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UN / GAZA ELIASSON GING
STORY: UN / GAZA ELIASSON GING
TRT: 3.12
SOURCE: UNTV
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 30 JULY 2014, NEW YORK CITY / FILE
FILE – RECENT, NEW YORK CITY
1. Wide shot, exterior United Nations headquarters
30 JULY 2014, NEW YORK CITY
2. Wide shot, dais
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Jan Eliasson, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations:
“For me this is a moment where you really have to say enough is enough and where you have to search for the right words to convince those who have the power to stop this.”
4. Wide shot, journalists
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Jan Eliasson, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations:
“We have received with shock and dismay the news of the bombing this morning of a UN designated shelter in a school, killing at least 16 civilians including several children and injuring more than 100 people. They were there under UN protection, under our protection. And after warnings from the Israeli Defence Forces who had numerous times been informed about the presence of over three-thousand civilians at this location.”
6. Med shot, journalists
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Jan Eliasson, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations:
“Also, yesterday was another dimension added to the humanitarian plight, namely the destruction of the sole power plant in Gaza. And this means that we will have immediate middle term, mid term and even long term effects on issues that are related to the survival of the civilian population.”
8. Med shot, journalists
9. SOUNDBITE (English) John Ging, Director of the Operational Division at the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA):
“You have over 240,000 people in these temporary locations, we call them internally displaced. 240,000 people in the UNRWA schools, and they are seeking protection there as the DSG has highlighted. But these locations are not safe. Nowhere is safe.”
10. Med shot, journalists
11. SOUNDBITE (English) John Ging, Director of the Operational Division at the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA):
“No school that has been sheltering people or has been under the UN’s control have there been weapons found in while under the UN’s control. So again, there is no excuse to say that there are weapons in these schools when they are being used as shelters or are under the UN’s control.”
12. Med shot, journalists
13. SOUNDBITE (English) Jan Eliasson, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations:
“You look at the proportions between casualties on the Israeli side and the Palestinian side and look at the proportion between military and civilian, you will come to the conclusion that the scale of the response is of such a violence nature that questions of accountability come up.”
14. Med shot, journalists
15. Zoom out, dais
As another United Nations school serving as a shelter for Palestinians in Gaza was hit by shells today (30 July), killing children, senior UN officials strongly condemned the attacks and warned against the targeting of civilians.
Speaking to reporters in New York, Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson said “this is a moment where you really have to say enough is enough.”
Eliasson expressed “shock and dismay” at the news of the bombing of the UN designated shelter in a school. He informed that at least 16 civilians including several children had been killed and more than 100 people had been injured.
The UN official said the civilians were under UN protection and the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) “had numerous times been informed about the presence of over three-thousand civilians at this location.”
Eliasson also said that Tuesday attack on Gaza’s sole power plant adds “another dimension” to the humanitarian plight, and “this means that we will have immediate middle term, mid term and even long term effects on issues that are related to the survival of the civilian population.”
Speaking at the same press conference, the Director of the Operational Division at the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), John Ging, said the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) is sheltering over 240,000 people in UNRWA schools, but said “these locations are not safe. Nowhere is safe.”
Ging noted that weapons found previously in UNRWA schools had been in abandoned locations, not under UN control.
He said “no school that has been sheltering people or has been under the UN’s control have there been weapons found in while under the UN’s control. So again, there is no excuse to say that there are weapons in these schools when they are being used as shelters or are under the UN’s control.”
Eliasson said “you look at the proportions between casualties on the Israeli side and the Palestinian side and look at the proportion between military and civilian, you will come to the conclusion that the scale of the response is of such a violence nature that questions of accountability come up.”
According to an initial assessment, in this latest incident, Israeli artillery on at least three occasions hit the UNRWA school where 3,300 people were seeking refuge. While the agency says it is too early to provide a death toll, there are multiple civilian deaths and injuries, including to women and children, and to UNRWA guards trying to protect the site.
On Tuesday, a compound housing the Office of the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process (UNSCO) and the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) was hit five times over a period of one hour, according to UN sources.
A preliminary investigation shows that there were also two projectiles that hit the ground just outside the compound. One of which is believed to have hit the power plant. Pending a more formal investigation to ascertain the responsibilities for the shelling of its compound, UNSCO reminded the relevant parties to the conflict of their responsibility to protect UN operations.
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