The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
Two years of Gaza-Israel war bring ‘indescribable’ pain: UN humanitarians
Two years since the Hamas-led terror attacks on Israel, UN humanitarians on Tuesday reiterated calls for the release of all hostages in Gaza, an immediate ceasefire and an aid surge to alleviate Palestinians’ suffering, as talks on a US-driven peace plan continued in Egypt.
“The pain is indescribable” on the anniversary of the “abhorrent” attacks, said UN relief chief Tom Fletcher, in a statement shared with media in Geneva by UN aid coordination office (OCHA) spokesperson Jens Laerke.
“I renew my call for the unconditional, immediate release of all the hostages – and until then, they must be treated humanely,” Mr. Fletcher’s statement continued. “Civilians everywhere have to be protected.”
Mr. Fletcher underscored the fact that since 7 October 2023 tens of thousands of Palestinians have been killed and “hundreds of thousands endure starvation and displacement”.
More than 1,250 Israelis and foreign nationals were killed in the attacks while more than 250 others were taken hostage. More than 66,000 Palestinians have subsequently been killed in the war in Gaza according to local health authorities.
The UN relief chief also renewed calls for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and for humanitarian aid to “flow freely at the scale needed”.
Highlighting the continuing obstacles to aid delivery, OCHA’s Mr. Laerke said that over the past two years, out of more than 8,000 requests for humanitarian missions inside Gaza where coordination with the Israeli authorities was needed, 45 per cent were denied or impeded en route.
The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) also noted that teams in Gaza are still waiting for a green light to fetch incubators and ventilators for premature babies evacuated from the north of the Strip.
“We've managed to move [the babies] to another facility when the hospital they were in needed to be evacuated, but we haven't managed to move the incubators… it's been denied so far,” said spokesperson Ricardo Pires.
The go-ahead “to move our convoys to pick up those incubators [is] not being given because of safety and military operations happening on the ground”, Mr. Pires explained.
“One in every five [children] born in Gaza is born premature without the infrastructure to receive them and keep them safe and alive,” he stressed. “We're talking about children sharing oxygen masks in order to stay alive.”
The UNICEF spokesperson went on to say that 61,000 children have reportedly been either killed or maimed “since the horrors Hamas unleashed in Israel and what followed after the disproportionate response from Israel, that is still ongoing”.
“That's an average of one child either killed or maimed every 17 minutes,” he said, “an unacceptable, staggering figure”.
Mr. Pires deplored the fact that children have been “suffering in their bodies and their minds for way too long”, traumatized and “exposed to horrors that no child should ever have to look at or live”.
Famine and malnutrition are part of daily life in Gaza and World Health Organization (WHO) spokesperson Christian Lindmeier recalled that over half a million people are trapped in the famine in Gaza, as per the latest UN-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report in August. He said that “640,000 people [are] facing catastrophic levels of food insecurity” and that WHO has verified 400 malnutrition-related deaths, including those of 101 children.
“We know that most indicators are worsening,” said UNICEF’s Mr. Pires, warning that the famine that was declared in Gaza City “is slowly moving to the South as more people get displaced, leaving what is now again a combat zone”.
Referring to the peace plan put forward by US President Donald Trump, which has been the object of negotiations in Egypt for a second day straight, Mr. Pires welcomed “the plans by the US Government which bring a glimpse of hope to the region and to civilians and children in Gaza, that a better future is ahead”.
His words echoed those of UN Secretary-General António Guterres who, in a statement on Monday, said that the recent proposal by the US President “presents an opportunity to that must be seized to bring this tragic conflict to an end”.
-Ends-
STORY Gaza-Israel war 7 October 2025 OCHA – UNICEF - WHO
TRT: 3:31”
SOURCE: UNTV CH
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH/NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 7 OCTOBER 2025 GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
1. Exterior wide shot: Palais des Nations, Flag Alley.
2. Wide shot: Speakers at the podium of the press conference; speaker on screens; journalists in the Press room.
3. SOUNDBITE (English) – Jens Laerke, spokesperson, UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA): “Two years on since Hamas and other armed groups carried out those abhorrent attacks in Israel, the pain is indescribable. Today, I renew my call for the unconditional, immediate release of all the hostages – and until then, they must be treated humanely. Civilians everywhere have to be protected.”
4. Wide shot: Speaker on screens; journalists in the Press room.
5. SOUNDBITE (English) – Jens Laerke, spokesperson, UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA): “Tens of thousands of Palestinians have been killed. Hundreds of thousands endure starvation and displacement. So we renew the call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, for all civilians to be protected, and for humanitarian aid to flow freely at the scale needed.”
6. Wide shot: Speakers at the podium of the press conference.
7. SOUNDBITE (English) – Ricardo Pires, spokesperson, UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF): “We had over 20 babies in the north in incubators because they were born prematurely, which is happening a lot in Gaza now. One in every five child who's born in Gaza is born premature without the infrastructure to receive them and keep them safe and alive.”
8. Medium shot: Journalists in the Press room.
9. SOUNDBITE (English) – Ricardo Pires, spokesperson, UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF): “We've managed to move them to another facility when the hospital they were on needed to be evacuated, but we haven't managed to move the incubators so they can again be placed in those incubators to stay warm and with enough oxygen to stay alive, and those incubators and those ventilators are the ones we're trying to move and it's been denied so far.”
10. Wide shot: Speaker on screens; journalists in the Press room.
11. SOUNDBITE (English) – Ricardo Pires, spokesperson, UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF): “61,000 children have reportedly been either killed or maimed since the horrors Hamas unleashed in Israel and what followed after the disproportionate response from Israel, that is still ongoing. That's an average of one child either killed or maimed every 17 minutes. This is an unacceptable, staggering figure that we still have to live with today. Children have been suffering in their bodies and their minds for way too long.”
12. Wide shot: Speakers at the podium of the press conference; speaker on screens; journalists in the Press room.
13. SOUNDBITE (English) – Christian Lindmeier, spokesperson, World Health Organization (WHO): “Over half a million people trapped in the famine in Gaza as per the latest IPC analysis of August, with 640,000 people facing catastrophic levels of food insecurity. That's the IPC phase five. 400 malnutrition related deaths, including 101 children.”
14. Medium shot: Speakers at the podium of the press conference; speaker on screen.
15. SOUNDBITE (English) – Ricardo Pires, spokesperson, UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF): “We know that most indicators are worsening and famine that was concentrated in Gaza City and was declared in Gaza City is slowly moving to the South as more people get displaced, leaving what is now again a combat zone.”
16. Wide shot: Speakers at the podium of the press conference; speaker on screens; journalists in the Press room.
17. SOUNDBITE (English) – Ricardo Pires, spokesperson, UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF): “We call for a cease-fire. We welcome the plans by the US government which bring a glimpse of hope to the region and to civilians and children in Gaza, that a better future is ahead.”
18. Various shots of journalists in the Press room.
Similar Stories
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 | 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.
1
1
1
Edited News | IFRC , OCHA , WMO
‘Catastrophic’ Hurricane Melissa hours from landfall in Jamaica as humanitarians rush to save lives
Millions in Jamaica and across the Caribbean are bracing for massive impact from Hurricane Melissa on Tuesday as the UN and partners are warning of a “severe” and “immediate” humanitarian threat.
1
1
Edited News | WHO
‘We need all routes to open’: in Gaza WHO calls for ramp-up of medevacs, easier access for essentials
Two weeks since a ceasefire agreement entered into force in Gaza the World Health Organization (WHO) noted progress on the flow of aid while calling for more evacuations of critical patients and eased entry for essential medicines and supplies.
1
12
1
1
Edited News | WMO , UNITED NATIONS
UN chief urges boost to life-saving weather warning systems, stresses role of climate change science
No country is safe from the devastating impacts of extreme weather — and saving lives means making early-warning systems accessible to all, UN chief António Guterres said on Wednesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | WFP
Gazans’ response to food distributions ‘overwhelming’ as humanitarians scale up under fragile ceasefire
In Gaza, the ceasefire is enabling UN humanitarians to reach more desperate people with life-saving food, but greater access is needed to contain the spread of famine.
1
1
1
Edited News | WFP , OCHA
UN urges opening of all Gaza crossings to deliver three-month food supply
The UN World Food Programme (WFP) has warned food aid cannot reach everyone in Gaza unless all border crossings are opened, particularly in the north where famine was declared in August. The agency says it already has enough supplies in place to feed the entire population of the Strip for three months – if full access is granted by Israel.