Media Home
UN Web TV
UN Audiovisual Library
UN PhotoWFP / GAZA RAFAH HUMANITARIAN OPERATIONS
STORY: WFP / GAZA RAFAH HUMANITARIAN OPERATIONS
TRT: 3:15
SOURCE: WFP
RESTRICTIONS: PLEASE CREDIT WFP ON SCREEN
LANGUAGE: NATS
DATELINE: 15-17 MAY 2024, RAFAH, DEIR EL BALAH, KHAN YOUNIS
16 MAY 2024, RAFAH
1. Various shots, view of Rafah
Less than 2 weeks ago, there were over 1 million displaced people sheltering in Rafah. As of 17 May, 640,000 of them have fled.
15 MAY 2024, DEIR EL BALAH
2. Various shots, tent City Deir el Balah
The already crowded town in central Gaza has received a large part of people fleeing Rafah
15 MAY 2024, KHAN YOUNIS
3. Wide shot, people Fleeing Rafah arriving in Khan Younis
Khan Younis has been heavily damaged but is now receiving the largest portion of the people fleeing Rafah.
4. Various shots, Ibrahim Kamal Ibrahim Amtair brings a WFP food box home to his family
Since Oct 7, 33 year old Ibrahim and his family have been displaced 5 times before running out of options except to return to their destroyed home. His wife gave birth to their second child while they were homeless.
UPSOUND (Arabic) “That’s my house..”
“Hey! biscuits! Biscuits and sweets!”
5. Various shots, Ibrahim Kamal Ibrahim Amtair Shows His Damaged Home
UPSOUND (Arabic) “This is the kitchen, its destroyed. Its unfit for use but we are making it work”:“God willing, I can repair this hole so the children don’t fall out”
6. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Ibrahim Kamal Ibrahim Amtair:
“They did not say that this area was safe, but we returned because we had no place to go, and we were not comfortable in the places we were in. No one feels comfortable except in his home, even if it is destroyed.”
7. Various shots,Ibrahim Kamal Ibrahim Amtair and his daughter open their WFP food parcel
WFP food parcels in Gaza typically contain canned chickpeas, canned beans, canned meat, canned fava beans, halva
16 MAY 2024, RAFAH
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Matthew Hollingworth, WFP Palestine Country Director:
“We've not been able to access our warehouse in Rafah for more than a week. We have very little food and fuel coming through the border crossings in the south and we are always trying hard but failing currently to bring in consistent volumes of food.//We know we need additional entry points and every new entry point is a new artery pumping lifeblood into Gaza. So, we will work hard to continue to find new entry points and get more assistance in at volume consistently to help stop a famine in its tracks.”
17 MAY 2024, KHAN YOUNIS
9. Various shots, WFP Hot Meals Distribution to Newly Displaced People
The escalation of military activity in Rafah, southern Gaza, has displaced hundreds of thousands of people, making life even harder for thousands of families who have already been displaced several times. WFP is deeply concerned that a further escalation could precipitate a humanitarian catastrophe, and bring aid operations to a complete standstill.
The incursion into Rafah is a significant setback to recent modest progress on access. The threat of famine in Gaza never loomed larger.
All parties involved must prioritize safe and sustained access for humanitarian staff, and the safeguarding of civilian lives.
Each displacement that a family experiences weakens it further.
Mass displacement means systems for clearance, distribution of aid need to be rebuilt elsewhere – from scratch.
We have seen the impact of prolonged closures in northern Gaza, and despite recent improvements in access to help mitigate a famine there, we are now also deeply concerned about the fate of hundreds of thousands in the south, if a full-scale operation and closures continue.
Current food and fuel stocks will run out in a matter of days. We have not been able to access and receive aid from Kerem Shalom and Rafah crossing since 6 May. The situation is becoming unsustainable.
Rafah and Kerem Shalom are biggest and most equipped entry points for people and aid. Kerem Shalom crossing is militarized zone, roads are unsafe, security incidents. The militarized area in Rafah poses obstacles to accessing our main warehouse. Without consistent fuel supply, everything stops: trucks, hospitals, generators for hospitals, sewage pumping systems, desalination systems.
WFP continues to distribute food aid despite significant challenges. But to roll back six months of near starvation conditions and avert a famine requires steady flows of food supplies, every day, every week, through multiple entry points.
WFP is still on the ground working with partners to deliver: for the north, which had highest levels of food insecurity; for central areas, where the displaced have no money, no basic resources; we are prioritizing hot meals to reach more people with less resources. in the south (Rafah), where people face ongoing military activity, we distributed until we had no more stocks. Recently introduced self-registration tool enables faster assistance by allowing people to update their location. The new coordinated route to north, plus use of Erez and Ashdod, allowed WFP to double aid to northern Gaza in April. Visible effect in Gaza City markets, where prices still very high however. Four bakeries are open and operating in Gaza City, providing essential bread.
Download
There is no media available to download.
