Source: United Nations (Video News)
Noon briefing by Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.
– GAZA/Hospital
– Occupied Palestinian Territory
– Lebanon
– Lebanon/Humanitarian
– Yemen
– Nansen Award
Good afternoon. Let me start off with a couple of updates. First, I will start off with Gaza and then with Lebanon.
We are aware of the disturbing reports about an Israeli attack on the grounds of a hospital complex in central Gaza.
The Secretary-General condemns the large number of civilian casualties in the intensifying Israeli campaign in northern Gaza, including at schools sheltering displacing Palestinians civilians.
He strongly urges all parties to the conflict to comply with international humanitarian law and emphasizes that civilians must be respected and protected at all times.
Humanitarian assistance into Gaza is woefully inadequate and is at the lowest level in months. The Secretary-General underscores that the parties must ensure the safe and secure delivery of humanitarian assistance to those in need, at the level of which they need it. There must be a safe environment as well, for the second phase of the polio vaccination campaign in Gaza which is to be completed – and more details on polio in a moment.
Today, a team from the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs – alongside colleagues from the World Health Organization, the UN Mine Action Service, and the UN Human Rights Office – visited the Al Aqsa hospital in Gaza to assess people’s needs following last night’s attack. And Al Aqsa hospital was also meant to be used as one of the polio vaccination sites.
Out of the hundreds of displaced families sheltering in the courtyard, some 40 families were affected, half of whom lost their shelter and other belongings in the fire.
Aid organizations are mobilizing the humanitarian response. Among the assistance most urgently needed are tents and tarpaulins, bedding, hygiene kits, clothing, children’s supplies, kitchen kits, as well as food. The assessment noted that patients at Al Aqsa hospital were referred to nearby medical facilities due to an influx of trauma injuries following the strike on UNRWA’s school in Nuseirat.
Despite all of this, the second round of the polio vaccination campaign began in the middle area of the Gaza Strip. Over the coming 12 days, colleagues at UNRWA, the World Health Organization, UNICEF and other aim to vaccinate around 590,000 children under ten years of age with a second dose of the novel oral polio vaccination type 2.
This follows a first round – as you will recall – which was successfully implemented from 1-12 September, which reached more than 559,000 children, or an estimated 95 per cent of eligible children at governorate level, that’s according to independently conducted post-campaign monitoring.
As with the first round, the second round will have three phases, each involving three campaign days and one catch-up day.
The polio vaccination campaign began, as I mentioned. UNRWA renews its urgent request to all parties to the conflict to implement the necessary humanitarian pauses in Gaza for the second round of vaccination to be successful.
Meanwhile, the World Food Programme (WFP) today warned that escalating violence in northern Gaza is having a disastrous impact on food security for thousands of Palestinian families. WFP says that the main crossings into the north have been closed and no food entering since 1 October.
Food distribution points, as well as kitchens and bakeries in North Gaza, have been forced to shut down due to airstrikes, military ground operations and evacuation orders.
The last of WFP’s food supplies in the north – that includes canned food, wheat flour, high-energy biscuits, and nutrition supplements — have been distributed to shelters, health facilities and kitchens in Gaza City and three shelters in North Gaza.
If the conflict continues to escalate at the current scale, it is unclear how long these limited food supplies will last, and the consequences for fleeing families will obviously be dire.
Turning north to the situation in Lebanon, I can tell you that the Secretary-General is in very frequent contact with Force Commander of UNIFIL, the UN peacekeeping mission and that’s Lt. General Aroldo Lázaro.
The Secretary-General is extremely appreciative of the courage and dedication of the more than 10,000 uniformed peacekeepers and civilian staff serving in the mission.
Our UNIFIL colleagues continue to monitor the situation. On Sunday, the mission detected 1,557 instances of firing across the Blue Line – that’s the highest number in one day since 8 October 2023 – 1,441 of these originated from south of the Blue Line, primarily striking areas in Sector East of the UNIFIL area of operations.
Full Highlights:
https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/noon-briefing-highlight?date%5Bvalue%5D%5Bdate%5D=14%20October%202024