Latest news with #Dujarric
Scoop
7 days ago
- Health
- Scoop
Haiti: Violence And Displacement Driving Humanitarian Crisis As Funding Needs Go Unmet
23 July 2025 Nearly 1.3 million people in the Caribbean country have fled their homes, with an additional 15,000 uprooted last week after armed attacks in the communes of Dessalines and Verrettes in the Artibonite department. Furthermore, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) and its partners have screened more than 217,000 children for acute malnutrition in 2025. Some 21,500 boys and girls have been admitted for acute malnutrition treatment, representing a mere 17 per cent of the 129,000 children who are projected to need lifesaving services this year. This malnutrition stems from severe food insecurity across the country. The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) reported that an estimated 5.7 million people – more than half of Haiti's population – faced high levels of acute food insecurity between March and June this year. Education emergency Haiti's children also face an education emergency. More than 1,600 schools remain closed in Haiti, an increase of over two thirds compared to the start of the year. 'Without access to education, children, of course, are more vulnerable to exploitation and recruitment by gangs,' UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric told journalists at Headquarters in New York In response, UNICEF has provided learning opportunities to more than 16,000 children, and the agency has given over 100,000 children mental health and psychosocial support. Insecurity and lack of funds straining access Despite dire humanitarian needs and commendable efforts by UN agencies, the current support 'is just a fraction of what is needed in Haiti', Mr. Dujarric emphasised. Insecurity continues to constrain the humanitarian response, causing access challenges, supply shortages and the closure of health facilities. Subsequently, the many displaced families in urgent need of hygiene supplies, food, emergency shelter, medical assistance and other essential items are often unable to access them. Humanitarian response is also hampered by a severe lack of funds. 'Haiti remains, as I have said here many times, the least funded of our underfunded country appeals globally,' Mr. Dujarric stressed. More than halfway through the year, the Haitian humanitarian response plan has received less than 9 per cent of the $908 million required.
Gulf Today
23-07-2025
- Politics
- Gulf Today
Israel sends tanks into Gaza's Deir Al Balah, families of hostages concerned
Israeli tanks pushed into southern and eastern districts of the Gazan city of Deir al-Balah for the first time on Monday, an area where Israeli sources said the military believes hostages may be held. The area is packed with Palestinians displaced during more than 21 months of war in Gaza, hundreds of whom fled west or south after Israel issued an evacuation order, saying it sought to destroy infrastructure and capabilities of the Hamas. Tank shelling in the area hit houses and mosques, killing at least three Palestinians and wounding several others, local medics said. "UN staff remain in Deir al-Balah, and two UN guesthouses have been struck, despite parties having been informed of the locations of UN premises, which are inviolable. These locations - as with all civilian sites - must be protected, regardless of evacuation orders," UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said. To the south in Khan Younis, an Israeli airstrike killed at least five people, including a husband and wife and their two children in a tent, medics said. In its daily update, Gaza's Health Ministry said at least 130 Palestinians had been killed and more than 1,000 wounded by Israeli gunfire and military strikes across the territory in the past 24 hours, one of the highest such totals in recent weeks. There was no immediate Israeli comment on the Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis incidents. Israeli sources have said the reason the army had stayed out of the Deir al-Balah districts was because they suspected Hamas might be holding hostages there. At least 20 of the remaining 50 hostages in captivity in Gaza are believed to be still alive. Families of the hostages have expressed concern for their relatives and demanded an explanation from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defence Minister Israel Katz, and the army chief on how they will protect them. "The people of Israel will not forgive anyone who knowingly endangered the hostages - both the living and the deceased. No one will be able to claim they didn't know what was at stake," the Hostage Families Forum Headquarters said in a statement. Gaza health officials have warned of potential "mass deaths" in coming days from hunger, which has killed at least 19 people since Saturday, the Hamas-run territory's Health Ministry said. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was appalled by an accelerating breakdown of humanitarian conditions in Gaza "where the last lifelines keeping people alive are collapsing," Dujarric said. "He deplores the growing reports of children and adults suffering from malnutrition," said Dujarric. "Israel has the obligation to allow and facilitate by all the means at its disposal the humanitarian relief provided by the United Nations and by other humanitarian organizations." Health officials say hospitals have been running out of fuel, food aid, and medicine, risking a halt to vital operations. Health Ministry spokesperson Khalil Al-Deqran said medical staff have been depending on one meal a day and that hundreds of people flock to hospitals every day, suffering from fatigue and exhaustion. Reuters
Barnama
22-07-2025
- Health
- Barnama
UN: Over 87 Per Cent of Gaza Strip Under Israeli Military Orders, Militarised Zones
HAMILTON (Canada), July 22 (Bernama-Anadolu) -- The United Nations (UN) said on Monday that 87.7 per cent of the Gaza Strip lies within Israeli militarised zones, under displacement orders, or in areas where the two overlap, Anadolu Ajansi (AA) reported. Citing the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told a news conference that '87.7 per cent of Gaza is now under displacement orders or within displacement zones, squeezing about 2.1 million people into a fragmented area of the Strip where hardly any services are available.' Emphasising that more than 1.3 million people in Gaza are in need of shelter and household items, Dujarric said: 'Harsh weather, humidity, overcrowding and frequent disassembly and reassembly of tents and tarpaulins lead to a shorter lifespan for shelter items.' bootstrap slideshow He highlighted the 'dire' situation in the enclave, where no shelter supplies have entered for more than four months. 'The fuel crisis continues.' 'The limited quantities that have been allowed to enter Gaza in recent days are hardly sufficient,' he said, adding that the UN is prioritising the use of available fuel for 'the most critical operations.' Dujarric also emphasised the 'deeply concerning reports of severely malnourished people who are arriving at medical points and hospitals in extremely poor health' amid ongoing Israeli attacks. 'Yesterday, the Ministry of Health reported that more than a dozen people, including children, have reportedly died from hunger in the last 24 hours,' he said, describing the situation on the ground as 'nearly impossible.' According to the Gaza Health Ministry, 86 people – including 76 children – have died from hunger and dehydration since October 2023. Gaza's government media office warned the enclave is 'on the brink of mass death' after over 140 days of a near-total closure of all crossings. Since October 2023, the Israeli army has killed nearly 59,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children, in Gaza. The relentless bombing has destroyed the enclave, nearly collapsed its health system, and created famine-like conditions.
Scoop
22-07-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
Gaza: Guterres Condemns Killing Of People Seeking Food As Humanitarian Conditions Deteriorate
21 July 2025 Stéphane Dujarric was speaking to reporters at UN Headquarters in New York a day after dozens of Palestinians were killed seeking food aid. He said the Secretary-General deplored the growing reports of both children and adults suffering from malnutrition and strongly condemned the ongoing violence, including the shooting, killing and injuring of people attempting to get food. Not a target 'Civilians must be protected and respected, and they must never be targeted,' said Mr. Dujarric, noting that the population in Gaza remains gravely undersupplied with the basic necessities of life. He stressed that 'Israel has the obligation to allow and facilitate by all the means at its disposal the humanitarian relief provided by the United Nations and other humanitarian organizations.' Mr. Dujarric said the Secretary-General noted that the recent intensification of hostilities comes as the humanitarian system in Gaza is being impeded, undermined and endangered. New evacuation orders He pointed to a new evacuation order issued for parts of Deir Al-Balah, which is pushing people into more desperate conditions and sparking further displacement, while restricting the UN's ability to deliver aid. He reported that two UN guesthouses in Deir Al-Balah were struck, despite the parties being informed about their locations. 'They suffered damage,' he said, responding a reporter's question. 'The UN staff inside was, to say the least, rattled.' Mr. Dujarric underscored that the UN intends to remain in Deir Al-Balah. Ceasefire now The Secretary-General reiterated his urgent call for the protection of civilians, including humanitarian personnel, and for the provision of essential resources to ensure their survival. He once again called for the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages. Mr. Dujarric said the UN stands ready to significantly scale up its humanitarian operations in Gaza, adding 'the time for a ceasefire is now.' People dying from malnutrition Amid the ongoing shelling, displacement and destruction in Gaza, humanitarians continue to receive reports of severely malnourished people arriving at medical points and hospitals in extremely poor health. More than a dozen people, including children, have reportedly died from hunger in the last 24 hours, according to the Gaza health agencies. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) recalled that roughly 88 per cent of Gaza is now under displacement orders or within displacement zones. Shelter and fuel Gaza's population is some 2.1 million and about 1.35 million need shelter and household items. However, no shelter supplies have been allowed to enter for more than four months. The dire fuel crisis also continues, with humanitarians continuing to warn that the limited quantities that have been allowed to enter in recent days are hardly sufficient. Traditional aid systems critical: UN official Meanwhile the new UN Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Ramiz Alakbarov, has met with the Prime Minister of the State of Palestine, Mohammad Mustafa, in Ramallah. At a press conference, Dr. Alakbarov called for an immediate and permanent ceasefire, the unconditional release of the hostages, and the lifting of all restrictions on access to people in Gaza. He said to address immediate needs, humanitarian organizations must be able to use the traditional systems of aid delivery. He noted that these systems are currently undermined by violence, including armed looting and recurrent shootings at civilians seeking aid. which he said must be independently investigated.
Scoop
22-07-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
Syria: Ongoing Violence Fuelling Mass Displacement In Sweida
21 July 2025 More than 93,000 Syrians have been displaced across Sweida, neighbouring Dar'a governorate and Rural Damascus due to escalating violence in the city, UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said at Monday's daily press briefing in New York. Most displaced people in Sweida are staying with local communities or in one of 15 reception centres, while around 30 collective shelters have opened in Dar'a. Infrastructure and services are suffering in the area. Some hospitals and health centres in Sweida are out of service, water infrastructure has been critically damaged, significant cuts to electricity have been reported, and access to food is disrupted. Initial aid delivery On Sunday, the first aid convoy deployed by the Syrian Arab Red Crescent reached Sweida and the Salkhad district within the city, where most displaced people are seeking safety. The convoy of 32 trucks carried food, water, medical supplies and fuel provided by the World Food Programme (WFP), the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) and other partners. UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher welcomed this initial delivery on social media, saying it was a 'desperately needed first step, but much more relief is needed.' Mr. Dujarric stressed that as the UN engages with relevant parties to facilitate humanitarian access and ensure the protection of civilians, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is working with authorities to facilitate a direct visit to Sweida to deliver assistance when security conditions allow. Mr. Fletcher echoed this sentiment, saying OCHA teams 'are mobilised to move as much as we can.' 'We continue to urge all parties to protect people who have been caught up in the violence, including by allowing them to move freely to seek safety and medical assistance,' concluded Mr. Dujarric.
