The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Spokesperson Jeremy Laurence on attacks around aid sites in Gaza
“There must be a prompt and impartial investigation into each of these attacks, and those responsible held to account. Attacks directed against civilians constitute a grave breach of international law, and a war crime,” he added.
“Palestinians have been presented the grimmest of choices: die from starvation or risk being killed while trying to access the meagre food that is being made available through Israel’s militarized humanitarian assistance mechanism. This militarized system endangers lives and violates international standards on aid distribution, as the United Nations has repeatedly warned,” Laurence said.
“The wilful impediment of access to food and other life sustaining relief supplies for civilians may constitute a war crime. The threat of starvation, together with 20 months of killing of civilians and destruction on a massive scale, repeated forced displacements, intolerable, dehumanizing rhetoric and threats by Israel’s leadership to empty the Strip of its population, also constitute elements of the most serious crimes under international law,” the spokesperson said.
“In 2024 the International Court of Justice found that there was a real and imminent risk of irreparable prejudice to the rights of Palestinians in Gaza under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide,” he stated.
“The Court issued binding orders on Israel to take all necessary and effective measures to ensure, without delay, in full co-operation with the United Nations, the unhindered provision at scale by all concerned of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance, including food, water, electricity, fuel, shelter, clothing, hygiene and sanitation requirements, as well as medical supplies and medical care to Palestinians throughout Gaza. There is no justification for failing to comply with these obligations,” Laurence said.
END
For more information and media requests, please contact:
Ravina Shamdasani - + 41 22 917 9169 / ravina.shamdasani@un.org or
Liz Throssell - + 41 22 917 9296 / elizabeth.throssell@un.org or
Jeremy Laurence - + 41 22 917 9383 / jeremy.laurence@un.org
Tag and share
Facebook unitednationshumanrights
Instagram @unitednationshumanrights
STORY: UN Human Rights Spokesperson Jeremy Laurence on attacks around aid sites in Gaza
TRT: 03:41
SOURCE: OHCHR/UNOG
RESTRICTIONS: None
LANGUAGE: English /NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 03 June 2025 GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
SHOTLIST
- Exterior shot: Palais des Nations
- Cut away: briefing room
- SOUNDBITE (English)— Jeremy Laurence, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “Deadly attacks on distraught civilians trying to access the paltry amounts of food aid in Gaza are unconscionable. For a third day running, people were killed around an aid distribution site run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. This morning, we have received information that dozens more people were killed and injured.”
- Cut away: briefing room
- SOUNDBITE (English)— Jeremy Laurence, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “There must be a prompt and impartial investigation into each of these attacks, and those responsible held to account. Attacks directed against civilians constitute a grave breach of international law, and a war crime.”
- Cut away: briefing room
- SOUNDBITE (English)— Jeremy Laurence, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “Palestinians have been presented the grimmest of choices: die from starvation or risk being killed while trying to access the meagre food that is being made available through Israel’s militarized humanitarian assistance mechanism. This militarized system endangers lives and violates international standards on aid distribution, as the United Nations has repeatedly warned.”
- Cut away: briefing room
- SOUNDBITE (English)— Jeremy Laurence, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “The willful impediment of access to food and other life sustaining relief supplies for civilians may constitute a war crime. The threat of starvation, together with 20 months of killing of civilians and destruction on a massive scale, repeated forced displacements, intolerable, dehumanizing rhetoric and threats by Israel’s leadership to empty the Strip of its population, also constitute elements of the most serious crimes under international law.”
- Cut away: briefing room
- SOUNDBITE (English)— Jeremy Laurence, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “In 2024 the International Court of Justice found that there was a real and imminent risk of irreparable prejudice to the rights of Palestinians in Gaza under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.”
Cut away: briefing room
SOUNDBITE (English)— Jeremy Laurence, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: "The Court issued binding orders on Israel to take all necessary and effective measures to ensure, without delay, in full co-operation with the United Nations, the unhindered provision at scale by all concerned of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance, including food, water, electricity, fuel, shelter, clothing, hygiene and sanitation requirements, as well as medical supplies and medical care to Palestinians throughout Gaza. There is no justification for failing to comply with these obligations,”
Similar Stories
3
1
Edited News | UNITED NATIONS , OCHA , UNHCR
Ukraine enters fifth year of war: Attacks and displacement deepen human suffering amid mounting recovery challenges
On the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, UN officials took stock of the immense human and economic toll of the conflict while appealing to the world to “never get used to war.”
2
27
2
2
Edited News , Press Conferences , Images | General Assembly , UNITED NATIONS
The full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russian troops on 24 February 2022 shattered the peaceful aspirations of an entire continent, but war must never be the new normal, UN General Assembly President Annalena Baerbock said on Tuesday.
1
48
1
1
Edited News | UNOG
A ceremony marking the completion of the construction of the Portail des Nations, a soon-to-open visitors centre for the UN in Geneva, was held today for diplomats from around the world who have gathered in the Swiss city for the opening session of the Human Rights Council.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Monday delivered his opening remarks to the 61str session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva.
1
10
1
1
Edited News | HRC , SG
In Geneva, delegates from more than 120 countries gathered on Monday to mark 20 years of the UN Human Rights Council and a shared commitment to international law, amid runaway global instability and conflict, amid runaway global instability and conflict.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
The UN Human Rights Office has published a report on the grave human rights abuses suffered by the hundreds of thousands of people trafficked into scam operations mostly in southeast Asia.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Spokesperson Marta Hurtado briefed journalists on a UN report detailing child trafficking by gangs and how it is putting Haiti’s future at risk.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO , IFRC , UN WOMEN
Ukraine’s women at breaking point after four years of war as attacks on energy, healthcare continue – UN humanitarians
Four years into Russia’s full-scale invasion, millions in Ukraine struggle to keep the lights on and heat their homes, with the crisis taking a particular toll on women, humanitarians warned on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
“Migrants, refugees and asylum-seekers in Libya are subjected to ruthless and systematic human rights violations and abuses, which include killings, torture, sexual violence and trafficking,” the UN Human Rights Spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan told the bi-weekly press conference in Geneva today.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNICEF , IOM
Four years of war in Ukraine: Childhood has ‘moved underground’, displacement continues – UN humanitarians
Civilian suffering shows no sign of letting up in Ukraine as the four-year-mark of Russia’s full-scale invasion nears amid attacks on energy infrastructure, blackouts and freezing temperatures, UN humanitarians warned on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
The UN Human Rights Office on Friday voiced concerns about the severe impacts on human rights of the socio-economic crisis in Cuba.
1
1
1
Edited News | WFP
Madagascar: ‘Overwhelming’ destruction, surging needs after back-to-back cyclones – WFP
Some 10 days after tropical cyclone Fytia brought heavy rains and flooding to Madagascar, cyclone Gezani has left the island’s main port in ruins, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) said on Friday.