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UN / GAZA WFP INTERVIEW
STORY: UN / GAZA WFP INTERVIEW
TRT: 4:13
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: PLEASE CREDIT WFP FOOTAGE ON SCREEN
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 18 DECEMBER 2023, JERUSALEM / FILE
FILE – WFP – PLEASE CREDIT ON SCREEN – 07 DECEMBER 2023, KHAN YOUNIS, GAZA, PALESTINE
1. Various shots, aftermath of bombing of home where 15 members of the Rabie family were killed
18 DECEMBER 2023, JERUSALEM
2.SOUNDBITE (English) Samer Abdel Jaber, Representative and Country Director of WFP in Palestine:
“The situation is very dire. It is a catastrophe. I think the least we can say. We've seen people struggling to actually find food. We've seen people who are struggling to actually find the wood to light fire so that they can actually cook a meal.”
FILE – WFP – PLEASE CREDIT ON SCREEN – 07 DECEMBER 2023, RAFAH, GAZA, PALESTINE
3. Various shots, WFP food distribution
18 DECEMBER 2023, JERUSALEM
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Samer Abdel Jaber, Representative and Country Director of WFP in Palestine:
“But definitely, if the situation continues like this, we know from our food security assessments that basically the situation is very bad. People are coping, moving into negative coping strategies. They're skipping meals and they're basically eating whatever they've been able to find at the moment rather than eating what they should be eating.”
FILE – WFP – PLEASE CREDIT ON SCREEN – 07 DECEMBER 2023, RAFAH, GAZA, PALESTINE
5. Various shots, WFP food distribution
18 DECEMBER 2023, JERUSALEM
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Samer Abdel Jaber, Representative and Country Director of WFP in Palestine:
“But unfortunately, since the pause collapsed, WFP have not been able to reach the north. We are working with all stakeholders that can support us in coordinating a convoy to the north. But so far, we have not been successful and we're prioritizing our response in the South for the time being.
FILE – WFP – PLEASE CREDIT ON SCREEN – 25 NOVEMBER 2023, GAZA CITY
7.Various shots, trucks arrive in Gaza City
18 DECEMBER 2023, JERUSALEM
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Samer Abdel Jaber, Representative and Country Director of WFP in Palestine:
“It gives us more options to operate. I think the Egyptian side has been very generous in their support, but it created the bottleneck at the Rafah crossing because of the capacity on the Gazan side to receive the trucks. So, opening another crossing will allow us to actually take things and with scale and allow another route to be functioning so that we bring in aid into Gaza to the scale that is required. So, we welcome it very much and we look forward to see it operational, hopefully tomorrow or the day after with WFP trucks that are planned to go in.”
FILE – WFP – PLEASE CREDIT ON SCREEN – 26 NOVEMBER 2023, KHAN YOUNIS, GAZA
9.Various shots, WFP food parcels being distributed
18 DECEMBER 2023, JERUSALEM
10. SOUNDBITE (English) Samer Abdel Jaber, Representative and Country Director of WFP in Palestine:
“There is definitely a donor fatigue that we saw affecting many operations where we had to announce budget cuts. Palestine was one of those operations that in June we had to announce that we were suspending 60 per cent of the assistance because of the funding situation. Of course, it changed completely with the current crisis that we are facing. But we see it definitely happening in many other countries across this region and beyond in Yemen, in Syria and Afghanistan and others. So it has been a very challenging year. We are hoping that 2024 will be a better year for the people we serve and hopefully with more efforts in diplomacy to resolve some of the ongoing conflicts, the needs would be reduced.”
FILE – WFP – PLEASE CREDIT ON SCREEN – 23 NOVEMBER 2023, DEIR EL BALAH
11. Various shots, Khaled, Siham and one of their sons eat a meal of tomato sauce and bread amid the ruins of the home
The World Food Programme (WFP) senior official in Palestine, Samer Abdel Jaber, said today (18 Dec) that the situation in Gaza is “very dire. It’s a catastrophe,” adding that the WFP teams were not successful in reaching north of Gaza since the humanitarian pause was ended earlier this month.
Recalling his recent visit to Gaza, the Representative and Country Director of WFP in Palestine said, “We've seen people struggling to actually find food. We've seen people who are struggling to actually find the wood to light fire so that they can actually cook a meal.”
Jaber reiterated, “if the situation continues like this, we know from our food security assessments that basically the situation is very bad. People are coping, moving into negative coping strategies.”
He further explained, “They're skipping meals and they're basically eating whatever they've been able to find at the moment rather than eating what they should be eating.”
The Representative and Country Director of WFP in Palestine also said, “unfortunately, since the pause collapsed, WFP have not been able to reach the north,” adding that the Programme is working with all stakeholders that “can support us in coordinating a convoy to the north. But so far, we have not been successful and we're prioritizing our response in the South for the time being.
On the Kerem Shalom Crossing, Jaber said, “It gives us more options to operate. I think the Egyptian side has been very generous in their support, but it created the bottleneck at the Rafah crossing because of the capacity on the Gazan side to receive the trucks. So, opening another crossing will allow us to actually take things and with scale and allow another route to be functioning so that we bring in aid into Gaza to the scale that is required. So, we welcome it very much and we look forward to see it operational, hopefully tomorrow or the day after with WFP trucks that are planned to go in.”
Funding has been one of the main challenges in 2023 for the World Food Programme, the WFP senior official said.
“There is definitely a donor fatigue that we saw affecting many operations where we had to announce budget cuts. Palestine was one of those operations that in June we had to announce that we were suspending 60 per cent of the assistance because of the funding situation. Of course, it changed completely with the current crisis that we are facing.”
He concluded, “But we see it definitely happening in many other countries across this region and beyond in Yemen, in Syria and Afghanistan and others. So it has been a very challenging year. We are hoping that 2024 will be a better year for the people we serve and hopefully with more efforts in diplomacy to resolve some of the ongoing conflicts, the needs would be reduced.”
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