Gaza, Occupied Palestinian Territory & other topics - Daily Press Briefing | United Nations скачать в хорошем качестве

Gaza, Occupied Palestinian Territory & other topics - Daily Press Briefing | United Nations

Noon briefing by Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesperson for the Secretary-General. ــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــ SECRETARY-GENERAL/GAZA In a statement was issued today, the Secretary-General said that he was deeply saddened and shocked to learn of the death of a United Nations Office for Project Services staff member, when two UN guesthouses in Deir al Balah were hit in strikes. Five other UN personnel were seriously injured. The locations of all UN premises are known to the parties to the conflict, who are bound by international law to protect them and maintain their absolute inviolability. The Secretary-General strongly condemns all attacks on UN personnel and calls for a full investigation. He underscores that all conflicts must be conducted in a way that ensures civilians are respected and protected. The Secretary-General sends his deepest condolences to the family of the staff member killed. Today’s deadly strike brings the number of UN colleagues killed in Gaza since 7 October 2023 to at least 280. The incident follows reports from yesterday, which saw the deaths of hundreds, including many children, marking one of the deadliest days in Gaza since late 2023. The Secretary-General stresses the need for the ceasefire to be respected to bring an end to the suffering of the people. Humanitarian aid must reach all people in need. The hostages must be released immediately and unconditionally. He also recalls that international law must be complied with at all times. OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that Israeli bombardments continue in the Gaza Strip, resulting in many more deaths – hundreds, according to the local authorities – as well as mass displacement and the destruction of civilian infrastructure.  Many of the casualties are women and children. This morning, evacuation leaflets were again dropped over Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun in North Gaza, as well as eastern Khan Younis, ordering residents to leave their homes.  The UN and its partners estimate that, due to these evacuation orders, thousands of people have already been displaced. In southern Gaza, humanitarian partners report that families have fled from east to west Khan Younis, seeking shelter with relatives or in open areas. In Rafah, many displaced people have moved toward the Mawasi area and other areas along the coast. In the north, many fleeing Beit Hanoun have sought safety in public- and UNRWA-run schools in western Gaza city, while others have found temporary shelter in Beit Lahiya and other neighbourhoods in Gaza governorate. Urgent humanitarian needs include food, potable water, clothing and blankets. Reports indicate that some people risked returning to Beit Hanoun this morning to collect personal belongings.  The closure of crossings into Gaza for humanitarian and all other supplies is now in its 18th day, severely disrupting relief operations and worsening an already catastrophic situation.  UN partners working in food security report that distributions of food have been disrupted due to the deteriorating security situation and the proximity of distribution points to evacuation zones. In addition, about 30 community kitchens providing cooked meals were forced to close yesterday. As of today, kitchens in east Khan Younis and North Gaza are still closed.  Education has also been affected, with learning activities in 163 temporary learning spaces suspended, leaving thousands of students without access to education.  And turning to the West Bank, OCHA warns that Israeli operations are expanding into new areas. This morning, Israeli forces raided Ein Beit el Ma refugee camp in Nablus, ordering five families to vacate their homes, which were turned into military zones. The families were instructed not to return for three days. Fearing an extended operation in the camp, about 45 additional families have preemptively fled.  Full Highlights: https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/noon...