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STORY: UN / UNIFIL TENENTI PRESSER
TRT: 03:29
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGES: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 30 OCTOBER 2024, NEW YORK CITY / FILE
FILE – NEW YORK CITY
1. Wide shot, United Nations headquarters
30 OCTOBER 2024, NEW YORK CITY
2. Wide shot, press briefing room
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Andrea Tenenti, spokesperson, UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL):
“According to the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health, the death toll in Lebanon since October last year has reached over 2700 people, and the number of wounded to over 12,700 around 25 percent women and children. More than 2000 deaths have occurred since 23 September of this year.”
4. Wide shot, press briefing room
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Andrea Tenenti, spokesperson, UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL):
“More than 800,000 people have been forced out of their homes and communities, 60 percent of them from the area in which UNIFIL operates in South Lebanon, according to the International Organization for Migration. So, statistics like this cannot fully capture the human cost of conflict, and it's the civilians who continue to suffer.”
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Andrea Tenenti, spokesperson, UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL):
“Since the first of October, UNIFIL has recorded over 30 incidents resulting in damage to UN property or premises or injuring to peacekeepers, about 20 of those we could attribute to IDF fire or actions, with seven being clearly deliberate. In an incident yesterday, a rocket, sorry, likely fired by Hezbollah or affiliated group, at UNIFIL headquarters in Naqoura, where a vehicle workshop was set on fire, with some peacekeepers suffering minor injuries. For about a dozen of other incidents, the origin of the fire could not be determined.”
7. Wide shot, press briefing room
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Andrea Tenenti, spokesperson, UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL):
“We are here to implement the missions mandate, but any changes will be up to the to the Security Council. At the moment, the rules of engagement that have been used have been adequate to the situation on the ground.”
9. Wide shot, press briefing room
10. SOUNDBITE (English) Andrea Tenenti, spokesperson, UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL):
“In terms of numbers, what has been reported by the International Organization for Migration, around 500,000 people have left South of Lebanon. And the population in the South is is around 600,000 people. When I say South, meaning the area of UNIFIL’s operation from the Litani River to the Blue Line. So, the vast majority of the population in the South has left, though some people still remain in the area today. It’s a very dramatic situation, as most villages are being completely destroyed and the shelling continues.”
11. Med shot, journalist
12. SOUNDBITE (English) Andrea Tenenti, spokesperson, UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL):
“in relation to some of the of the criticism of UNIFIL not implementing the mandate, that the mandate has to be implemented by the parties. UNIFIL is here to support the parties in the implementation of the mandate, so we need the commitment of the parties in order to implement resolution 1701 which still remain the main framework and the only viable solutions to this conflict, we've been reporting thoroughly all the violation that we have seen in the area of operation for the last 18 years. And also, to go back to that, from 2006 until October last year, the South of Lebanon had witnessed one of his quietest periods in recent history.”
13. Wide shot, end of press briefing
Civilians in southern Lebanon are bearing the brunt of escalating violence, with more than 2,700 deaths reported in Lebanon since October last year said Andrea Tenenti, the spokesperson for UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).
“According to the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health, the death toll in Lebanon since October last year has reached over 2,700 people, and the number of wounded to over 12,700, around 25 percent women and children. More than 2,000 deaths have occurred since 23 September of this year,” Tenenti said at a press briefing in New York on Wednesday (30 Oct).
Over 800,000 people have been forced from their homes, with 60 percent of the displaced coming from areas within UNIFIL's operational zone in southern Lebanon, Tenenti said, citing statistics from the International Organization for Migration. “Statistics like this cannot fully capture the human cost of conflict, and it's the civilians who continue to suffer,” he added.
The mounting violence has also impacted UN peacekeeping operations, with more than 30 incidents of damage to UN property or injury to peacekeepers reported since the start of October. Tenenti noted that 20 of these incidents were linked to actions by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), with seven identified as deliberate.
“In an incident yesterday, a rocket likely fired by Hezbollah or affiliated group, hit UNIFIL headquarters in Naqoura, where a vehicle workshop was set on fire, with some peacekeepers suffering minor injuries,” Tenenti said and added, “for about a dozen other incidents, the origin of the fire could not be determined.”
Amid the ongoing conflict, Tenenti underscored UNIFIL's role in supporting peace efforts under UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which has governed the mandate since 2006. “We are here to implement the mission’s mandate, but any changes will be up to the Security Council. At the moment, the rules of engagement that have been used have been adequate to the situation on the ground,” he said.
Responding to criticism that UNIFIL has not fully implemented its mandate, Tenenti pointed to the need for cooperation from all parties involved in the conflict. “The mandate has to be implemented by the parties. UNIFIL is here to support the parties in the implementation of the mandate, so we need the commitment of the parties in order to implement resolution 1701,” he said. “From 2006 until October last year, the South of Lebanon had witnessed one of its quietest periods in recent history.”
According to UNIFIL, around 500,000 people have fled southern Lebanon, with the population in the area estimated at 600,000. “The vast majority of the population in the South has left, though some people still remain in the area today,” Tenenti said. “It’s a very dramatic situation, as most villages are being completely destroyed and the shelling continues.”
