Media Home
UN Web TV
UN Audiovisual Library
UN PhotoUnifeed
UNICEF / GAZA RUSSELL VISIT
STORY: UNICEF / GAZA RUSSELL VISIT
TRT: 3:21
SOURCE: UNICEF
RESTRICTIONS: PLEASE CREDIT UNICEF ON SCREEN
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 14 NOVEMBER 2023, KHANYOUNIS, GAZA STRIP
1.Wide shot, UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell gets out of a car and greets UNICEF local staff and medical staff who are waiting for her and walks towards Nasser hospital in Khan Younis.
2. Med shot, UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell and UNICEF Deputy Executive Director Humanitarian Action and Supply Operation Ted Chaiban and other members of the UNICEF team enter the offices at the Nasser hospital in Khan Younis.
3. Wide shot, meeting between the ED, UNICEF Staff, and medical staff at the Nasser hospital in Khan Younis.
4. Close up, meeting between the ED, UNICEF Staff, and medical staff at the Nasser hospital in Khan Younis.
5. Various shots, meeting between the ED, UNICEF Staff, and medical staff at the Nasser hospital in Khan Younis.
6. Wide shot, UNICEF group is accompanied by the medical staff to the hospital wards at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis.
7. Wide shot, UNICEF group is accompanied by the medical staff to the hospital wards at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis.
8. Med shot, UNICEF group is accompanied by the medical staff to the hospital wards at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis.
9. Wide shot, UNICEF delegation enters the Nasser hospital in Khan Younis. and walk through the reception area
10. Wide shot, UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell visits wards of the Nasser hospital in Khan Younis and speaks with a patient.
11. Med shot, UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell visits wards of the Nasser hospital in Khan Younis and speaks with a patient.
12. Med shot, UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell visits wards of the Nasser hospital in Khan Younis and speaks with a patient.
13. Med shot, UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell visit a neo-natal ward and sees babies in incubators at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis.
14. Med shot, UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell visit a neo-natal ward and sees babies in incubators at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis.
15. Med shot, UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell visit a neo-natal ward and sees babies in incubators at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis.
16. Med shot, UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell visit a neo-natal ward and sees babies in incubators at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis.
17. SOUNDBITE (English) Catherine Russell, UNICEF Executive Director:
“I came to Gaza because I wanted to see for myself what was happening here, what the impact is of this war and of this conflict on children and women. And I’m getting to see some of that in this hospital. I see all these people who are staying here, people who have been injured. People who really need help, and I think that the doctors here are doing amazing work, but there’s a lot to be done.”
18. Med shot, UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell visit a neo-natal ward and sees babies in incubators at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis.
19. Med shot, UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell visit a neo-natal ward and sees babies in incubators at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis.
20. SOUNDBITE (English) Catherine Russell, UNICEF Executive Director:
“I’m in a hospital in Gaza and what I’m seeing are babies, tiny, tiny babies who are dependent on incubators. Those incubators need fuel, they need electricity in order to operate. They’re keeping these babies alive, and they need to keep that up.”
21. Med shot, UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell visit a neo-natal ward and sees babies in incubators at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis.
22. Med shot, UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell visit a neo-natal ward and sees babies in incubators at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis.
“I visited the Gaza Strip to meet with children, their families and UNICEF staff. What I saw and heard was devastating. They have endured repeated bombardment, loss and displacement. Inside the Strip, there is nowhere safe for Gaza’s one million children to turn,” the Executive Director of UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Catherine Russell said.
Russell and UNICEF Deputy Executive Director Humanitarian Action and Supply Operation Ted Chaiban visited southern Gaza Strip on Tuesday (14 Nov).
In her statement, Russell said, “The parties to the conflict are committing grave violations against children; these include killing, maiming, abductions, attacks on schools and hospitals, and the denial of humanitarian access – all of which UNICEF condemns.
“In Gaza, more than 4,600 children have reportedly been killed, with nearly 9,000 reportedly injured.
“Many children are missing and believed buried under the rubble of collapsed buildings and homes, the tragic result of the use of explosive weapons in populated areas. Meanwhile, newborn babies who require specialized care have died in one of Gaza’s hospitals as power and medical supplies run out, and violence continues with indiscriminate effect.
“At the Al Naser hospital in Khan Yunis, I met with patients and displaced families seeking shelter and safety. A 16-year-old girl told me from her hospital bed that her neighborhood had been bombed. She survived but doctors say she will never be able to walk again.
“In the hospital’s neonatal ward, tiny babies were clinging to life in incubators, as doctors worried how they could keep the machines running without fuel.
“During my time in Gaza, I also met with UNICEF staff who are continuing to deliver for children amidst the danger and devastation. They shared their own heartbreaking stories with me of the impact of the war on their children, of family members killed, and of how they have been displaced many times over.
“Many people, including our staff and their families, are now living in overcrowded shelters with very little water, food or decent sanitation – conditions which could lead to disease outbreaks.
“The risk to humanitarian actors inside Gaza cannot be overstated. More than 100 UNRWA staff have been killed since October.
“UNICEF and our partners are doing everything we can, including bringing in desperately needed humanitarian supplies. But diesel fuel has practically run out, causing some hospitals and health centers to stop functioning. Without fuel, desalination plants cannot produce drinking water and humanitarian supplies cannot be distributed.
“The intermittent opening of Gaza’s border crossings to shipments of humanitarian supplies is insufficient to meet the skyrocketing needs. And with winter around the corner, the need for fuel could become even more acute. When I left Gaza today, the rain was pounding down, adding to the misery.
“I am here to do whatever I can to advocate for the protection of children. I once again call on all parties to ensure that children are protected and assisted, as per international humanitarian law. Only the parties to the conflict can truly stop this horror.
“I also call on the parties to implement an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, to safely release all abducted and detained children, and to ensure that humanitarian actors have safe, sustained and unimpeded access to reach those in need with the full range of lifesaving services and supplies.”
Download
There is no media available to download.
