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Gaza and West Bank update UNRWA – UNOPS – UNIS Geneva 23 January 2026
Amid the launch of President Trump's Board of Peace and reconstruction talks on Gaza, UN aid agencies insisted on Friday that what Gazans need most is immediate relief from the ongoing humanitarian catastrophe there.
“It's absolutely critical to unlock the congestion...at crossing points and to reopen critical lifelines like the Jordan corridor,” said Juliette Touma, Director of Communications at UNOPS, the United Nations Office for Project Services.
Briefing journalists, Ms. Touma highlighted that although the 3 October ceasefire has brought some respite to families in the wartorn enclave, “people continue to be killed, day in, day out”.
The UNOPS official also insisted that the highly vulnerable people of Gaza simply “cannot wait” for a reconstruction plan to take shape – one of the stated aims of the US-led Board of Peace. “They need supplies at the same time; it's not just the services,” she explained.
Gaza and West bank update – UNRWA – UNOPS – UNIS Geneva
TRT: 4’02”
SOURCE: UNTV CH
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 23 JANUARY 2026 GENEVA, SWITZERLAND & broll from UNRWA compound East Jerusalem taken 20 January 2026 (credit UNRWA)
Speakers:
- Juliette Touma, Director of Communications, UNOPS (from Copenhagen)
- Jonathan Fowler, UNRWA Senior Communications Manager (from Amman)
- Alessandra Vellucci, Director, UN Information Service, Geneva
SHOTLIST
- Exterior wide, UN Geneva flag alley.
- Wide, UN Geneva Press room, podium speaker, remote speaker on TV screen.
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Juliette Touma, UNOPS: “While there are all these agreements on the shape and the form of reconstruction, the people of Gaza cannot wait. They need supplies at the same time; it's not just the services. This is why it's absolutely critical to unlock the congestion, if you wish, at crossing points and to reopen critical lifelines like the Jordan corridor, so, it's urgent action that is needed now.”
- Wide, journalists., TV screen showing external speaker.
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Jonathan Fowler, UNRWA: “We are the largest United Nations agency operating in the Gaza Strip. We have the knowledge, we have the trust of the community and we have the mandate from the United Nations General Assembly and we must remain and we must be able to continue doing our work; that's crystal clear. We have to be part of the reconstruction by definition, I mean, that's what we mandated to do.”
- Medium, journalist.
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Alessandra Vellucci, Director, UN Information Service, Geneva: “On the issue of the Board of Peace, what we can say is that we are very strongly committed to do whatever we can to ensure the full implementation of the Security Council Resolution 2803, which, as you recall, welcomed the creation of the Board for Gaza; and as you see, there is a role for the UN there about the UN leading on humanitarian aid delivery, which we have been doing for such a long time and we will continue to do the best of our capacities.”
- Wide, podium speaker, journalists, remote speaker on TV screen.
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Jonathan Fowler, UNRWA: “We remain a very, very significant healthcare provider in the Gaza Strip; primary healthcare, we have something in the order of 15,000 patients a day coming to our clinics; but of course, you know, the majority of our clinics are not able to operate.”
- Wide, control booths, technician.
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Jonathan Fowler, UNRWA: “This is a United Nations compound, so this is an attack on the United Nations; it's an attack on international law and it's something with potential implications globally, because what happens to UNRWA now could happen to another agency tomorrow in the Occupied Palestinian Territory or elsewhere. So, you know, this creates this kind of precedent and this is extremely dangerous.”
- Wide, control booths, journalists.
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Jonathan Fowler, UNRWA: “We had a visit by diplomats from donor governments that happened last week. It's on the same day that the compound in East Jerusalem was stormed and demolished and Israeli forces were outside the compound while the diplomats were in and they were firing tear gas. Now, clearly this is a sign of intent and really the international community needs to wake up and has to make clear that the Kalandia Training Centre must be able to continue operating.”
- Medium, journalist.
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Jonathan Fowler, UNRWA: “The point is that these students, this is a unique training centre. These students generally come from non-academic backgrounds, lower-income families, so this is a social justice issue. If the centre were to be forcibly closed - and we do fear that this could happen within days - there is no educational alternative for these students.”
- Wide of UNRWA compound with officials standing on roof next to Israeli flag.
- Wide of UNRWA compound, bulldozer at work dismantling structures amid other levelled facilities.
- Medium-wide, bulldozer at work taking down structures in UNRWA compound.
- Wide, destroyed buildings and bulldozer at work in UNRWA compound.
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