• Exterior shot: Palais des Nations, Geneva.
• Wide shot: Briefing room
• Soundbite (English)— Ravina Shamdasani, spokesperson, UN Human Rights: ““I must echo loud and cleat what out colleagues in Gaza have just stressed. The bombs have got to stop. Again civilians are living a nightmare, again we are receiving reports of bombings in notern Gaza, in the middle Gaza. Reports of leaflets being dropped on Khan Younis telling civilains to flee.”
• Cutaways: Briefing room
• Soundbite (English)— Ravina Shamdasani, spokesperson, UN Human Rights: “The resumption of hostilities in Gaza is catastrophic. I urge all parties and States with influence over them to redouble efforts, immediately, to ensure a ceasefire – on humanitarian and human rights grounds.”
• Cutaways: Briefing room
• Soundbite (English)— Ravina Shamdasani, spokesperson, UN Human Rights: “Recent comments by Israeli political and military leaders indicating that they are planning to expand and intensify the military offensive are very troubling.”
• Cutaways: Briefing room
• Soundbite (English)— Ravina Shamdasani, spokesperson, UN Human Rights: “The situation is beyond crisis point.”
• Cutaways: Briefing room
• Soundbite (English)— Ravina Shamdasani, spokesperson, UN Human Rights: “We remind all parties of their obligation to allow and facilitate rapid and unimpeded passage of humanitarian relief for civilians in need, throughout Gaza.”
• Cutaways: Briefing room
• Soundbite (English)— Ravina Shamdasani, spokesperson, UN Human Rights: “The way forward must be through an immediate end to the violence, the prompt and unconditional release of all remaining hostages, the cessation of firing of indiscriminate rockets and use of explosive weapons with wide-area effects in populated areas, humanitarian aid commensurate to the immense need and rapid unimpeded access, an end to practices of arbitrary detention by Israel, and concrete steps to avert further disaster, founded on full respect and protection of the human rights of Palestinians and Israelis”

“The resumption of hostilities in Gaza is catastrophic. I urge all parties and States with influence over them to redouble efforts, immediately, to ensure a ceasefire – on humanitarian and human rights grounds,” Shamdasani said. 

“Recent comments by Israeli political and military leaders indicating that they are planning to expand and intensify the military offensive are very troubling,”she said. 

Since 7 October, thousands of Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, according to the Ministry of Health in Gaza. More now face the same fate. Others risk being forcibly displaced to already severely over-crowded and unsanitary parts of Gaza. 

“The situation is beyond crisis point,” she said.

Under international humanitarian law, Israel as the occupying power, is required to ensure that the basic needs of the population in Gaza, such as food, water, and medical care, are met. 

“We remind all parties of their obligation to allow and facilitate rapid and unimpeded passage of humanitarian relief for civilians in need, throughout Gaza,” Shamdasani said.

“The way forward must be through an immediate end to the violence, the prompt and unconditional release of all remaining hostages, the cessation of firing of indiscriminate rockets and use of explosive weapons with wide-area effects in populated areas, humanitarian aid commensurate to the immense need and rapid unimpeded access, an end to practices of arbitrary detention by Israel, and concrete steps to avert further disaster, founded on full respect and protection of the human rights of Palestinians and Israelis,” the spokesperson said.

ENDS

For more information and media requests, please contact: 

In Geneva

Ravina Shamdasani - + 41 22 917 9169 / ravina.shamdasani@un.org or 

Jeremy Laurence +  +41 22 917 9383 / jeremy.laurence@un.org or

Marta Hurtado - + 41 22 917 9466 / marta.hurtadogomez@un.org

In Nairobi

Seif Magango - +254 788 343 897 / seif.magango@un.org

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