Latest news with #UNOfficefortheCoordinationofHumanitarianAffairs
Yahoo
17 hours ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Gaza is ‘hungriest place on Earth' with all its people at risk of famine, says UN
Gaza is 'the hungriest place on Earth', according to the UN, which has warned that the Palestinian territory's entire population is at risk of famine. Jens Laerke, a spokesperson for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, said the territory was 'the only defined area – a country or defined territory within a country – where you have the entire population at risk of famine. One hundred per cent of the population at risk of famine,' he said on Friday. 'Gaza is the hungriest place on Earth.' Laerke detailed the difficulties faced by the UN in delivering humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip. Nine hundred trucks of humanitarian aid had been authorised by Israel to enter the strip since the blockade was partially lifted, but so far only 600 had been off-loaded on the Gaza side of the border, and a smaller number of shipments had then been picked up for distribution within the territory because of security considerations, he said. Laerke said the mission to deliver aid was 'in an operational straitjacket that makes it one of the most obstructed aid operations not only in the world today, but in recent history'. Once truckloads entered Gaza, they were often 'swarmed by desperate people', he said. Daniel Meron, Israel's UN ambassador, rejected the claim, saying UN agencies 'cherrypick the facts to paint an alternative version of reality and demonise Israel'. 'In a desperate effort to remain relevant, they lambast the best efforts of Israel and its partners to facilitate delivery of humanitarian aid to the civilian population. UN feeds Hamas, we make sure aid gets to those in need,' he wrote on X. In a reflection of the increasingly dire conditions inside the territory, a UN spokesperson said late on Friday that 'armed individuals' had raided a warehouse at a field hospital in Deir al-Balah, 'looting large quantities of medical equipment, supplies, medicines, nutritional supplements that was intended for malnourished children'. Hamas said on Friday it was 'thoroughly reviewing' Israel's response to a US proposal for a Gaza ceasefire deal, although one of the militant group's officials said the plan did not meet any of the Palestinians' 'just and legitimate demands'. Related: One afternoon in Gaza, two family tragedies: the childhoods cut short by Israeli airstrikes Hamas has described the latest proposal as more biased in favour of Israel than previous versions. It said it was consulting other 'Palestinian factions', a term referring to other groups operating under Hamas's rule in Gaza, such as Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Late on Thursday, Benjamin Netanyahu told the families of hostages held in Gaza that Israel had accepted the draft deal presented by Steve Witkoff, Donald Trump's Middle East envoy. Deep differences between Hamas and Israel have stymied previous attempts to restore a ceasefire that broke down in March after only two months when Israel renewed its offensive. Israel has insisted that Hamas disarm completely and be dismantled as a military and governing force, and that all 58 hostages still held in Gaza be returned before it will agree to end the war. The Israeli government fears a lasting ceasefire and withdrawal would leave Hamas with significant influence in Gaza, even if it surrenders formal power. The Israelis are concerned that with time Hamas may be able to rebuild its military might and eventually launch more 7 October-style attacks. On the other hand, Hamas fears Israel could break the ceasefire again and resume the war, which the Israeli government would be permitted to do after 60 days under the deal. The militant group has rejected the demand to give up its weapons and says Israel must pull its troops out of Gaza and commit to ending the war. Netanyahu also faces political constraints: his far-right coalition partners have threatened to bring down his government if he ends the war too soon. That would leave the prime minister more vulnerable to prosecution on longstanding corruption charges and to investigations into the failures surrounding the Hamas attack in 2023. The far-right security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, said on Friday it was time to use 'full force' in Gaza. 'Mr Prime Minister, after Hamas rejected the deal proposal again – there are no more excuses,' Ben-Gvir said on his Telegram channel. 'The confusion, the shuffling and the weakness must end. We have already missed too many opportunities. It is time to go in with full force, without blinking, to destroy, and kill Hamas to the last one.' The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a private logistics group backed by the US and endorsed by Israel, expanded its food distribution to a third site on Thursday. Heavily criticised by the UN and other aid groups as inadequate and flawed, the group's operation began this week in Gaza after Israel's 11-week blockade on aid entering the territory. Laerke said that by having people collect aid rather than delivering it to them where they are, they become a target for looters once they leave the site. 'It is so desperate and tragic and frustrating, and wildly unhumanitarian,' he said. The launch was marred by tumultuous scenes on Tuesday when Israeli troops opened fire on a large crowd, killing at least one civilian and injuring dozens. The chaotic start to the operation has raised international pressure on Israel to get more food in and halt the fighting in Gaza. GHF says it has so far supplied about 1.8m meals, and plans to open more sites in the coming weeks. Netanyahu has faced growing criticism from key international allies in recent days. The French president, Emmanuel Macron, said on Friday that abandoning war-torn Gaza to its fate and giving Israel a 'free pass' would kill the west's credibility with the rest of the world. 'If we abandon Gaza, if we consider there is a free pass for Israel, even if we do condemn the terrorist attacks, we will kill our credibility,' Macron told a top defence forum in Singapore, adding: 'And this is why we do reject double standard.' Israel responded by accusing the French president of undertaking a 'crusade against the Jewish state'. 'There is no humanitarian blockade. That is a blatant lie,' Israel's foreign ministry said in a statement, defending its efforts to allow in aid. 'But instead of applying pressure on the jihadist terrorists, Macron wants to reward them with a Palestinian state. No doubt its national day will be October 7.' Macron said recognition of a Palestinian state with conditions was 'not only a moral duty, but a political necessity'. A 'hardened stance' would mean dropping an assumption that human rights were being respected, and applying sanctions, he said. Israeli jets continued to pound Gaza on Friday, killing at least 14 people in Jabaliya refugee camp, according to medics who received the bodies at al-Shifa hospital in northern Gaza. The previous day, Israeli strikes killed 45 people, including 23 in the Bureij camp in central Gaza Strip, Palestinian medical workers said. Israel launched its campaign in Gaza in response to the devastating Hamas attack in southern Israel on 7 October 2023, in which 1,200 people were killed and 251 hostages taken into Gaza, according to Israeli tallies. The campaign has killed more than 54,000 Palestinians, Gaza health officials say, and left the territory in ruins.
RTÉ News
2 days ago
- General
- RTÉ News
At least 27 reported killed near Gaza aid distribution point
Jens Laerke, Deputy spokesperson of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, discusses the reports from health authorities in Gaza that at least 27 people have been killed and dozens injured after they were fired at by the Israeli military near to a food distribution centre.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
UN humanitarian office says Gaza is 'hungriest place on earth'
The UN delivered nearly 600 truckloads of aid into the Gaza Strip via the southern Kerem Shalom crossing, but distribution remains severely limited, said Jens Laerke, spokesman for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. The routes designated by the Israeli military were in part too dangerous and overcrowded, and travel permits were sometimes cancelled at short notice, Laerke said in Geneva on Friday. "The occupying power is deliberately blocking aid from entering Gaza. This is drip-feeding food into an area of catastrophic hunger," he said in sharp criticism of Israeli policy. He described the region as "the hungriest place on earth." The trucks are carrying flour and special food for malnourished children. Desperate people had thrown themselves onto the loads in those cases where the aid could be distributed, Laerke said. "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 the recent history of global humanitarian response anywhere," the UN spokesman noted. Israel prevented aid from reaching the Gaza Strip after it resumed military operations on March 18 following a temporary ceasefire. The stated aim was to pressure Hamas to release the remaining hostages seized on October 7, 2023. Blockade was eased some 10 days ago Laerke said the UN had tens of thousands of pallets of food and other necessities ready, but was unable to distribute them. According to the UN, Israel is backing the work of the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which is distributing aid at a few locations under armed guard. Recipients are forced to trek for kilometres to access the aid, and this is dangerous, Laerke said, calling for the aid to be delivered directly to those in need. Israel charges that Hamas has been stealing the UN aid and selling it. Laerke cast doubt on this. "We have seen no major diversion of aid on our watch," he said. This should in any case not lead to 2 million people going without necessary supplies, he added. According to Laerke, 81% of the Gaza Strip has been declared a military or evacuation zone, with 635,000 people displaced since the end of the temporary ceasefire.
Straits Times
6 days ago
- Health
- Straits Times
Israel aid blockage making Gaza ‘hungriest region on earth', UN office says
Supplies waiting to be loaded on trucks to go into the Gaza Strip, at the Kerem Shalom crossing between Israel and Gaza, on May 29. PHOTO: REUTERS - Israel is blocking all but a trickle of humanitarian aid from entering Gaza, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said, with almost no ready-to-eat food entering what its spokesman described as 'the hungriest place on earth'. Spokesman Jens Laerke said only 600 of 900 aid trucks had been authorised to get to Israel's border with Gaza, and from there, a mixture of bureaucratic and security obstacles made it all but impossible to safely carry aid into the region. 'What we have been able to bring in is flour,' he told a regular news conference on May 30. 'That's not ready to eat, right? It needs to be cooked... 100 per cent of the population of Gaza is at risk of famine.' Mr Tommaso della Longa, a spokesman for the International Committee of the Red Cross and Red Crescent, added that half of its medical facilities in the region were out of action for lack of fuel or medical equipment. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Hans India
28-05-2025
- Health
- Hans India
Sudan humanitarian crisis deepens as fighting continues: UN
The humanitarian crisis in Sudan is deepening as fighting, displacement and health emergencies fuel needs, the world body warned. In North Darfur state, artillery shelling continues to affect residential areas of El Fasher city and the Abu Shouk camp for internally displaced people. Daily civilian casualties are reported, and recent days have seen an intensification of night bombardments, said the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) on Tuesday. Humanitarian partners on the ground report that access to education remains severely constrained in North Darfur. Since the conflict began in April 2023, a quarter of a million children have lost access to learning, said OCHA. In South Kordofan state, the International Organisation for Migration reported last week that about 2,800 people, primarily women and children, fled renewed fighting in the town of Dibebad. The situation in the state capital of Kadugli has also seriously deteriorated in recent weeks, with intense shelling and humanitarian access largely cut off, said the office. In Northern state, authorities report that about 6,000 people who fled from North Darfur, Khartoum and West Kordofan states due to insecurity arrived in Ad Dabbah locality between May 12 and 22, it said. Meanwhile, the cholera outbreak in Khartoum state is worsening at an alarming rate. Humanitarian partners in the state report an 80 per cent increase in suspected cases over the past two weeks, bringing the total to more than 8,500, it said. In Blue Nile state, some 8,500 Sudanese refugees have returned from South Sudan since late April. A recent inter-agency assessment by the United Nations and its partners found high rates of acute respiratory infections, malaria and skin conditions among these returnees. The lack of mosquito nets, proper shelter, and water, sanitation and hygiene facilities is significantly increasing the risk of disease outbreaks, said OCHA, Xinhua news agency reported. The office calls for increased, flexible and timely funding to scale up the humanitarian response as well as unimpeded access via all necessary routes so that aid workers can reach people in need, it said.
