The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
Fear and uncertainty are daily staples for Gaza’s most vulnerable: UNMAS
In Gaza, ongoing Israeli military operations and the aid blockade have continued to add to daily fears and hardships confronting those in the devastated enclave, the UN Mine Action Service, UNMAS, said on Wednesday.
“What people are doing currently right now is they're scared,” said Luke Irving, Chief of the Mine Action Programme in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT). “They are concerned that word for their safety, they're focusing on that day-to-day, survival, if you like, on how they would stay safe, how they stay fed, how they stay watered. This is the reality in Gaza at the moment.”
Escalating Israeli bombardment of Gaza between 3 and 8 April has killed 287 Palestinians and injured 912, according to Gazan health authorities.
Between 7 October 2023 and 8 April 2025, the same authorities say that at least 50,810 Palestinians have been killed and 115,688 Palestinians injured.
The UN humanitarian affairs office (OCHA) meanwhile reported that rockets were fired from Gaza on 3 and 6 April towards Israel including one which struck the city of Ashkelon, injuring at least 12 Israelis.
Aid workers continue to be killed in Gaza; since 7 October 2023 the number has risen to 412. In recent weeks, Israeli forces targeted and killed 14 staff on duty in Rafah from the Palestine Red Crescent Society, Palestinian Civil Defence and one worker from the UN Palestine refugee agency, UNRWA, prompting widespread condemnation from UN senior officials.
“It is a very, very, very challenging time and evidence would show me that we're not protected at the moment,” said Luke Irving, Chief of the Mine Action Programme in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT).
Speaking to UN News, he appealed for the protection of colleagues trying to help others in an active combat zone “because the people need it, civilians need it”.
UNMAS provides specialist support to keep humanitarians safe and its teams were doing so while carrying out an assessment mission after a UN-marked guesthouse was hit in Deir Al-Balah, central Gaza last month.
“On 19 March, they were doing exactly that. They were reviewing a UN-notified building that was hit the night before and they were checking it was safe from any unexploded ordnance and people could return to that structure. Unfortunately, at some point there was an incident when they were carrying out that mission, which was an explosive weapon and it caused a death and injury to UN personnel.”
It is now five weeks since Israeli authorities stopped all commercial and humanitarian relief supplies from reaching Gaza.
Medicines and other medical provisions “are rapidly running out”, with blood units and other supplies for maternal and child health at critically low levels, UN aid teams report.
“There has been no humanitarian aid getting in and the situation is becoming - already is dire - it's becoming increasingly dire and serious,” Mr. Irving said.
“It’s been a blockade, so no humanitarian aid whatsoever is getting in. Also, we're very limited on movements because of the risk it poses to go out and do our missions, et cetera, this is across the UN agencies.”
Unexploded weapons remain a major threat across Gaza and have added to the hardships caused by the total ban on relief entering the Strip.
“We come across, you know, rockets, bombs, grenades, all this type of items that fail to function when they are used in conflict,” Mr. Irving said. “We’ve got these different ways that unexploded ordnance will materialize. It'll be very, very important when we start doing rubble removal, reconstruction, recovery, that we have the ability to locate these items, to warn people - which we can do now - but down the line we want to destroy these munitions. We want to dispose of these munitions. We want to get rid of them.”
Making Gaza safe is crucial if the enclave’s people are to return to their fields, the UNMAS officer said: “Sixty, 70 per cent, I understand, of Gaza's exports before the conflict was agriculture. So, obviously there's a lot of that activity going on again in peacetime, in ceasefire time. So, when they return to the fields there could be unexploded ordnance in those fields; they need to understand that risk and understand that they shouldn't be touching it.”
ends
STORY: Gaza update - UNMAS
TRT: 03’24”
SOURCE: UNTV CH
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 9 APRIL 2025 GENEVA, SWITZERLAND, includes cutaways taken 08 APRIL 2025, GAZA CITY
Speaker:
Luke Irving, Chief of the Mine Action Programme in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT)
SHOTLIST
- Exterior medium shot: Palais des Nations, Flag Alley
- Wide, massive destruction of buildings and infrastructure in Gaza.
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Luke Irving, Chief of the Mine Action Programme in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT): “What people are doing currently right now is they're scared. They are concerned that word for their safety, they're focusing on that day-to-day, survival, if you like, on how they would stay safe, how they stay fed, how they stay watered. This is the reality in Gaza at the moment.”
- Medium, massive destruction of buildings and infrastructure in Gaza.
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Luke Irving, Chief of the Mine Action Programme in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT): “There has been no humanitarian aid getting in and the situation is becoming - already is dire - it's becoming increasingly dire and serious.”
- Medium-wide, massive destruction of buildings and infrastructure in Gaza.
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Luke Irving, Chief of the Mine Action Programme in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT): “It’s been a blockade, so no humanitarian aid whatsoever is getting in. Also, we're very limited on movements because of the risk it poses to go out and do our missions, et cetera, this is across the UN agencies.”
- Medium-wide, massive destruction of buildings and infrastructure in Gaza.
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Luke Irving, Chief of the Mine Action Programme in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT): “We come across, you know, rockets, bombs, grenades, all this type of items that fail to function when they are used in conflict.”
- Medium-wide, people walking amid massive destruction of buildings and infrastructure in Gaza.
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Luke Irving, Chief of the Mine Action Programme in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT): “We’ve got these different ways that unexploded ordnance will materialize. It'll be very, very important when we start doing rubble removal, reconstruction, recovery, that we have the ability to locate these items, to warn people - which we can do now - but down the line we want to destroy these munitions. We want to dispose of these munitions. We want to get rid of them.”
- Medium-wide, motorized three-wheeler carrying water tanks drives along road lined by shelters.
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Luke Irving, Chief of the Mine Action Programme in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT): “Sixty, 70 per cent, I understand, of Gaza's exports before the conflict was agriculture. So, obviously there's a lot of that activity going on again in peacetime, in ceasefire time. So, when they return to the fields there could be unexploded ordnance in those fields; they need to understand that risk and understand that they shouldn't be touching it.”
- Medium-wide, a market stall and UN water truck amid pockmarked buildings.
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Luke Irving, Chief of the Mine Action Programme in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT): “We are providing specialist support to keep humanitarians safe, to allow them to do their jobs. On 19 March, they were doing exactly that. They were reviewing a UN-notified building that was hit the night before and they were checking it was safe from any unexploded ordnance and people could return to that structure. Unfortunately, at some point there was an incident when they were carrying out that mission, which was an explosive weapon and it caused a death and injury to UN personnel.”
- Medium, UN water truck reversing.
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Luke Irving, Chief of the Mine Action Programme in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT): “It is a very, very, very challenging time. And evidence would show me that we're not protected at the moment. And I hope we do not see any other humanitarians, health workers who are killed or injured doing their jobs going forward, because the people need it, civilians need it. Innocent people need intervention.”
- Wide, massive destruction of buildings and infrastructure in Gaza.
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
In suspected Russia plague death, testing and monitoring underway – WHO
The death of a lab worker in Russia’s Siberia region has sparked concerns about plague being the cause, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday, adding that it was following the situation closely.
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Friday provided and oral update to the 63rd session of the Human rights Council on Ukraine.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Friday provided and oral update to the 63rd session of the Human rights Council on the human rights situation in Haiti.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
Repeated delays in bringing lifesaving medicines, prosthetics and more from Israel into Gaza risk having devastating consequences on Palestinians who urgently need them in the wartorn enclave, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday. “A truck full of non-priority supplies or the right supplies arriving too late, doesn't save lives. That's the question that actually matters," said Dr Reinhilde Van De Weerdt, WHO Representative in the OPT.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
DRC: Early access to care and oxygen decisive for Ebola patients’ survival – WHO
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), health workers fighting the country’s largest-ever Ebola outbreak are struggling to overcome critical challenges to patient care, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , UN
Civilians in Iran are continuing to feel the consequences of months of conflict and military escalation, the UN’s top official in the country has said, as loss of life, damage to civilian infrastructure and mounting economic pressures leave many facing continued uncertainty.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO , UNICEF
Aid agencies in Yemen highlighted the growing hunger emergency sparked by renewed fighting between Houthi opposition forces and Government troops, after mobile health clinics reported that hundreds of children displaced by the violence are suffering from the most deadly form of malnutrition.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNHCR
Displacement on the rise in Yemen as fighting continues - UNHCR
As hostilities worsen in Yemen, more people have been fleeing their homes, further intensifying the humanitarian crisis within the region, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) warned on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | IOM , OHCHR , UNFPA , UNOG , UNHCR , WHO
Yemen’s humanitarian crisis growing by the hour amid spike in displacement
Yemenis displaced by renewed fighting have described fleeing for their lives amid shelling and gunfire, aid agencies reported on Friday, while highlighting the dramatic increase in humanitarian needs in the country and in Djibouti, where thousands have sought shelter.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
The UN Human Rights Office issued on Friday a report documenting a shocking pattern of sexual violence amid Russia’s full-scale armed attack on Ukraine.
2
1
2
Edited News , Press Conferences | WMO
As world’s water reserves change, countries must prepare for a new reality: WMO
New data showing that rivers were at their lowest level for decades last year provides further evidence that the climate crisis is real and countries must act immediately to protect themselves from the increasing threat to communities and livelihoods, the UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Thursday.
The key findings from WMO’s State of Global Water Resources 2025 report covering the hydrological cycle and extreme events in the five-year period to last year:
- 2025 was one of driest years for river discharge in 35 years
- Past seven years have seen abnorfmal river flows
- Water storage on Earth’s land surface has decreased in past decade
- Widespread glacier loss across all regions for fourth consecutive year
- Asia and Africa are regions most affected by water-related disasters
- Water data availability has improved, but gaps remain in hard-hit areas
Highlighting the long-term decline in the Earth’s freshwater storage and glacier melt, WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo explained that the planet’s water reserves used to act as a planetary “savings account” that absorbed the occasional dry season, avoiding a water crisis. “One of the central stories of the 2025 report is what is happening to that savings account? And the simple answer is that we are depleting it,” she told journalists in Geneva.
Groundwater reserves are equally stretched and have been in decline since 2014, WMO’s report states, with nearly two-thirds of monitored wells worldwide showing levels lower than the historical norm and indicating a shift “further toward deficit…not recovery”.
“At the same time, we are seeing more water-related disasters,” Ms. Saulo said, while also stressing that the currently strengthening El Niño “will increase the risk of drought in some areas, and flooding in others”.
Glaciers disappearing
In 2025, for the fourth consecutive year, every major glaciated region on Earth lost ice mass, leading to short-term hazards including floods and long-term water insecurity, according to WMO.
Responding to a question about whether the changing global water cycle might have contributed to the deadly Nepal-China flooding disaster, Ms. Saulo explained that melting ice and rock was just one factor in the chain of events that ultimately sent a massive and deadly wall of water and debris downstream on 26 August, killing at least 1,367 people.
“You asked if it could happen again? Absolutely; the problem in this region is that there’s 63,700 glaciers at the last count,” she told a Press Conference in Geneva. “Even if you’re looking with remote sensing with satellites at these glaciers, you might see some faults, you might see some slight shifting, that does not mean necessarily catastrophic collapse. So, in order to plan for this, it’s very, very difficult. But the international community is looking very hard at ways in which we can bring people together to solve some of these monitoring issues.”
Data indicates that glaciers shrank between 2023 and 2025 with cumulative losses of 1,400 gigatonnes of water – or about one third of annual fresh water needs.
Every major glacier region on Earth lost ice for the fourth consecutive year.
“All 19 glacier regions around the globe lost ice; in Central Asia, Iceland, the Russian Arctic and western Canada and the United States, it was among the three worst years on record,” said Wayne Jenkinson, WMO’s Director of Hydrology and Cryosphere.
Some regions with smaller glaciers such as Central Europe, the Caucasus, the western Canada and the United States may already have reached “peak water”, Mr. Jenkinson warned.
“After this point, the glacier gives less meltwater each year simply because there is less ice left to melt. That matters for every community downstream that relies on water during hot, dry summers,” he explained.
Narelle van der Wel, WMO’s Head of Cryosphere Monitoring, Predictions and Services, stressed that while some further glacier loss is unavoidable, the eventual scale of the decline is not predetermined.
“Some glacier loss is inevitable, but total loss of glaciers is not yet inevitable,” she said, pointing to emissions reductions as central to limiting future losses.
Preparing for moving baselines
The report does not attribute every observed change to climate change alone. WMO says pressure on water resources and natural variability also contribute.
Mr. Jenkinson said governments need to prepare for “moving baselines” as historical patterns become less reliable.
“The situation 30 years ago is not where we are today,” he said. Countries, he added, need to prepare “for those changes that have really already arrived”.
ends
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , WHO
The deadly Ebola virus outbreak in DR Congo continues to spread across the vast country despite some success in containing it, aid officials said on Tuesday, in a renewed call for international support to help responders on the ground.