucci, Director of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired a hybrid press briefing, which was attended by spokespersons and representatives of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the United Nations Children’s Fund, the Food and Agricultural Organization, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the International Federation of the Red Cross and the Inter-Parliamentary Union.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | OHCHR
The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination to announce findings on Burundi, Guatemala, Maldives, New Zealand, Sweden and Tunisia
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
Press Conferences | UNMAS
Protecting people from mines and other explosive ordnance in complex settings
1
1
1
Press Conferences | UNODA
Twenty-Second Meeting of the States Parties to the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on Their Destruction
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
Press Conferences | ITU , UNDP , UNHCR , WMO
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, the World Meteorological Organization, the United Nations Refugee Agency, the United Nations Children’s Fund, and the International Telecommunication Union.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | UNIDIR
Landmine Monitor 2025 report launch
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.