Gaza aid update OCHA - UNICEF
/
2:11
/
MP4
/
161.1 MB
Download

Edited News | OCHA , UNICEF

Gaza aid update OCHA - UNICEF

Gaza: Hundreds of trucks per day of free aid needed “for months”, in addition to commercial supplies - OCHA

Despite the tactical pauses Israel introduced last week to allow some safe passage for humanitarian convoys, the amount of aid that has entered Gaza remains by far insufficient for the starving population, and UN trucks continue to face impediments on their way to delivering aid.

The shortages are not limited to food: on Monday, the UN was able to collect about 200,000 litres of much-needed fuel from the Kerem Shalom crossing, but the limited quantities that have entered Gaza in the last week are far from enough, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)Water, sanitation and hygiene operations continue to be severely hampered by the lack of fuel. Only 29,000 liters have been received so far, while some 70,000 litres of fuel are needed every day for emergency operations.

“Everybody expects me to clap and say thank you,” said OCHA spokesperson Jens Laerke, in an answer to a journalist’s question about the fuel that got into Gaza over the last week. But “the difference between the very small amount of aid that has now come in and the massive needs where people are literally dying on a daily basis, it's really out of proportion,” he insisted.

“The needs inside Gaza are such that there should be hundreds and hundreds and hundreds and hundreds and more hundreds of trucks, not only every day, not only every week, but for months, possibly years to come. This has been building up. We are now on the brink of famine -- as you know, that is not something that happens overnight,” Mr. Laerke explained.

According to the United Nations Agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA) a minimum of 600 trucks per day are needed to meet basic humanitarian needs for the more than 2 million people in the Gaza Strip.

Amid growing international pressure over the humanitarian crisis, Israel has announced it will allow controlled entry of commercial goods into Gaza. A limited number of Gaza-based traders will be entitled to import supplies into the Strip, for the first time since fighting resumed in March. Approved goods include basic food products, baby formula, fruits, vegetables, and hygiene items. Payments will have to be made exclusively via bank transfers and Palestinian merchants will undergo strict security screenings, according to Israeli authorities who will maintain the aid distribution centers run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which the UN has described as “inherently unsafe”.

Aid alone cannot fix the problem”, Mr. Laerke pointed out, welcoming the announcement on commercial supplies. “There needs to be a commercial supply going in as well, bearing in mind commercial supplies cost money.” The great majority of Gaza’s population is unemployed.

“Aid is free of charge,” Mr. Laerke reminded reporters in Geneva, “and we have thousands of tons of aid, including food aid, standing just outside of Gaza, which has already been paid for by the donors. And donors expect that to be given free of charge to the people in need. And it's our job to do so, but we are not getting the facilitation that we need to do so.”

Aid entering Gaza only a fraction of what is needed, UNICEF

While some nutrition supplies have entered during the past week, including high-energy biscuits for pregnant and breastfeeding women as well as infant formula and hygiene kits, UNICEF emphasized that this is still a fraction of what is needed and that malnutrition among children in Gaza is reaching catastrophic levels. Severe malnutrition is spreading among children faster than aid can reach them, according to UNICEF, which reports a spike in the number of children who have starved to death.

The vast majority of severely malnourished children will eventually die from other causes, UNICEF warns: they are 10 times more likely to contract pneumonia, measles or other deadly diseases. Most of those deaths will not even be reported as the majority of malnourished children can’t even get to hospitals.

“It's very important that there is an increasing amount of pressure now from many governments because of the deprivations, because of the nutritional situation we see in children and in mothers and in women and in the elderly,” said UNICEF spokesperson James Elder “We mustn't forget as well, that on average, a girl or a boy has been killed in these bombardments every single hour since the horrors of October 7. So, the facts speak for themselves,” he said.

The war in the Gaza Strip has taken an unconscionable toll on children. According to UNICEF, more than 50,000 boys and girls have reportedly been killed or injured in Israel’s military operations since the Hamas massacre and hostage-taking in Israel on 7 October 2023.

-Ends-

Story: “Gaza aid update – OCHA, UNICEF” – Tuesday 5 August 2025

Speakers are spokespersons:

  • Jens Laerke, OCHA
  • James Elder, UNICEF

TRT: 02’11”
SOURCE: UNTV CH
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 05 August 2025 - GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
Geneva Press briefing



SHOTLIST

  1. Exterior medium shot: UN flag alley.
  2. Wide shot of the podium with speakers at the press conference room.
  3. SOUNDBITE (English) Jens Laerke, OCHA spokesperson: "I hope you understand that the magnitude, the difference between this very small amount of aid that has now come in -and everybody expects me to clap and say thank you- and the massive needs that are, where people are literally dying on a daily basis, it's really out of proportion."
  4. Medium lateral shot of the press conference room.
  5. SOUNDBITE (English) Jens Laerke, OCHA spokesperson: “The needs inside Gaza are such that there should be hundreds and hundreds and hundreds and hundreds and more hundreds of trucks, not only every day, not only every week, but for months, possibly years to come. This has been building up. We are now on the brink of famine as you know, that is not something that happens overnight.”
  6. Medium shot: journalists at the press conference room.
  7. SOUNDBITE (English) Jens Laerke, OCHA spokesperson: “We've always pointed out that aid alone cannot fix the problem. There needs to be a commercial supply going in as well. Well, bearing in mind commercial supplies cost money for people. Aid is free of charge and we have thousands of tons of aid, including food aid, standing just outside of Gaza, which has already been paid for by the donors. And donors expect that to be given free of charge to the people in need. And it's our job to do so, but we are not getting the facilitation that we need to do so.”
  8. Cutaway podium, screens and speakers at the press conference room.
  9. SOUNDBITE (English) James Elder, UNICEF spokesperson: “It's very important that there is an increasing amount of pressure now from many governments because of the deprivations, because of the nutritional situation we see in children and in mothers and in women and in the elderly. We mustn't forget as well, though, that on average, a girl or a boy has been killed in these bombardments every single hour since the horrors of October 7. So, the facts speak for themselves.”
  10. Cutaway: close shots of journalists in the press conference room.
  11. Medium shot of the gallery and control room from inside the press conference room.


Audio Files 1
Download Gaza aid update OCHA - UNICEF (Edited Story)
Download

Similar Stories

UNEP Press conference: Plastic Pollution (INC-5.2)- 05 August 2025

2

2

1

2

Press Conferences , Edited News , Images | UNEP

UNEP Press conference: Plastic Pollution (INC-5.2)- 05 August 2025 ENG FRA

Negotiations got under way at UN Geneva on Tuesday to agree on a legally binding treaty to curb plastic pollution, with delegates from nearly 180 countries attending.

Widespread starvation in Gaza – IPC, UN Women 29 July 2025

1

1

1

Edited News | UN WOMEN

Widespread starvation in Gaza – IPC, UN Women 29 July 2025 ENG FRA

Aid agencies echoed wider warnings of growing signs of widespread starvation in Gaza on Tuesday, as UN-partnered international food security experts released their most dire assessment yet of the situation in the wartorn enclave.

Sudan displaced return – IOM, UNDP, UNHCR 25 July 2025

1

1

1

Edited News | IOM , UNDP , UNHCR

Sudan displaced return – IOM, UNDP, UNHCR 25 July 2025 ENG FRA

Sudan: urgent help needed as more than 1.3 million war-displaced people begin to return home

As conflict rages on across parts of Sudan, pockets of relative safety have emerged in the past four month, spurring more than one million internally displaced Sudanese to make their way home, says the International Organization for Migration (IOM). A further 320,000 cross-border refugees have come back to Sudan since last year, mainly from Egypt and South Sudan, to assess the current situation before deciding to return to their country for good.

Gaza crisis update UNRWA – WHO 22 July 2025

1

1

1

Edited News | UNRWA , WHO

Gaza crisis update UNRWA – WHO 22 July 2025 ENG FRA

Gaza: SOS messages describe people fainting from hunger; UN health worker detained

Worrying alerts from United Nations staff in Gaza who have been fainting from hunger and exhaustion over the past 48 hours have increased fears for people’s survival in the devastated enclave, UN humanitarians said on Tuesday.

Funding cuts impact on aid access - UNHCR Dominique Hyde - 18 July 2025

1

1

1

Edited News | UNHCR , UNOG

Funding cuts impact on aid access - UNHCR Dominique Hyde - 18 July 2025 ENG FRA

Over 11.6 million refugees risk losing aid access due to funding cuts, says UNHCR

Approximately one in three refugees and other vulnerable individuals normally supported by the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) are expected to lose out from funding cuts, it said on Friday.

UN Human Rights Ravina Shamdasani on opening mission in Bangladesh

1

1

1

Edited News | OHCHR

UN Human Rights Ravina Shamdasani on opening mission in Bangladesh ENG FRA

Ravina Shamdasani, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, made the following announcement on the Office’s opening of a new mission in Bangladesh.

UN Human Rights spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani on returns of Afghans

1

1

1

Edited News | OHCHR

UN Human Rights spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani on returns of Afghans ENG FRA

The surge in the number of Afghans forced or compelled to return to Afghanistan this year is creating a multi-layered human rights crisis requiring the urgent attention of the international community,” UN Human Rights spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani said on Friday.  

UN Human Rights Office Spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani on violence in Suweida, Syria

1

1

1

Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG

UN Human Rights Office Spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani on violence in Suweida, Syria ENG FRA

UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Friday called for accountability and justice for the killings and other gross human rights violations and abuses in the southern city of Suweida. 

Syria Sweida violence OHCHR – UNHCR 18 July 2025

1

1

1

Edited News | OHCHR , UNHCR

Syria Sweida violence OHCHR – UNHCR 18 July 2025 ENG FRA

Syria: hundreds killed in Sweida, ‘widespread’ violations as civilians flee for their lives

Amid violent clashes in southern Syria’s Sweida governorate, a picture of grave human rights abuses and rising humanitarian needs is emerging by the hour, the UN said on Friday.

UN Human Rights Spokesperson Liz Throssell on Ukraine

1

1

Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG

UN Human Rights Spokesperson Liz Throssell on Ukraine ENG

At the bi-weekly press briefing in Geneva the UN Human Rights Spokesperson Liz Throssell made the following statement on the latest number of civilian casualties in Ukraine.

UN Human Rights Briefing on West Bank

1

1

1

Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG

UN Human Rights Briefing on West Bank ENG FRA

The UN Human Rights Office on Tuesday called for investigations into hundreds of killings of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank by Israeli security forces and settlers, warning against ongoing forced mass displacement of the Palestinian population.

Gaza And Occupied West Bank Update - OHCHR, UNRWA  15 July 2025

1

1

2

Edited News | OHCHR , UNRWA

Gaza And Occupied West Bank Update - OHCHR, UNRWA 15 July 2025 ENG FRA

Nearly 900 people have been killed in Gaza in recent weeks trying to fetch food, with most deaths linked to private aid hubs run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), the UN human rights office, OHCHR, said on Tuesday.