Edited News | OHCHR , WHO
La oficina de derechos humanos de la ONU preocupada por la violencia que se extiende a Rafah en medio de condiciones de vida desastrosas
A medida que el conflicto en Gaza se intensifica en el área de Khan Younis y empuja a más palestinos hacia el sur en busca de refugio, los civiles cada vez más desesperados continúan soportando la peor parte de la escalada, dijo el viernes la oficina de derechos humanos de la ONU.
“En Rafah, vi personas desplazadas que habían sido ordenadas por las autoridades israelíes a abandonar sus hogares sin provisión para su alojamiento, literalmente viviendo en la calle con aguas residuales corriendo por las calles, y condiciones de desesperación propicias para un colapso total del orden,” dijo Ajith Sunghay, Jefe de la Oficina de Derechos Humanos de la ONU para el Territorio Palestino Ocupado.
Hablando desde la capital de Jordania, Amán, a periodistas en Ginebra, el funcionario de la OHCHR agregó que la gente temía que la violencia extrema “se extendiera a Rafah, con implicaciones catastróficas para las más de 1.3 millones de personas ya hacinadas allí”, casi el 50 por ciento de la población de la Franja.
Los intensos combates en y alrededor de Khan Younis, en el suroeste de Gaza, en los últimos tres días han cobrado vidas y dañado infraestructura civil vital. El miércoles, un ataque contra un refugio de la ONU en Khan Younis mató a 13 personas e hirió a 56, a pesar de ser un área donde el ejército israelí había dicho previamente a los gazatíes que huyeran para su seguridad, explicó el Sr. Sunghay.
“El bombardeo de las Fuerzas de Defensa de Israel (FDI) continúa en áreas que ha designado unilateralmente como áreas seguras, incluida una mezquita en el oeste de Khan Younis. Incluso después de que se reportaron explosiones en Al-Mawasi el 22 y 23 de enero, las FDI continuaron ordenando a los residentes del oeste de Khan Younis que se trasladaran allí,” dijo.
Las órdenes de evacuación se reemitieron “repetidamente” el 23, 24 y 25 de enero, afectando supuestamente a más de medio millón de personas, así como a tres hospitales que han enfrentado fuertes ataques y asedio. “Los continuos ataques a instalaciones específicamente protegidas como hospitales matarán a civiles y habrá un impacto masivo adicional en el acceso a la atención médica, la seguridad y la protección en general de los palestinos,” sostuvo el Sr. Sunghay.
El desarrollo se produjo mientras el ejército israelí continúa su ofensiva contra Hamas en medio de informes de que los líderes israelíes han dicho que para completar su destrucción de Hamas, eventualmente deben ampliar su ofensiva a Rafah, en el cruce fronterizo con Egipto.
“Eso será desastroso porque hay dos lugares a los que la gente puede huir,” explicó el Sr. Sunghay.
“De un lado tienes el mar Mediterráneo, del otro lado tienes la frontera egipcia. ¿Tienes combates en el norte y tienes combates en el lado de Khan Younis? Así que solo puedes especular lo que va a suceder. Estamos hablando de 1.3 millones ya. Si tienes personas moviéndose en grandes números desde Khan Younis y otros lugares, esto va a ser una catástrofe masiva.”
En medio de ataques aéreos israelíes y combates calle a calle entre soldados de las FDI y grupos armados palestinos, la Organización Mundial de la Salud (OMS) de la ONU también reiteró serias preocupaciones por los trabajadores de salud y pacientes atrapados en la violencia.
Desde que estalló la guerra en Gaza, ha habido “676 ataques verificados en los territorios palestinos ocupados,” dijo Christian Lindmeier, portavoz de la OMS. “Eso es 318 en Gaza y 358 en Cisjordania. Siempre es importante notar que tenemos más ataques en Cisjordania que en Gaza,” agregó. Según la agencia de salud de la ONU, “solo 14 hospitales de las 36 instalaciones de salud siguen funcionando, siete en el sur y siete en el norte. Veinte hospitales no están funcionando en absoluto.”
Desde el 7 de octubre, cuando comenzó el intenso bombardeo israelí en Gaza en respuesta a los ataques terroristas liderados por Hamas en los que unas 1,200 personas fueron masacradas y más de 250 tomadas como rehenes, más de 26,000 palestinos han muerto, según los funcionarios de salud del enclave. Un 75 por ciento completo de las víctimas son niños y mujeres, y ha habido al menos 60,000 lesiones registradas. La agencia de salud de la ONU dijo que se estima que otros 8,000 están desaparecidos, presuntamente muertos bajo los escombros.
Fin
HISTORIA: Actualización de Gaza - OMS, OHCHR
TRT: 3:32”
FUENTE: UNTV CH
RESTRICCIONES: NINGUNA
IDIOMA: INGLÉS / NATS
RELACIÓN DE ASPECTO: 16:9
FECHA: 26 de enero de 2024 GINEBRA, SUIZA
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Edited News , Press Conferences | WMO
New data showing that rivers were at their lowest level for decades last year provides further evidence that the climate crisis is real and countries must act immediately to protect themselves from the increasing threat to communities and livelihoods, the UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Thursday.
The key findings from WMO’s State of Global Water Resources 2025 report covering the hydrological cycle and extreme events in the five-year period to last year:
Highlighting the long-term decline in the Earth’s freshwater storage and glacier melt, WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo explained that the planet’s water reserves used to act as a planetary “savings account” that absorbed the occasional dry season, avoiding a water crisis. “One of the central stories of the 2025 report is what is happening to that savings account? And the simple answer is that we are depleting it,” she told journalists in Geneva.
Groundwater reserves are equally stretched and have been in decline since 2014, WMO’s report states, with nearly two-thirds of monitored wells worldwide showing levels lower than the historical norm and indicating a shift “further toward deficit…not recovery”.
“At the same time, we are seeing more water-related disasters,” Ms. Saulo said, while also stressing that the currently strengthening El Niño “will increase the risk of drought in some areas, and flooding in others”.
Glaciers disappearing
In 2025, for the fourth consecutive year, every major glaciated region on Earth lost ice mass, leading to short-term hazards including floods and long-term water insecurity, according to WMO.
Responding to a question about whether the changing global water cycle might have contributed to the deadly Nepal-China flooding disaster, Ms. Saulo explained that melting ice and rock was just one factor in the chain of events that ultimately sent a massive and deadly wall of water and debris downstream on 26 August, killing at least 1,367 people.
“You asked if it could happen again? Absolutely; the problem in this region is that there’s 63,700 glaciers at the last count,” she told a Press Conference in Geneva. “Even if you’re looking with remote sensing with satellites at these glaciers, you might see some faults, you might see some slight shifting, that does not mean necessarily catastrophic collapse. So, in order to plan for this, it’s very, very difficult. But the international community is looking very hard at ways in which we can bring people together to solve some of these monitoring issues.”
Data indicates that glaciers shrank between 2023 and 2025 with cumulative losses of 1,400 gigatonnes of water – or about one third of annual fresh water needs.
Every major glacier region on Earth lost ice for the fourth consecutive year.
“All 19 glacier regions around the globe lost ice; in Central Asia, Iceland, the Russian Arctic and western Canada and the United States, it was among the three worst years on record,” said Wayne Jenkinson, WMO’s Director of Hydrology and Cryosphere.
Some regions with smaller glaciers such as Central Europe, the Caucasus, the western Canada and the United States may already have reached “peak water”, Mr. Jenkinson warned.
“After this point, the glacier gives less meltwater each year simply because there is less ice left to melt. That matters for every community downstream that relies on water during hot, dry summers,” he explained.
Narelle van der Wel, WMO’s Head of Cryosphere Monitoring, Predictions and Services, stressed that while some further glacier loss is unavoidable, the eventual scale of the decline is not predetermined.
“Some glacier loss is inevitable, but total loss of glaciers is not yet inevitable,” she said, pointing to emissions reductions as central to limiting future losses.
Preparing for moving baselines
The report does not attribute every observed change to climate change alone. WMO says pressure on water resources and natural variability also contribute.
Mr. Jenkinson said governments need to prepare for “moving baselines” as historical patterns become less reliable.
“The situation 30 years ago is not where we are today,” he said. Countries, he added, need to prepare “for those changes that have really already arrived”.
ends
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