UN / GAZA UPDATE

A UN spokesperson said that due to the communication shutdown and lack of fuel, there will not be any cross-border aid operation at the Rafah Crossing today “as it will be impossible to manage or coordinate humanitarian aid convoys.” UNIFEED

• Categories: News & Features / News Stories / Unifeed
• Video Length: 00:01:31
• Production Date: 17 November 2023
• Asset Language: English
• Personal Subject: STEPHANE DUJARRIC
• Corporate Name: UNITED NATIONS RELIEF AND WORKS AGENCY FOR PALESTINE REFUGEES IN THE NEAR EAST - UNRWA
• Subject Topical: CIVILIANS; FUEL; HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE; HUMANITARIAN EMERGENCIES; PEACE AND SECURITY; PEACEKEEPING OPERATIONS
• Geographic Subject: GAZA
• MAMS Id: 3144954
• Parent Id: 3144954
• Alternate Title: unifeed231117h

Description

STORY: UN / GAZA UPDATE
TRT: 01:31
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS

DATELINE: 17 NOVEMBER 2023, NEW YORK CITY / FILE

Shotlist

FILE - NEW YORK CITY

1. Wide shot, United Nations Headquarters

17 NOVEMBER 2023, NEW YORK CITY

2. Wide shot, UN spokesperson at podium, press room
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General, United Nations:
“UNRWA announced that, due to the communication shutdown and lack of fuel, there will not be any cross-border aid operation at the Rafah Crossing today, as it will be impossible to manage or coordinate humanitarian aid convoys. By yesterday evening, no aid trucks had entered through the Rafah Crossing. This is due to the backlog of aid from previous days that has not been transported without fuel.”
4. Wide shot, UN spokesperson at podium
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General, United Nations:
“UNRWA used the fuel provided on 15 November to operate trucks and forklifts to clear the backlogs, but fuel has run out again. Yesterday afternoon, Gaza’s telecommunications services shut down after the providing companies announced that fuel used to run generators had been depleted. Humanitarian agencies and first responders have warned that blackouts jeopardize the safety of civilians and the provision of life-saving assistance.”
6. Wide shot, UN spokesperson at podium
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General, United Nations:
“We are obviously very concerned about further operations southbound by the IDF and the impact that will have on civilians, but it’. But it’s, we, everybody has been saying from the UN side: there is really no place in Gaza that is actually very safe.”
8. Wide shot, UN spokesperson at podium

Storyline

A UN spokesperson said that due to the communication shutdown and lack of fuel, there will not be any cross-border aid operation at the Rafah Crossing today (17 Nov), as it will be impossible to manage or coordinate humanitarian aid convoys.

Briefing journalist in New York, Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General, reported that by yesterday evening, no aid trucks had entered through the Rafah Crossing.

He added, “This is due to the backlog of aid from previous days that has not been transported without fuel.”

According to Dujarric, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) used the fuel provided on 15 November to operate trucks and forklifts to clear the backlogs, “but fuel has run out again.”

He continued, “Yesterday afternoon, Gaza’s telecommunications services shut down after the providing companies announced that fuel used to run generators had been depleted. Humanitarian agencies and first responders have warned that blackouts jeopardize the safety of civilians and the provision of life-saving assistance.”

Answering a question, he said, “We are obviously very concerned about further operations southbound” by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the impact that will have on civilians.

He concluded, “There is really no place in Gaza that is actually very safe.”