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STORY: UN / GAZA WHO REGIONAL DIRECTOR
TRT: 02:41
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 18 OCTOBER 2023, CAIRO, EGYPT / FILE
FILE – NEW YORK CITY
1. Med shot, exterior, United Nations flag
18 OCTOBER 2023, CAIRO, EGYPT
2. SOUNDBITE (English) Ahmed Al Mandhari, Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean, World Health Organization (WHO):
“Healthcare is not a target, and it should not be a target. And any, you know, party or group of people, you know, during the conflict targeting healthcare is considered you know, breach, breach of the international humanitarian law.”
FILE – NEW YORK CITY
3. Med shot, exterior, United Nations flag
18 OCTOBER 2023, CAIRO, EGYPT
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Ahmed Al Mandhari, Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean, World Health Organization (WHO):
“There are around 154 attacks reported on healthcare facilities in Gaza, which led into around 15 deaths among healthcare providers, more than 70 ambulances being targeted and damaged, with tens of injuries among patients, among healthcare providers. These attacks on healthcare facilities led into, you know, four hospitals in the northern part of Gaza to be nonfunctioning, you know, out of 22 hospitals in the northern part of Gaza.”
FILE – NEW YORK CITY
5. Med shot, exterior, United Nations flag
18 OCTOBER 2023, CAIRO, EGYPT
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Ahmed Al Mandhari, Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean, World Health Organization (WHO):
“I know it is a severe shortage: many of the items almost not available, the rest is about to finish. And I feel also, you know, that availability of water is really, very worrying - clean water in these hospitals. Availability of fuel, which may be sufficient for a few hours, which ultimately means that no fuel means no electricity in these hospitals.”
FILE – NEW YORK CITY
7. Med shot, exterior, United Nations flag
18 OCTOBER 2023, CAIRO, EGYPT
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Ahmed Al Mandhari, Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean, World Health Organization (WHO):
“Based on our earlier discussions with President El-Sisi last week, Dr. Tedros, the director general, and I, we met him, and we requested, you know, his support to open Rafah, you know, cross-border. He immediately gave his orders, you know, to the team and the relevant departments.”
FILE – NEW YORK CITY
9. Med shot, exterior, United Nations flag
18 OCTOBER 2023, CAIRO, EGYPT
10. SOUNDBITE (English) Ahmed Al Mandhari, Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean, World Health Organization (WHO):
“We managed to get supplies to Al Arish airport. These supplies are about 76 or 79 cubic meters ready to be shipped inside Gaza. And we have teams also who are available either there, nearby the border at Rafah cross-border or here, and the regional office and headquarter ready to be deployed to Gaza, you know, to provide whatever technical support needed.”
FILE – NEW YORK CITY
11. Med shot, exterior, United Nations flag
Speaking from Cairo today (18 Oct), Ahmed Al Mandhari, World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean, said, “There are around 154 attacks reported on healthcare facilities in Gaza.”
This led, he continued, to “around 15 deaths among healthcare providers, more than 70 ambulances being targeted and damaged, with tens of injuries among patients, among healthcare providers. These attacks on healthcare facilities led into, you know, four hospitals in the northern part of Gaza to be nonfunctioning, you know, out of 22 hospitals in the northern part of Gaza.”
He reiterated, “Healthcare is not a target, and it should not be a target. And any, you know, party or group of people, you know, during the conflict targeting healthcare is considered, you know, breach, breach of the international humanitarian law.”
Asked about Gaza's medical and lifesaving supplies, he said, “I know it is a severe shortage: many of the items almost not available, the rest is about to finish. And I feel also, you know, that availability of water is really, very worrying - clean water in these hospitals. Availability of fuel, which may be sufficient for a few hours, which ultimately means that no fuel means no electricity in these hospitals.”
Replying to a question on humanitarian teams waiting at Al-Arish City, Egypt, to enter Gaza, Al Mandhari said, “Based on our earlier discussions with President El-Sisi last week, Dr. Tedros, the director general, and I, we met him, and we requested, you know, his support to open Rafah, you know, cross-border. He immediately gave his orders, you know, to the team and the relevant departments.”
He concluded, “We managed to get supplies to Al Arish airport. These supplies are about 76 or 79 cubic meters ready to be shipped inside Gaza. And we have teams also who are available either there, nearby the border at Rafah cross-border or here, and the regional office and headquarter ready to be deployed to Gaza, you know, to provide whatever technical support needed.”
