Good morning, welcome to the press briefing.
Today is the 30th of May and sorry for we have a little technical problem.
I hope it will be solved soon.
And thank you also for being here, even if we started a little bit later.
We have a few colleagues here to brief you today and others ready to answer your question.
So I'll start with Claire, sorry, with Tomaszo de la Lunga, who is going to brief us on the Heat Action Day and on the 2nd of June.
And Claire will also have something on this Tomaszo.
Yeah, Thank you very much Alessandra.
So as Alessandra said, I would like to brief you on Heat Action Day taking place this year on Monday, 2nd of June.
This is a global campaign led by the International Federation of Red Cross Red Crescent Societies and under our network of under 91 National Societies, it shines a spotlight on one of the world's deadliest but least recognised climate related health risks.
Heat is often called a silent killer, especially for older adults, children and outdoor workers, and its impacts are growing as climate change makes heat waves more frequent, longer and deadlier.
Today, every region of the world is effective and the consequences for people's physical and mental health are significant.
What makes me, what makes this even more tragic is that many heat related deaths are preventable, often through simple, low cost local actions.
That's why we are mobilising communities around the share goal to help the people everywhere to beat the heat through practical life saving steps to prevent heat exhaustion and heat stroke.
Because many people don't recognise the symptoms of heat illness until it's too late.
We have had many stark reminders of the threat as we all know the where.
The Meteorological Organisation has confirmed that 2024 was the oddest year on record and just days ago the United Arab Emirates recorded temperature above 50°C, the highest May temperature on record at IFRC.
This rising global threat of vetoes is a major priority, especially for underserved urban communities where risks are amplified by overcrowding, overcrowding, poor infrastructure and lack of access to pooling.
National Cross and Christian societies are responding with a wide range of initiative.
In Europe which experienced devastating heat waves in 2022, National society are actively engaged in awareness, preparedness and protection efforts.
For example, in Greece the Red Cross activates an early action protocol before heat waves.
Heat and volunteers distribute water, isotonic drinks, food and sunscreen and perform Wellness cheques with bike based first aid teams.
In Spain now in the grip of high temperature, Red Cross volunteers help people with reduced mobility cool down at the beach through their assisted bedding service.
This seemingly small act can make a world of difference to help someone cool down in the heat.
In Kyrgyzstan, which is currently experiencing above average temperature, farmers and agricultural workers face gurling and unsafe working condition when extreme heat heats.
The Recrescent is supporting them with food and water and works with the National Meteorological Agency to activate heat wave protocols when needed.
Elsewhere in Burkina Faso, Red Cross volunteers have been conducting home visits and outreach in high risk areas, sharing practical teams to help families stay safe during extreme heat.
In Bangladesh, Red Crescent volunteers are working in schools and communities to educate people about heat safety, the symptoms of its stroke and how to act quickly when someone is in danger.
Here in Geneva, the jet door will light up in orange on Monday.
A new green roof cooling bus stops will be launched in partnership with the Global Cities Hub.
On June the 2nd, the Red Cross Crescent Climate Centre will also release a new report elevating the voices of those are distilled by the effects of the heat.
It will also include the latest figures of the growing held toll of extreme heat and how we can prevent it.
I want also to draw your attention to the Gaza Strip, where high temperature are making a catastrophic humanitarian situation even more desperate, with shortages of food and water, lack of shelter and complete lack on even the most basic human dignity.
Let me end by stressing this point.
From heat action plans, an early warning system to urban greening, passive cooling and anticipatory action.
These approaches saves lives.
The FRC will continue to work side by side with communities around the world to help them beat heat because heat is predictable and heat deaths are preventable.
Now I'm happy to take if any questions.
And then we can also help to arrange interviews with our technical expert from our network and of course, from our national societies.
And you will find already on our social channels between now and Monday, plenty of contents and information about it.
So Claire, you want to add something on the remote side?
Yes, just to add, extreme heat is obviously a very big focus of the World Meteorological Organisation.
And we were quite active on the sidelines of the World Health Assembly on, on this very, on this very issue.
And we now have new sort of joint plan funded by the Rockefeller Foundation and welcome trust to, to step up action on extreme heat.
As Tomaso said, it is a silent killer.
There are estimates that extreme heat kills about half a million people a year.
A lot of these deaths are not recorded, you know, if they're recorded at all, they're sometimes attributed to, to, to other factors.
It's got a very heavy cost on the economy.
The I think these are ILO estimates that in 2023 alone, extreme heat resulted in 835 billion in potential lost income.
People can't work in the fields.
You know, it's, it's, it's, it's a knock on effect.
As Thomas has said, there is a lot of good news.
There is a huge amount that we can be doing, we should be doing, we are starting to do it, but we're not going fast enough.
We've calculated that advanced heat warning systems in just 57 countries alone could save nearly 100,000 lives a year.
One of the issues is that less than 1/4 of National Health authorities currently use climate and meteorological data in their health planning.
So this was the, the, the big focus of the events we had at the World Health Assembly with, with Rockefeller and with the Welcome Trust is to, to get the communities to talk together.
You know, we quite often speak different languages, we have different structures.
So there really is a very, very urgent need to work together to align more closely.
And so this is going to be one of the key priorities of the joint WHO and WMO Climate and health health programme.
And I'm very pleased to see that the Red Cross is working with, with meteorological services.
I mean, we are very active partners with, you know, with the Red Cross on this as well.
So it's a team effort indeed.
Let me see if there is any question.
Looking at this journalist here, but there are many.
Oh, no, sorry, Miss Young is also here, but there are many online.
So let me see if there's any question.
Yes, I'm sure Thomas is going to distribute the notes.
Claire, you also had another announcement, right?
So heat and early warnings on heat will be one of the many, many items discussed next week when there is the big global platform on Disaster Risk Reduction taking place in Geneva.
It's being organised by the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction.
But on the 2 opening days of that, the World Meteorological Organisation is hosting global early warnings for all multi stakeholder forum.
It's in the WMO building.
It will bring together several 100 practitioners from all different walks of life, meteorological, hydrological services, disaster risk managers, policymakers, technical expert, experts, civil society and youth.
We'll be sending out more details on that late later on today.
It is by registration only as accredited journalists.
You are obviously welcome to join us either online or in person.
But if you could just send me a quick e-mail with, you know, with, with your name and then I can I can help you get to get through because we're heavily oversubscribed.
Looking ahead also to next week, the state of the climate in Southwest Pacific report will be released on the 5th of June.
Got a big focus on the ocean and marine heat waves, which I'm looking to my Aunt Ted colleague.
We will be sending out copies under embargo.
We are having an embargoed briefing for journalists hosted by the Science Media Centre in Australia.
It's it'll be like 2:30 in the morning, Geneva time.
But if you are interested and you know, you want to alert your colleagues in the region, just just let me, let me know.
We'll again, we'll send out all the information on that report.
Andrew, embargo today going from heat to glaciers.
The two are very, very closely related.
Today the World Meteorological Organisation Secretary General Celeste Salo opened addressed the opening session of a big international conference on glaciers preservation.
It's taking place in Tajikistan, which as we know is, you know, a country with many, many glaciers and which is really feeling the impacts now of their of their melting.
It's part of the International Year of Glaciers Preservation, which we are Co leading with with with with UNESCO.
And as we've said in briefings earlier this year to journalists, why does it matter?
It matters to everybody all over the globe.
Five of the past six years saw the most rapid glacier retreat on record.
The we estimate that since records began in 1975.
And these are estimates from the World Glacier Monitoring Service.
The glaciers have lost a total of more than 99000 billion tonnes, which we can't really imagine.
It's equivalent to a huge ice block the size of Germany with a thickness of 25 metres.
Glaciers and ice sheets store about 70% of global water resources.
So obviously, retreat of glaciers depletes that water for future generations.
In the short term, it leads to a big increase in hazards, as Switzerland saw this week with the collapse of, you know, huge block of ice debris on the mileage of Blatten, which virtually destroyed the village.
Luckily, there is no confirmed casualties or deaths at the moment.
One person reported missing and that shows the the importance of early warnings and early action.
You know, the Swiss authorities did do everything.
You know, it was like a textbook example of of what should be done.
They warned people, They evacuated people out of harm's way.
The landscape will never be the same again.
The village will never be the same again.
But it is an example of how, you know, we can use forecasts and warnings to save people's people's lives.
The threats not over, you know, it's still, it's still ongoing.
But we need to bear in mind that, you know, in, in many developing countries, they, they just don't have, you know, the possibility to, to, to take this action to evacuate, to evacuate people.
And just as a reminder, in 2022 to 2023, Switzerland, glaciers lost about 10% of their remaining volume in just two years.
I will send you out the briefing notes because there are quite a few facts and and figures.
Our Secretary General in her opening speech this morning quoted the example of Central Asia.
The largest in glacier in Central Asia is the Van Yak Glacier, and in recent decades it's lost 16 cubic kilometres in volume, 45 square kilometres in area.
This is the equivalent of 6.4 million Olympic swimming pools and 6000 football fields worth of ice.
All of this, all of this ice is gone.
The future water has has gone.
The Prime Minister of Nepal is speaking at the opening session.
Nepal recently declared the loss of one of its best known glaciers, Yala Glacier.
And as we said in our State of the Climate on Latin America report, Venezuela has become the second country in the world to become glacier free after got to lose all its glaciers after it's after Slovenia.
Celeste Salo sort of issued a call to action with five steps we can take.
Tackle the root cause global warming, strengthen monitoring sessions, monitoring systems and warnings to more partnerships, collaboration, turn science into policy, act on the science and invest in people.
So we will I will send you out the all the details of that along with with her speech.
Thank you very much Claire.
This gives me the occasion to inform you that the Deputy Secretary General, Amina Mohammed is at the moment in Dushyambe, Tajikistan to exactly attend the conference, the High Level International Conference on Glacier Preservation.
Yesterday, she travelled to observe first hand the impact of climate change on Tajikistan glaciers.
She commanded the international efforts to protect less years ahead of COP 30, noting their critical role in safeguarding water sources, ecosystems and communities.
In this context, Mrs Mohammed said that the Early Warning for All initiative is key to strengthening climate resilience and helping vulnerable populations prepare for climate related shocks.
Today, the Deputy Secretary General participates in the opening session of the International Conference to emphasise the need to accelerate climate action to achieve the 1.5 A degree target in order to reduce the impact of melting less years on people and planet.
And let me also inform you that next week, as you know, we will have here in Geneva the Global Platform on Disaster Risk Reduction 2025.
That's going to happen at the CICG organised by our colleagues of UNDRR and the the Deputy Secretary General will deliver in person opening remarks to travel to Geneva for this conference.
As you know, the Global Platform is a critical mechanism held every two years to identify ways to further accelerate the implementation of this entire framework for Disaster Risk Reduction.
On the occasion of her visit to Geneva, the the Deputy Secretary General will also meet with senior government official of Switzerland and heads of delegations at the Global Platform.
And since we are speaking about climate, I can't resist but remind you that on next Tuesday we will have the we will celebrate World Bicycle Day.
We have told you about this commemoration already.
It's the first time that we're doing this in Geneva with the support of the Union Seclist International and the Permanent Mission of Belgium.
We would like to invite you to to to come to the Portai de Piney for a short and easy celebration ride down to the Plas de Nassou.
We will be escorted by bicycle to the broken chair where pictures will be taken with all participants.
Please come with your helmets and your bicycle ready to start at 9:30 in front of Briny Gate.
The weather should be nice that day so we will all be waiting for you there.
And I know that there are many cycling journalists here.
So let's go and celebrate this important day to preserve climates.
And I'll open now the floor to questions.
I know maybe you want to say something about the Ocean Conference before we open.
Yeah, go ahead, Catherine.
Just a few words about the third UN Ocean Conference to be held in Nice, hosted by the French government and which is going to deal with the the importance of preserving and making ocean sustainable.
Wong Tad will be represented by Rebecca Greenspan and UN Trade and Development Secretary General and she will advance concrete solutions to ensure that ocean economy can can flourish and remain sustainable with over a few figures to set the scene.
With over 80% of global trade carried by sea and marine food systems being essential to food security and livelihoods for million, the ocean is vital for global connectivity and climate temperature regulation.
The ocean is economy is experiencing unprecedented growth, expanding at a rate of 250% per decade.
In 2023, it reached a record of 2.2 trillion U.S.
dollars in combined trade of ocean based goods and services.
However, it faces mounting pressures from pollution, climate change, damage, marine marine ecosystems and fragmented governance.
The ocean is heating at an alarming rate.
More than 1/3 of global fish stocks are below sustainability levels and without forgetting 8 to 10 million metric tonnes of plastic entering the ocean annually as the economy, the ocean economy expands rapidly.
Let these escalating pressures_the urgent need to ensure sustainable use of the ocean and its resources.
UNCTAD is sounding the alarm before the tide turns irreversibly.
UNCTAD will advocate for urgent and practical solutions.
The upscale of blue finance via innovative mechanism, The reform of environmentally harmful fisheries subsidies.
The advancement of sustainable marine based innovations to support vulnerable countries as well as small scale farmers, Fisher and agriculture producers.
We had an ocean forum a few weeks ago and the debates managed to put forward 15 action oriented recommendations in the following key areas.
It the the objective is to address fragmented ocean governance, to improve data quality and availability, including data on ocean trade and GSG emission, promote safe and sustainable substitute and alternative to plastic, to reduce marine production pollution from all sources, to develop early warning systems to mitigate To mitigate the impact of climate change on our oceans, accelerate the decarbonisation of ocean based sectors and integrate ocean and climate friendly measures into nationally determined contributions and to enhance access to finance and technology especially for developing countries and coastal communities.
Among them, you have the small island developing states who are the front of the the main problems facing the the climate Facing climate change impacts, the ocean holds immense potential as nature's pharmacy and supermarket of the future generic resources, genetic resources is the high seas are too important to remain under regulated and inadequately managed.
The timely entry into force of the UN agreement on marine biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction is essential to ensure their fair and sustainable use.
In addition, geopolitical tensions, tariff uncertainties and the rollback of environmental commitments by some countries further exacerbate these challenges.
The ocean can't be safeguarded through unilateral action, especially when multilateral agreements have proven effective in advancing common objectives.
I will share my notes with you in the summary and we will issue on, I think on Monday or Tuesday, new issue of the Global Trade Update specifically on ocean economy.
So you'll have more figures, more details and of course, all the experts working on this at hotel are available for any clarification.
So the the Ocean Conference starts on the 9th until the 13th of June.
I just wanted to also remind you that we have sent you a backgrounder a couple of months ago on this conference.
There is a very complete website or with information for the for the media, including a media kits on the website of the conference.
One of our colleagues in New York, Mrs Donlon, is in charge of the media aspects of this conference.
So if you need anything specific, if you think you're travelling to Nice to attend the conference and you need any support, don't hesitate to let us know.
We'll put you in contact with Martina and I open the floor to question now about all the things you've heard.
Yeah, sorry, clarification.
It's organised jointly by the government of France and the government of Costa Rica.
So any question on any of these things?
Let me see on the platform.
Good morning to all of you.
I have a question related to the Deputy SG, Amina Mohammed.
If I understood well, she will be in person in Geneva.
So Akanu would be really happy to have a briefing organised with her because it has been many years that we haven't heard her behind the podium at UN Geneva and also in her capacity as member of the UN80 Initiative task Force with all the reform.
I think it would be really interesting to have her.
I'll definitely bring this to the attention of my colleagues who takes care of media relations with for Mrs Mohammed.
But I have seen the programme, she's here for a very, very short time and the programme is packed, but the agenda, her agenda is packed.
But I'm happy to to ask on your behalf for such a meeting, any other question online to Claire or Catrine or myself?
So I have a a couple of more announcements for you and then if you have any other question for any other, for the colleagues who are attending specifically OCHA and UNHCR.
Just wanted to remind you that the Committee on the Rights of the Child will conclude this afternoon.
They will issue their concluding observation on the six countries that they reviewed, which are Norway, Indonesia, Iraq, Romania, Qatar and Brazil.
On Tuesday in the morning, we will start the 9:30 if you want to join us with the bicycle day, but we will also commemorate the International Day of UN Peacekeepers that as you know is internationally commemorated on 29th of May.
We are having the event next week.
It will start at 4:00 in the Ariana Park.
As I said, weather should assist us.
We will have a flag raising and rithling ceremony and then we will have speeches by the Director General of Munich, Mrs Tatiana Valavaya Lojo, Attar Baeru, who is the President of the International Association of Peacekeepers, Major General Germain Sewer, Head of International Relations, Defence of the Swiss Armoured Forces.
And then we will have two speeches by the Permanent Representative of Ghana, Manuel Emmanuel Antri and the Permanent Representative of Italy, Vincent Grassi.
So I hope we will so join us for this and and that is what I had for you.
So let me see if there are any other questions.
Yes, Isabel, maybe I'll ask IANS and Tomaso to come to the podium.
Thanks colleagues on my left.
It was good to concentrate, focus a little bit on climates today.
So very generally, what is the, what is the latest information Gens that you have on, on the entrance on the axis of humanitarian aid to Gaza and what are this is a humanitarian situation for you?
Tomaso, what are you witnessing people that are working for volunteers there for the Red Crescent, what can they report to you?
Let me give you what I what I have over the past 10 days since Karem Shalom reopened.
Out of the nearly 900 trucks that were approved to enter, almost 600 of them of them have been offloaded on the Gaza side.
A lower number has been picked up from the other side and there are reasons for that.
The routes that we are being assigned to use by the Israeli authorities are very often congested, insecure and there are significant delays in the approvals that we need.
However, this limited number of truckloads that are come coming in is a trickle.
It is drip feeding food into an area on the verge of catastrophic hunger.
Gaza is the hungriest place on earth and the aid operation that we have ready to roll is being put in an operational straitjacket that makes it one of the most obstructed aid operations not only in the world today, but in recent history of global humanitarian response anywhere.
The blockade and the control tight control of the operation is imposed by a party to the conflict, the occupying power Israel in Gaza.
The alternative that they have suggested is neither impartial, independent or workable.
Our plan is we have 10s of thousands of pallets of food and other life saving assistants that are poised to enter Gaza.
The aid has been paid for by the world's donors who of course expect us on their behalf to deliver it.
It is clear for customs it is approved and it's ready to move.
Concerns about aid diversion that we have heard with no new evidence provided cannot justify shutting down a life saving operation.
The UN and our partners have strict monitoring in place with security and oversight on every delivery we handle, and we have seen no major diversion of aid under our watch.
What happens outside the system that we control is not our responsibility.
Our responsibility is the aid that we bring in and that is strictly monitored.
So what we need now is a reopening of all crossing points into Gaza, aid from all corridors, including from Jordan and Egypt.
We need to be able to deliver food directly to families, directly to families where they are.
Our accountability at the end of the day is with the people we serve and no one else.
And they will need the deliveries to happen where they are, as we have done in the past.
And then, as usual, always we need all parties to respect international law.
Tomasi, you want to add something on the Crescent?
I mean, first let me just add the and echo what Jansen just said.
I mean, it's deeply, I mean upsetting and frustrating to know that there are tonnes of humanitarian aid ready to enter in the Gaza Strip.
We're talking with colleagues on the Egypt side of the Egyptian Crescent of the FSC Nedjit, where warehouses are full of aid that can enter anytime and we're not able to get it in and the same from from Jordan.
So the request here, it's really to have entrance of humanitarian need that scale from any border crossing possible immediately.
I think that also the the time of words has finished months ago and now we need to see actions finally on the humanitarian situation.
We have, we have hosted the President of Palestine Crescent here in Geneva few, few days ago and, and we are in direct contact with colleagues in Gaza.
And of course the situation is worsening minute after minute, not even anymore week after week, medical facilities of Palestine Crescent are seizing operation because almost half of them because they don't have any more the medical equipment, medicines, the fuel for for generators, for electricity's ambulances are not anymore working because they're either damaged or without any more gasoline.
So less than 1/2 are now working for the entire Gaza, Gaza Strip.
And then what Palestinic Crescent told us is that chronic diseases, at least in their health facilities are not longer being treated.
And this leads to severe suffering for patients with cancer, diabetes and those needs needing kidney dialysis.
So it's, it's simply, I mean, we, we used all the words.
It's a continuous nightmare.
Again, I don't have any more words to speak about it.
What I know is that the suffering is immense.
That is continuing minute after minute, that is continuing on a live channel 24/7.
Everyone in the world knows about it.
But then we're still lacking action.
And this is frustrating, upsetting, unacceptable.
Yes, thank you to both for agents.
So 6600 supplies containing sorry supplies containing in 600 tracks offloaded.
So the they have been distributed to they have been distributed offloaded is one thing distribution is next Step 3 remain 3300 remaining tracks outside Gaza.
Are you waiting or they are on the on the course of getting into Gaza and what how these what and what are the the follow up with this aid.
I mean, you know, this is very few supplies for people.
So I just want to to know what is what can we can expect for the people can dare expect for the next days and what how this is coupling with this in foundation Gaza humanitarian foundation there.
I know that this is not your business, but anyway, it's it's important to know how what people is getting finally, because life and deaths, they are between life and deaths.
And if you know every assumption on displacement, all they said is getting into into the South, I suppose, but all how many people do you know are still in the in, in in the middle and in the north of Gaza.
I think our business is the suffering of the people in Gaza, right.
And OK, thanks a lot of questions.
I'll try to address all of them.
The the the movements into Gaza are, as I say in a straitjacket.
It's wildly complicated and obstructed.
So first you have to submit requests for trucks with aid that is pre cleared by the Israelis to even go to Karam Shalom.
So that's the first movement.
Not all of those trucks on the UN manifest will be allowed to enter.
Some of them will be allowed to enter.
Over the past 10 days, we have 900 that have entered.
These are trucks that come from the Israeli side.
They drop it off and then the trucks drive out again.
Then we need another set of approvals from Israeli authorities for our trucks from inside Gaza to drive to Karim Shalom from that end.
Now this is very complicated.
The roads are congested, many of them are insecure, some of them are simply non existent.
There are lots of delays.
We experienced that permissions are given and then retracted again without explanations.
So that is a whole set of complications as well.
So now you need trucks to come out to Karam Shalom from inside Gaza and pick up what is there.
So of the 900 that were approved to enter, 600 entered on the Israeli side, if you like, of Karim Shalom and dropped off.
Then a fewer number were picked up and driven into Gaza.
Many of those were swarmed by desperate people on the way who picked off the items.
A survival reaction by desperate people who want to feed their families, themselves and their and and their kids.
And by the way, the aid that is on those trucks have been paid for by the donors to go to those people.
So I don't blame them one second for taking the aid that essentially is already theirs.
But it's not distributed in a way we want it now.
Because the occupying power is deliberately blocking aid from entering Gaza.
That is the fundamental problem here, right?
So that is what is happening now.
Not anywhere, not anywhere near what they deserve and what they need.
So that's just this show and tragic answer we have for that.
And certainly the alternative modality that they have put out is not working.
I mean, you have seen it does not meet the needs of people.
It creates chaos and it creates a situation that is extremely dangerous for people to pick up the 8 and to leave again.
Because even if you enter one of those distribution points, pick up a package the minute you're out of it, What do you think?
Are you a target for looters again?
It's dangerous for people to do that and we hear from people themselves that that's exactly the reason why they are very reluctant to go there.
So that is in violation of basic principle of impartiality with me, which means that you address people's needs as they are and that's the only thing you address not based on whether people can walk 20 kilometres.
That's not the criteria for getting aid.
The criteria for getting aid is that you actually need it.
And the way to respond to that is to, as we've done in the past, transport all that aid to where people are, right.
So I hope that explains a little bit what what the situation is and why it is so desperate and tragic and frustrating and wildly on humanitarian what they're doing here in terms of displacement.
As you know, people have been herded around the Gaza Strip by the fighting itself, by displacement orders, by zones that are being militarised by the Israeli army.
And many of those zones are overlapping, right?
And they continue to to change.
At present, 81% of the Gaza stripe is we is within Israeli militarised zones or in areas that have been placed under displacement orders, 81 percent, 81%.
What we do know is that over the past two weeks, some 200,000 people have been newly displaced.
I don't think anyone in Gaza is displaced for the first time anymore.
But newly displaced, meaning displaced again.
And since March, since the end of the ceasefire, nearly 635,000 people have been newly displaced, displaced again by these evacuation orders, fighting and militarised zones.
So it is big ugly picture of movements of desperate people around Gaza.
Thank you very much, Jens Christian.
If I understood correctly yesterday, Israel is trying to make sure that all food supplies are now being delivered by this foundation.
Can you explain a little bit what is on these 600 trucks?
Are they still allowing food items to be delivered and distributed by UN?
Can you talk a little bit about what is on board those 600 and what are the projections?
Did they tell you we we let you carry these items in, but after that food items will only be carried by the that foundation?
What exactly is the state of play?
So the idea with this alternative modality is that they and only they will do general food distribution, right?
What we have been able to bring in is flour.
That's not general food distribution ready to eat stuff, right?
And there have been other sorts of of, of items on that.
But I think flour is, is is one of the the main things.
So the problem is that they are that that this modality, the intention seemed to be to undermine the UN General food distribution, which is exactly what you need in a situation of acute food insecurity on the verge of catastrophic hunger, right?
You need to to feed people immediately and you need to do it every single day.
It doesn't help feeding a family today just to let them starve again tomorrow.
You need the pipeline of aid to back it up, right?
And we have that pipeline.
We have 10s of thousands of pallets of food aid of food and other types of life saving assistance ready, paid for, cleared.
But you know, the blockade is there.
So, so we we cannot get that in.
I see Christian as a follower.
Yeah, sorry, just just just to be very clear.
So flower and no other food items.
So the rest would be medical supplies or or other stuff.
Or are there food packages of some nature that the Israelis are allowing the UN to take into Gaza?
My understanding and what I can see from the manifest that I have available to me is that it's not food, food packages.
It's not ready to eat stuff.
There are some nutrition supplies, but that is for, you know, people, particularly children who are severely malnourished, who need specialised kind of food for, for, for their survival.
OK, first of all, apologies for not being with you, but I had a question for you.
And you had this very striking sentence saying that Gaza today is the hungriest place on earth.
So I I just wondered, how do you, why do you say that?
I mean, there is, you know, we also have Sudan where the situation is catastrophic.
So I was just wondering on exactly on what you base that assertion.
I based it on the assertion that it's the only defined area, a country or defined territory within a country where you have the entire population at risk of famine, 100% of the population at risk of famine.
Any other question, I don't see any other hand up.
So thank you very much to my colleagues for having joined me on the on the podium.
Just wanted to remind you that William Spindler is also on the line for UNHCR.
Don't know if there is any question for him before we close this this briefing.
No hands up for UNHCR, OK.
I wish you a very good weekend and we'll see each other, I hope on Tuesday morning at 9:30 for the ride and then at 10:30 for the briefing.
Thanks to my colleague and have a nice weekend.
