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STORY: UN / PALESTINE ISRAEL
TRT: 02:55
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGES: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 20 MAY 2024, NEW YORK CITY / FILE
FILE - NEW YORK CITY
1. Wide shot, UN Headquarters
20 MAY 2024, NEW YORK CITY
2. Wide shot, Security Council, Special Coordinator Tor Wennesland on screen
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Tor Wennesland, Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, United Nations:
“Regrettably, we face yet another precipice of further catastrophe in Gaza amid stalled talks between the parties to secure the release of all hostages held in Gaza and a ceasefire to provide much needed relief to the civilian population. Just two weeks ago negotiations were ongoing in Cairo with the support of Egypt, Qatar, and the United States, however, these talks ended on 9 May without agreement. I urge the parties to redouble all efforts and return to the negotiating table immediately and in good faith.”
4. Wide shot, Council, Wennesland on screen
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Tor Wennesland, Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, United Nations:
“Since operations began, more than 800,000 people have been displaced from Rafah to Mawasi, Khan Younis and Deir al Balah amid daily IDF airstrikes in Rafah, killing dozens of Palestinians. Hamas has continued to fire rockets indiscriminately from Gaza towards Israel. These events have had a significant impact on humanitarian operations and access. The so-called expanded humanitarian area in al-Mawasi lacks adequate shelter, food, water and sewage infrastructure, and crossings for the entry of humanitarian goods have already been directly affected.”
6. Wide shot, Council, Wennesland on screen
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Tor Wennesland, Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, United Nations:
“I am deeply concerned that the current trajectory – including the possibility of a larger-scale operation – will further undermine efforts to scale-up the entry of humanitarian goods and their safe distribution to desperate civilians.”
8. Wide shot, OCHA’s Edem Wosornu addressing Council
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Edem Wosornu, Director, Operations and Advocacy Division, Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA):
“We find it impossible to accept the people endeavouring to save lives are instead losing their lives, particularly as 1.1 million people face catastrophic levels of hunger, and Gaza remains on the brink of famine. As of 18 may, just 10 bakeries are operational out of a total of 16 being supported by our humanitarian partners. However, it is expected that these will run out of stock and fuel within days if no additional supplies are received. The other six bakeries, all of which are in southern Gaza have been forced to cease operation due to either shortages of fuel or because of ongoing hostilities.”
10. Wide shot, Council
The Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Tor Wennesland, today (20 May) told the Security Council that “regrettably we face yet another precipice of further catastrophe in Gaza amid stalled talks between the parties to secure the release of all hostages held in Gaza and a ceasefire to provide much needed relief to the civilian population.”
Wennesland noted that “just two weeks ago negotiations were ongoing in Cairo with the support of Egypt, Qatar and the United States, however, these talks ended on 9 May without agreement.”
He urged the parties “to redouble all efforts and return to the negotiating table immediately and in good faith.”
The Special Coordinator told the Council that since operations began in early May, “more than 800,000 people have been displaced from Rafah to Mawasi, Khan Younis and Deir al Balah amid daily IDF airstrikes in Rafah, killing dozens of Palestinians.”
Hamas, he said, has also “continued to fire rockets indiscriminately from Gaza towards Israel.”
Noting that “these events have had a significant impact on humanitarian operations and access,” Wennesland said, “the so-called expanded humanitarian area in al-Mawasi lacks adequate shelter, food, water and sewage infrastructure, and crossings for the entry of humanitarian goods have already been directly affected.”
He said he was “deeply concerned that the current trajectory – including the possibility of a larger-scale operation – will further undermine efforts to scale-up the entry of humanitarian goods and their safe distribution to desperate civilians.”
OCHA’s Director of the Operations and Advocacy Division, Edem Wosornu, for her part told the Council that it was “impossible to accept the people endeavouring to save lives are instead losing their lives, particularly as 1.1 million people face catastrophic levels of hunger, and Gaza remains on the brink of famine.”
As of 18 may, she said, “just 10 bakeries are operational out of a total of 16 being supported by our humanitarian partners and added that “it is expected that these will run out of stock and fuel within days if no additional supplies are received.”
The other six bakeries, she said, “have been forced to cease operation due to either shortages of fuel or because of ongoing hostilities.”
Last week a staff member of the UN Department of Safety and Security from India died and another staff member was injured when their UN vehicle was struck as they travelled to the European Hospital in the area of Rafah. This brings to a total 193 UN staff who have been killed in Gaza since the start of hostilities.
