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EGYPT / GUTERRES RAFAH CROSSING GAZA
STORY: EGYPT / GUTERRES RAFAH CROSSING GAZA
TRT: 04:50
SOURCE: UNIC CAIRO
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 20 OCTOBER 2023, RAFAH BORDER CROSSING / AL-ARISH AIRPORT, EGYPT
20 OCTOBER 2023, AL-ARISH AIRPORT, EGYPT
1. Wide shot, airplane taxiing
2. Zoom in, Secretary-General deplaning
3. Med shot, cameras
4. Med shot, Secretary-General being briefed
5. Wide shot, Secretary-General walking on tarmac
6. Wide shot, Secretary-General boarding cargo plane
7. Various shots, Wide shot, Secretary-General inspecting humanitarian aid cargo
8. Wide shot, Secretary-General walking on tarmac
20 OCTOBER 2023, RAFAH BORDER CROSSING
9. Pan right, trucks waiting at crossing
10. Pan right, truck drivers and humanitarian workers protesting
11. SOUNDBITE (English) António Guterres, Secretary-General, United Nations:
"On this side, we have seen so many trucks loaded with water, with fuel, with medicines, with food. Exactly the same things that are needed on this side of the wall. So, these trucks are not just trucks. They are a lifeline. They are the difference between life and death for so many people in Gaza. And to see them stuck here makes me be very clear. What we need is to make them move, to make them move to the other side of this wall, to make them move as quickly as possible and as many as possible."
12. Wide shot, journalists and protestors
13. SOUNDBITE (English) António Guterres, Secretary-General, United Nations:
“For UNRWA, to be able to distribute aid on that side, it is necessary that UNRWA has fuel and so we need to have the guarantee that we have enough fuel on the other side to distribute aid to the people in need. So, it is very clear that it is absolutely essential to solve these problems quickly and I am hopeful they will be solved quickly to make sure there is massive support, humanitarian support, to the people of Gaza. Unfortunately, this is not a normal humanitarian operation. It is an operation in a war zone and that is the reason why I have appealed for a humanitarian ceasefire, not that I consider that a humanitarian ceasefire is a precondition for humanitarian delivery. We don’t want to punish the Gaza people twice. First because of the war and second because of the lack of humanitarian aid. But it is clear that a humanitarian ceasefire will make things much easier and much safer for everybody.”
14. Close up, Guterres and Palestinian woman talking
20 OCTOBER 2023, AL-ARISH AIRPORT, EGYPT
15. Various shots, humanitarian supplies at airport
16. Wide shot, Guterres arriving
17. Pan right, from cameras to Secretary-General
18. SOUNDBITE (English) António Guterres, Secretary-General, United Nations:
“I have repeatedly said that the barbaric attack by Hamas needs to be condemned. But I've also said they cannot be a pretext for a collective punishment of the Palestinian people. It's absolutely essential to respect international humanitarian law. It's absolutely essential to protect civilians. And it's absolutely essential to make humanitarian aid come to the Palestinians in need.”
19. Wide shot, cameras
20. SOUNDBITE (English) António Guterres, Secretary-General, United Nations:
“When these announcements were made some conditions and some limitations. And it's necessary to have the conditions clarified, and that's exactly what we are doing and some of the limitations removed, and others reduced to a minimum, because this is a very complex operation, and we need to make sure that it is a success. To cut a long story short, we need to have as quickly as possible the first convoy and we need to create all the guarantees for that first convoy not to be the last.”
21. Wide shot, Guterres and delegation walking
United Nations humanitarians today (20 Oct) said an agreement to unlock aid deliveries across the Gaza border was near, as Secretary-General António Guterres delivered a call in front of the gates at the Rafah crossing to get lifesaving aid moving.
Standing just a few metres from the Egyptian side of the crossing, he pointed behind him and spoke of the two million trapped without sufficient supplies now for nearly two weeks.
He said, “on this side,” he continued, indicating the convoy carrying lifesaving supplies, “we have seen so many trucks loaded with water, with food, with medicines – exactly the same thing that is needed on this side of the wall. These are a lifeline. They are the difference between life and death for so many people in Gaza.”
Guterres said, “what we need is to make them move, to make them move to the other side of this wall, to make them move as quickly as possible and as many as possible.”
He stressed that for teams from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) to be able to distribute aid inside Gaza, “it is necessary that UNRWA has fuel and so we need to have the guarantee that we have enough fuel on the other side to distribute aid to the people in need.”
The Secretary-General said this was “an operation in a war zone and that is the reason why I have appealed for a humanitarian ceasefire,” adding, “we don’t want to punish the Gaza people twice. First because of the war and second because of the lack of humanitarian aid. But it is clear that a humanitarian ceasefire will make things much easier and much safer for everybody.”
Speaking to reporters on the tarmac at Al-Arish Airport, he said “I have repeatedly said that the barbaric attack by Hamas needs to be condemned. But I've also said they cannot be a pretext for a collective punishment of the Palestinian people. It's absolutely essential to respect international humanitarian law. It's absolutely essential to protect civilians. And it's absolutely essential to make humanitarian aid come to the Palestinians in need.”
Before departing, he said, “it's necessary to have the conditions clarified, and that's exactly what we are doing and some of the limitations removed, and others reduced to a minimum, because this is a very complex operation, and we need to make sure that it is a success. To cut a long story short, we need to have as quickly as possible the first convoy and we need to create all the guarantees for that first convoy not to be the last.”
The United Nations has been actively engaging with all the parties related to conditions set for cross-border aid deliveries in the Israel-United States announcement and the related Egypt-Israel agreement.
In an update after 13 days of hostilities, OCHA said that according to the enclave’s de facto authorities, the death toll in the Gaza Strip has reached 3,785, including at least 1,524 children, while over 12,000 have been injured.
OCHA said that hundreds of additional fatalities are believed to be trapped under the rubble, as bombardments of the territory continues.
OCHA also said that since 7 October, 1,400 people have been killed in Israel and over 4,600 injured, according to official Israeli sources. At least 203 people are held captive in Gaza, including Israelis and foreign nationals, as per Israeli estimations.
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