Gaza health update - UNRWA - OCHA - WHO
/
3:01
/
MP4
/
222.6 MB
Download

Edited News | UNRWA , OCHA , WHO

Gaza health update - UNRWA - OCHA - WHO

UN life-saving aid allowed to trickle into Gaza as civilian needs mount

Amid calls for more humanitarian trucks to enter the food and medicine-deprived Palestinian enclave of Gaza, UN humanitarians have received permission from Israel for “around 100” more aid trucks to cross into the Strip after only five were let in yesterday, But the scale of relief efforts allowed remains entirely insufficient to meet the urgent needs of people there, humanitarian workers say.

“Not enough. Five trucks, nowhere near. Not enough,” said Louise Wateridge, a spokesperson for the UN relief and works agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA), in reference to the number of trucks that could cross on Monday. She was speaking to journalists in Geneva from a warehouse full of ready-to-be-delivered supplies in Amman, Jordan, with enough food to feed 200,000 Palestinian civilians for an entire month.

“Everything around me is aid that is supposed to be in the Gaza Strip right now,” explained Louise Wateridge, as warehouses and distribution centers lay empty in Gaza.

Look at what the UN could do,” she continued. “We've done it: the ceasefire, the bombs stopped, the supplies went in. We reached every area of the Gaza Strip. We reached people who needed it most. We reached children. We reached the elderly. The supplies went everywhere,” Ms. Wateridge said, pointing to the UN’s ability to reach civilians if in the Strip with life-saving aid if only the access is granted and the security situation allows.

Five aid trucks still under Israeli control, OCHA

Since 2 March, Israel has blocked all shipments of basic humanitarian aid, including food and medical supplies, from entering Gaza. World leaders and humanitarian agencies condemned and pressured Israel to lift the siege.

After an 11-week full blockade that has brought the territory to the brink of famine, Israel cleared nine aid trucks on Monday to cross the Kerem Shalom border, but only five of them actually managed to enter Gaza, said Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the UN aid coordination office, OCHA. Four were unable to enter for logistical reasons, as shipments must pass through several levels of Israeli checks.

“The five trucks that entered are still under Israeli control,” Mr. Laerke said. “We need permission to pick the aid up. That did not happen yesterday. However, this morning we do have the permission to collect those five trucks,” he reported.



The trucks from the World Food Program (WFP) and the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) carried urgently needed baby food and nutritional supplements for children. Once the aid onboard is collected, it will be distributed through the existing system “that has proven itself”, said Mr. Laerke.

“Simply use the existing system, which used to function very well,” echoed Dr. Akihiro Seita, UNRWA Director of Health. “It's really sad to see that inside Gaza, there's a shortage of medicine when the medicine we have outside Gaza is expiring. That's really not acceptable,” he said.

As aid is scarce, desperation is on the rise in Gaza, with “several predictable effects,” according to OCHA. “One is that the insufficient supplies are at greater risk of being looted,” Mr. Laerke said. Looted products end up being sold at exorbitant prices on the black market, and opening access for large quantities of aid would automatically reduce the looting and improve the security situation, he said.

In the face of mounting international objections over the total blockade imposed in March, and condemnation over the risk of widespread famine, Israel started on Monday to allow limited quantities of aid to trickle in, while simultaneously increasing its military activities in Gaza. Palestinian health officials say that hundreds of people have been killed in attacks over the last few days.

“We reiterate our call, first and foremost for a ceasefire and unconditional release of hostages and let the UN and partners do their work. There was a plan and it delivered. There is a plan, and it will deliver,” added Dr. Rik Peeperkorn, the World Health Organization’s representative in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT).

Israeli military operations in Gaza were triggered after the Hamas attack of 7 October 2023 that killed some 1,200 people in Israel and took some 250 hostages. Fifty-eight hostages are still captive in Gaza, of which 23 are believed to still be alive. The conflict has devastated Gaza, displacing almost all its two million inhabitants. According to the health ministry in Gaza, the offensive has killed at least 53,475 people, most of them women and children.

Ends --

Story: “Gaza health update – OCHA, UNRWA, WHO” – Tuesday 29 May 2025

Speakers:

  • Louise Wateridge, UNRWA Senior Communications Officer and Spokesperson (from Amman)
  • Jens Laerke, OCHA spokesperson
  • Dr. Akihiro Seita, UNRWA Director of Health
  • Dr. Rik Peeperkorn, WHO representative in the occupied Palestinian territory (OPT)

TRT: 03’01”
SOURCE: UNTV CH
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 29 May 2025 - GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
Geneva Press briefing



SHOTLIST

  1. Exterior medium shot: UN flag alley.
  2. Wide shot of the press conference room.
  3. SOUNDBITE (English) Louise Wateridge, UNRWA Senior Communications Officer and Spokesperson: “Not enough. Five trucks, nowhere near. Not enough. And the follow up would be the evidence of the ceasefire: look what the UN could do. We've done it: the ceasefire, the bomb stopped, the supplies went in. We reached every area of the Gaza Strip. We reached people who needed it most. We reached children. We reached the elderly. The supplies went everywhere.”
  4. Medium shot: speakers at the podium in the press conference room.

    5. SOUNDBITE (English) Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the UN aid coordination office, OCHA: “Yesterday there were nine trucks that were cleared for entry. Out of those nine, five of them actually crossed into Gaza.
  1. Cutaway: lateral shot of the press conference room.
  2. SOUNDBITE (English) Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the UN aid coordination office, OCHA: “The five trucks that entered are still under Israeli control, and we need permission to pick it up. That did not happen yesterday. However, this morning we do have the permission to collect those five trucks.”
  3. Medium lateral shot of the press conference room and control room.
  4. SOUNDBITE (English) Louise Wateridge, UNRWA Senior Communications Officer and Spokesperson: “Everything around me is aid that is supposed to be in the Gaza Strip right now. It is really a stark reality from the warehouses that we have in Gaza. Even just this morning, I was looking at footage from colleagues. Everything is empty: the warehouses, the distribution centers, they've been empty for weeks.”
  1. Wide shot of the press conference room.
  2. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr. Akihiro Seita, UNRWA Director of Health: “It's really sad to see that inside Gaza, there is a shortage of medicine. Outside Gaza, we have medicine and it is expiring. That's really not acceptable. So, simply use the existing system, which used to function very well.”
  3. Wide shot of the press conference room.
  4. SOUNDBITE (English) Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the UN aid coordination office, OCHA: “Past experience has very clearly showed that the less aid you get in and the less there is properly distributed in Gaza, the more desperation arises. And that has several effects, predictable effects. One is that the insufficient supplies are at greater risk of being looted.”
  5. Medium shot: speakers at the podium in the press conference room.

    15. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr. Rik Peeperkorn, WHO representative in the occupied Palestinian territory (OPT): “We reiterate our call, first and foremost for a ceasefire and unconditional release of hostages and let the UN and partners do their work. There was a plan and it delivered. There is a plan, and it will deliver.”
  1. Wide shot of the press conference room and control room.
  2. Various close shots of journalists at the press conference room.


Audio Files 1
Download Gaza health update - UNRWA - OCHA - WHO (Edited Story)
Download

Similar Stories

UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk Remarks to Human Rights Council Annual Panel on adverse impacts of climate change

1

1

1

Edited News | OHCHR

UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk Remarks to Human Rights Council Annual Panel on adverse impacts of climate change ENG FRA

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk made the following remarks to the Human Rights Council annual panel on adverse impacts of climate change.

Gaza update – WHO 27 June 2025

1

1

2

Edited News | WHO

Gaza update – WHO 27 June 2025 ENG FRA

The first meagre midweek delivery of urgently needed medical goods to enter Gaza in months will provide scant relief to the enclave’s people, who continue to be shot and killed as they search for food, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday.

HRC 59 - Human Rights in Myanmar - 27 June 2025

2

1

2

Statements , Edited News | HRC

HRC 59 - Human Rights in Myanmar - 27 June 2025 ENG FRA

Enhanced interactive dialogue on the High Commissioner’s report on Myanmar presented by Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and oral update by Thomas Andrews, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar

DR Congo update - Tom Fletcher 26 June 2025

1

1

1

Edited News | UNOG

DR Congo update - Tom Fletcher 26 June 2025 ENG FRA

The conflict-impacted people of the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) urgently need much more international assistance than they are getting today, the UN’s top aid official said on Thursday.

Myanmar crisis - Special Rapporteur Tom Andrews 25 June 2025

1

1

2

Edited News | UNOG

Myanmar crisis - Special Rapporteur Tom Andrews 25 June 2025 ENG FRA

Violence in Myanmar is spiralling as the military junta increases its attacks on monasteries, schools and camps sheltering people uprooted by the civil war, a top independent human rights investigator warned on Wednesday.

Gaza update-OHCHR

1

1

1

Edited News | OHCHR

Gaza update-OHCHR ENG FRA

UN Human Rights Spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan on Palestinians killed seeking food in Gaza

Iran update - OHCHR

1

1

1

Edited News | OHCHR

Iran update - OHCHR ENG FRA

Iran-Israel war: UN rights office concerned over strike on Tehran prison, reported espionage arrests

Tehran’s notorious Evin prison known for holding dissidents should not be a target, the UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) said on Tuesday, a day after a reported Israeli strike on the complex.

Gaza update - UNICEF, WHO 20 June 2025

1

1

1

Edited News | UNICEF , WHO

Gaza update - UNICEF, WHO 20 June 2025 ENG FRA

Death and suffering in Gaza are ever-present and the enclave's people now have little choice but to risk their lives to fetch aid supplies, UN agencies said on Friday. “I met a little boy who was wounded by a tank shell at one of these sites on the final day of me leaving Gaza - I learnt that this little boy had since died of those injuries,” said UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) spokesperson James Elder. “That speaks to both what is happening at these sites and what is not happening when it comes to medical evacuations.”

World Investment Report 2025 – Launch in Geneva

1

1

1

Edited News | UNCTAD

World Investment Report 2025 – Launch in Geneva ENG FRA

UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) launched today the World Investment Report 2025. Global foreign direct investment (FDI) fell by 11%, marking the second consecutive year of decline and confirming a deepening slowdown in productive capital flows, according to the report.

Afghan refugee and journalist Zahra Nader

1

1

1

Edited News

Afghan refugee and journalist Zahra Nader ENG FRA

Afghan journalist Zahra Nader fled twice due to Taliban rule, highlighting severe women's rights issues.

Palestinian refugee from the war in Gaza and photojournalist Motaz Azaiza

1

1

1

Edited News

Palestinian refugee from the war in Gaza and photojournalist Motaz Azaiza ENG FRA

Gazan photojournalist Motaz Azaiza documents war's impact, gaining global attention but facing personal peril.

Human Rights Council - Iran

1

1

1

Edited News | HRC

Human Rights Council - Iran ENG FRA

As the Iran-Israel crisis continued into a sixth day, the UN deputy human rights chief Nada Al-Nashif called for urgent talks to end the continuing exchanges of missile attacks between Tehran and Tel-Aviv.