The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
“The Israeli military has also continued to issue displacement orders for Palestinians, including those in Gaza City, telling them to move to Al Mawasi area, even as strikes on this area continue. On 16 and 17 August, we recorded five attacks on tents of internally displaced people in Al Mawasi, killing at least nine people,” Al-Kheetan said.
“Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians displaced to Al Mawasi have little or no access to essential services and supplies, including food, water, electricity and tents,” the spokesperson highlighted.
“The risk of starvation is everywhere in Gaza. This is a direct result of the Israeli Government's policy of blocking humanitarian aid. In the past few weeks, Israeli authorities have only allowed aid to enter in quantities that remain far below what would be required to avert widespread starvation,” he said.
“Reaching the meagre supplies available can be a deadly pursuit. Since 27 May and up until 17 August, we have documented that 1,857 Palestinians were killed while seeking food, including 1,021 killed in the vicinity of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation sites, and 836 killed on the routes of supply trucks. Most of these killings appear to have been committed by the Israeli military,” Al-Kheetan said.
For more information and media requests, please contact
Ravina Shamdasani: +41 22 917 9169 / ravina.shamdasani@un.org
Jeremy Laurence: +41 22 917 9383 / jeremy.laurence@un.org
Thameen Al-Kheetan: +41 22 917 4232 / thameen.alkheetan@un.org
Tag and share - Twitter: @UNHumanRights and Facebook: unitednationshumanrights
STORY: UN Human Rights Spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan on Gaza
TRT: 02:19
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: English/NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 19/08/2025 GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
SHOTLIST
- Exterior shot : Palais des Nations
- Wide shots : briefing room
- SOUNDBITE (English)—Thameen Al-Kheetan, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “In Gaza, the Israeli army has intensified its attacks in the north of the strip.”
- Cut aways: briefing room
- SOUNDBITE (English)—Thameen Al-Kheetan, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “The Israeli military has also continued to issue displacement orders for Palestinians, including those in Gaza City, telling them to move to Al Mawasi area, even as strikes on this area continue. On 16 and 17 August, we recorded five attacks on tents of internally displaced people in Al Mawasi, killing at least nine people.”
- Cut aways: briefing room
- SOUNDBITE (English)—Thameen Al-Kheetan, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians displaced to Al Mawasi have little or no access to essential services and supplies, including food, water, electricity and tents.”
- Cut aways: briefing room
- SOUNDBITE (English)—Thameen Al-Kheetan, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “The risk of starvation is everywhere in Gaza. This is a direct result of the Israeli Government's policy of blocking humanitarian aid. In the past few weeks, Israeli authorities have only allowed aid to enter in quantities that remain far below what would be required to avert widespread starvation.”
- Cut aways: briefing room
- SOUNDBITE (English)—Thameen Al-Kheetan, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “Reaching the meagre supplies available can be a deadly pursuit. Since 27 May and up until 17 August, we have documented that 1,857 Palestinians were killed while seeking food, including 1,021 killed in the vicinity of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation sites, and 836 killed on the routes of supply trucks. Most of these killings appear to have been committed by the Israeli military.”
Similar Stories
1
1
2
Edited News | UN WOMEN
Sudan: Women’s bodies ‘a crime scene’ as tens of thousands flee El Fasher atrocities – UN Women
In war-torn Sudan, rape is being systematically used as a weapon and simply being a woman is “a strong predictor” of hunger, violence and death, the UN’s gender equality agency warned on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
The UN human rights office (OHCHR) on Friday called for an end to continuing expansion of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, where “unchecked” settler violence has surged since the war in Gaza began more than two years ago.
1
1
1
Edited News | WFP
The crisis in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) continues to worsen amid ongoing fighting that has driven tens of thousands of people from their homes and created acute hunger, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) said on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | WFP
Gaza: One million receive food parcels as humanitarians race to ‘push back hunger’
Food is slowly returning to the shelves in Gaza amid “apocalyptic scenes” but supplies are still desperately inadequate, UN humanitarians said on Tuesday, as they issued fresh calls for wider access and continued financial support.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Office spokesperson Seif Magango today told the bi-weekly UN press briefing in Geneva of more details that are emerging on the atrocities committed in El Fasher, in Sudan during and after its takeover by the Rapid Support Forces.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Office spokesperson Seif Magango made the following comment on Friday at the bi-weekly press briefing in Geneva.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Office spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani made the following comment on Friday at the bi-weekly press briefing in Geneva.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , WHO
Sudan: UN Raises Alarm Over Mass Atrocities in El Fasher as Survivors Report Executions, Killings and Rapes
More details continue to emerge about atrocities committed during and after the fall of El Fasher to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Sudan on 23 October. Since the powerful paramilitary group made a major incursion into the city last week, the UN Human Rights Office has received “horrendous accounts of summary executions, mass killings, rapes, attacks against humanitarian workers, looting, abductions and forced displacement,” said Seif Magango, spokesperson for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA
Ukraine: Russian attacks on energy terrorize population as winter starts; could trigger major ‘crisis within crisis’
The UN’s top aid official in Ukraine expressed concern on Friday about “continuous attacks” on energy production sites and distribution facilities.
1
1
1
Edited News | HRC
Navi Pillay Retires After Decades Defending Human Rights and Pursuing Justice
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
The telecommunications shutdowns in Afghanistan in September had serious and far-reaching impacts on people’s lives, according to a briefing paper published today by the UN Human Rights Office and the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA).
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Office spokesperson Jeremy Laurence at the UN Geneva press briefing made the following comment on the ASEAN declaration on the right to a healthy environment.