Media Home
UN Web TV
UN Audiovisual Library
UN PhotoUNICEF / GAZA TESS VISIT
STORY: UNICEF / GAZA TESS VISIT
TRT: 06:20
SOURCE: UNICEF
RESTRICTIONS: PLEASE CREDIT UNICEF ON SCREEN
LANGUAGE: NATS
DATELINE: 09 APRIL 2024, GAZA STRIP, STATE OF PALESTINE
09 APRIL 2024, UNRWA BASE, RAFAH, SOUTHERN GAZA STRIP, STATE OF PALESTINE
1. Wide shot, children outside UNRWA base before convoy departs with aid to distribute in the north of Gaza
2. Various shots, UNICEF car that will be part of the convoy that is heading with aid to the north of Gaza
3. Pan left, truck full of ready-to-use therapeutic food (RTUF) and energy biscuits that will be part of the aid convoy
4. Wide shot, fuel truck that will be used to power up two water facilities in the north of Gaza
5. Various shots, discussions between humanitarian aid workers while waiting for security clearance before leaving for the north of Gaza
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Tess Ingram, Spokesperson, UNICEF:
“I'm going on a coordinated mission to the north of Gaza today. So, I want to tell you what that involves for those of us on the ground. A coordinated mission means that we let the parties to the conflict know where we're going at what time, so that they can meet their obligations under international humanitarian law to keep us safe. Now, we let them know about this mission. We're still waiting for the clearance. It normally comes in really late, but we should be leaving now in the next 10, 15 minutes, and we still haven't got it. These sorts of delays can be problematic in that we might have to change our mission plan and reduce the number of locations that we want to go to if we don't get it soon. So hopefully that doesn't happen today. The plan for today is to go to four locations. We're going to go to the Kamal Adwan Hospital where we know that children are dying from malnutrition. The mission today has a truck full of ready-to-use therapeutic treatment and high-energy biscuits to help treat these kids and prevent malnutrition in the children. Then, we're going to the Jabalia Health Centre to do the same. We've also got a truck of fuel that we're going to take to two water locations to try and help bring clean water back to the people of north Gaza. So, it's a big mission today. Hopefully, we can get the go ahead to move soon.”
7. Various shots, UNICEF Spokesperson Tess Ingram putting on her bullet-proof vest
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Tess Ingram, Spokesperson, UNICEF:
“It is 10 past 9. We just got the green light. We've done a security briefing, BP on, and we're about to hit the road.”
9. Wide shot, aid convoy is ready to move
10. Close up, security personnel, inside the car, looking at the map on phone showing the 4 stops where the aid convoy will deliver aid before the cars start to move from Rafah
11. Med shot, security personnel, inside the car, talking over radio
12. SOUNDBITE (English) Tess Ingram, Spokesperson, UNICEF:
“So, we've decided that we're going to go ahead, UNRWA security can come but their programmatic staff are not allowed to come. So, this is going to disrupt our mission. It means that staff that were meant to meet people at the Health Centre and the hospital are not going to be on the mission, but we're still going to go ahead. We’re going to deliver the fuel. We're going to deliver the nutrition supplies. And we've got some UNRWA colleagues with us coming on the journey.”
13. Wide shot, aid convoy starts to move after being granted the green light
09 APRIL 2024, GAZA STRIP, STATE OF PALESTINE
14. Various shots, views from the side window on the way to the north of Gaza
15. SOUNDBITE (English) Tess Ingram, Spokesperson, UNICEF:
“Here we got to the holding point. But unfortunately, there's a problem with the truck carrying the nutrition supplies. They unfortunately decided that truck can't come with us. So, we're going to have to leave it behind here and it's not going to be able to distribute those supplies to the north.”
16. Various shots, aid convoy at the holding point, waiting to be granted permission to move forward to the north of Gaza
17. SOUNDBITE (English) Tess Ingram, Spokesperson, UNICEF:
“While we were sorting that out, and waiting here at the holding point, there was active shooting in the area, and our car has been hit by some bullets. Thankfully, everyone's okay. We're going to keep going. We're just waiting for a green light to move ahead to the check point.”
09 APRIL 2024, UNRWA BASE, RAFAH, SOUTHERN GAZA STRIP, STATE OF PALESTINE
18. Various shots, bullet marks on the car after returning to base without delivering any aid
09 APRIL 2024, GAZA STRIP, STATE OF PALESTINE
19. SOUNDBITE (English) Tess Ingram, Spokesperson, UNICEF:
“It's been 2 hours, 45 minutes at the holding point. We've decided that we need to turn and go back to base because by the time we get over there, there's just not enough time now to conduct our mission. We'd have to turn around and come back with, you know, less than 2 hours is just not enough time. So, we're going to head back and reschedule for another day.”
09 APRIL 2024, UNRWA BASE, RAFAH, SOUTHERN GAZA STRIP, STATE OF PALESTINE
20. SOUNDBITE (English) Tess Ingram, Spokesperson, UNICEF:
“We just got back and been able to kind of decompress, check the car, and there's some pretty clear bullet hits here and another one here along the window, and a few others. One on the front of the car, another one on the side of the car. And this is the window where I was sitting. So, it was right there next to me. Thank goodness we were in an armoured vehicle and that we all had PPE (personal protective equipment) on because it was definitely a bit hairy there for a minute. But the biggest issue today is that we didn't make it, that we had to turn around and come back and that there's people in the north of Gaza that are still waiting for us to get up there. But there's nutrition supplies with the fuel to run these water services, these sewage systems. And that's the biggest problem. So, delays like this, like the one that happened this morning when we were waiting to see whether UNRWA could come. And then again, at the holding point for almost 3 hours there, the sorts of delays that stop us from implementing our programs, delivering aid, and doing our jobs. But we're not going to give up. We're going to try again hopefully later this week if we can get the go ahead.”
UNICEF Communication Specialist Tess Ingram described the difficulties in bringing aid to the north of Gaza after her convoy was shot at and delayed for nearly three hours before aborting the mission.
As the aid convoy was getting ready to depart on a coordinated mission to the north of Gaza, Ingram said clearance “normally comes in really late, but we should be leaving now in the next 10, 15 minutes, and we still haven't got it.”
She said, “these sorts of delays can be problematic in that we might have to change our mission plan and reduce the number of locations that we want to go to if we don't get it soon.”
The communications specialists said the convoy would be delivering “a truck full of ready-to-use therapeutic treatment and high-energy biscuits to help treat these kids and prevent malnutrition in the children” to the Jabalia Health Centre and Kamal Adwan Hospital, “where we know that children are dying from malnutrition.”
The plan was also to deliver a truck of fuel to two water locations “to try and help bring clean water back to the people of north Gaza.”
Before leaving, Ingram said they had been informed that UNRWA security would be allowed to join the convoy, “but their programmatic staff are not allowed to come.”
She said, “so, this is going to disrupt our mission. It means that staff that were meant to meet people at the Health Centre and the hospital are not going to be on the mission, but we're still going to go ahead. We’re going to deliver the fuel. We're going to deliver the nutrition supplies. And we've got some UNRWA colleagues with us coming on the journey.”
The convoy departed Rafah but was eventually detained at a holding point.
Ingram said, “here we got to the holding point. But unfortunately, there's a problem with the truck carrying the nutrition supplies. They unfortunately decided that truck can't come with us. So, we're going to have to leave it behind here and it's not going to be able to distribute those supplies to the north.”
As they were waiting to be allowed to continue on, the convoy was hit by gun fire.
Ingram said, “while we were sorting that out, and waiting here at the holding point, there was active shooting in the area, and our car has been hit by some bullets. Thankfully, everyone's okay. We're going to keep going. We're just waiting for a green light to move ahead to the check point.”
After two hours and 45 minutes delayed at the holding point, it was decided they would turn back.
Ingram said, “it's been 2 hours, 45 minutes at the holding point. We've decided that we need to turn and go back to base because by the time we get over there, there's just not enough time now to conduct our mission. We'd have to turn around and come back with, you know, less than 2 hours is just not enough time. So, we're going to head back and reschedule for another day.”
After returning to the UNRWA base in Rafah, the humanitarians inspected the bullet marks on their armoured vehicle.
Ingram said, “there's some pretty clear bullet hits here and another one here along the window, and a few others. One on the front of the car, another one on the side of the car. And this is the window where I was sitting. So, it was right there next to me. Thank goodness we were in an armoured vehicle and that we all had PPE (personal protective equipment) on because it was definitely a bit hairy there for a minute.”
The biggest issue, she said, “is that we didn't make it, that we had to turn around and come back and that there's people in the north of Gaza that are still waiting for us to get up there. But there's nutrition supplies with the fuel to run these water services, these sewage systems. And that's the biggest problem.”
Ingram said, “we're not going to give up. We're going to try again hopefully later this week if we can get the go ahead.”
