Media Home
UN Web TV
UN Audiovisual Library
UN PhotoUN / OPT HUMANITARIAN COORDINATOR
Download
There is no media available to download.
Share
STORY: UN / OPT HUMANITARIAN COORDINATOR
TRT: 04:53
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGES: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 21 JANUARY 2025, NEW YORK CITY
21 JANUARY 2025, KHAN YOUNIS, SOUTHERN GAZA STRIP
1. Various shots, Muhannad Hadi visiting one of the free kitchens of the World Food Programme
21 JANUARY 2025, JERUSALEM
2. SOUNDBITE (English) Muhannad Hadi, Special Coordinator for Humanitarian Affairs in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, United Nations:
“It's when I entered Gaza this morning, it felt like this is probably one of the happiest days of my professional life over a period of a humanitarian journey of 35 years. I entered Gaza - it was totally different from the many times I entered Gaza in the past 10–11 months. The people I met had a different attitude. It made me very happy to see that people had already started moving, some of them going back to their places of origin. I saw people in the streets, you know, starting to do some cleanup of the roads. I felt there is a bit more law and order compared to the times before, when I was entering Gaza and seeing our trucks, the humanitarian trucks, being looted. This time, I saw things are improving.”
21 JANUARY 2025, KHAN YOUNIS, SOUTHERN GAZA STRIP
3. Wide shot, Muhannad Hadi participating in cooking with the workers in the World Food Programme kitchen
21 JANUARY 2025, JERUSALEM
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Muhannad Hadi, Special Coordinator for Humanitarian Affairs in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, United Nations:
“I met many families. I went to a communal system—sorry, communal kitchen—where I met the families who, yes, basically told me that they depended on the WFP meals that they receive, and if it wasn't for that kitchen, they probably would have starved to death. But they were very hopeful, and they actually gave me a lot of hope for the future.
21 JANUARY 2025, KHAN YOUNIS, SOUTHERN GAZA STRIP
5. Various shots, Muhannad Hadi meeting with Palestinian families benefiting from the meals provided by the World Food Programme
21 JANUARY 2025, JERUSALEM
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Muhannad Hadi, Special Coordinator for Humanitarian Affairs in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, United Nations:
“But all of them told me that what they want now, immediately, is to go home. They want income-generating activities. They want to work. They don't like the fact that they have been depending on humanitarian aid, and definitely this dependency syndrome that a humanitarian operation or delivery may create. They resent that.”
21 JANUARY 2025, DEIR AL-BALAH, CENTRAL GAZA STRIP
7. Various shots, Muhannad Hadi visiting one of the World Food Programme aid warehouses
21 JANUARY 2025, JERUSALEM
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Muhannad Hadi, Special Coordinator for Humanitarian Affairs in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, United Nations:
“The reason I don't like to focus on trucks is simply that there are a lot of services that the people of Gaza need that you don't load on trucks: protection, psychosocial support, education itself. So, I don't want to restrict it to the number of trucks as an indicator of failure and success for us. We need to make sure right now that we focus on bringing in as much humanitarian aid as we can.”
21 JANUARY 2025, DEIR AL-BALAH, CENTRAL GAZA STRIP
9. Various shots, Muhannad Hadi meeting with supervisors and workers in one of the World Food Programme warehouses
21 JANUARY 2025, JERUSALEM
10. SOUNDBITE (English) Muhannad Hadi, Special Coordinator for Humanitarian Affairs in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, United Nations:
“We'd like to start with income-generating activities, because this is what people have said. Some agriculture projects, if we can, cash for work, and any other opportunities. Rubble removal is a lot of work. UNDP and other agencies will be working and focusing on that.”
21 JANUARY 2025, KHAN YOUNIS, SOUTHERN GAZA STRIP
11. Various shots, free kitchen of the World Food Programme in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip
21 JANUARY 2025, JERUSALEM
12. SOUNDBITE (English) Muhannad Hadi, Special Coordinator for Humanitarian Affairs in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, United Nations:
“It's not easy to replace UNRWA, and we're hoping that they will continue, one way or another, operating. We're talking about education, health, and logistics support. UNRWA employs 13,000 people in Gaza, by the way—it is the second-largest employer in Gaza after the Palestinian authorities. So you can imagine the critical role of UNRWA.”
21 JANUARY 2025, GAZA CITY, GAZA STRIP
13. Various shots, the press conference of Muhannad Hadi with the directors of UN organizations working in the Gaza Strip
“When I entered Gaza this morning, it felt like this was probably one of the happiest days of my professional life,” said Muhannad Hadi, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, during a video press conference from Jerusalem. Hadi had just returned from a visit to Gaza, where he observed signs of recovery amid ongoing humanitarian challenges.
Speaking to reporters today (21 Jan), Hadi described a markedly different atmosphere compared to his previous visits over the past year. " The people I met had a different attitude. It made me very happy to see that people had already started moving, some of them going back to their places of origin," he said. "I saw people in the streets starting to clean up the roads. There is a bit more law and order compared to the times before, when I was entering Gaza and seeing our humanitarian trucks being looted. This time, I saw things are improving."
During his visit, Hadi toured a communal kitchen operated by the WFP in Khan Younis, where he met families reliant on the meals provided, who told him, “If it wasn't for that kitchen, they probably would have starved to death. But they were very hopeful, and they actually gave me a lot of hope for the future," he said.
However, the reliance on humanitarian aid remains a source of frustration for many residents. "All of them told me that what they want now, immediately, is to go home. They want income-generating activities. They don't like the fact that they have been depending on humanitarian aid," Hadi explained.
Hadi emphasized the need to prioritize sustainable recovery efforts. “We'd like to start with income-generating activities, because this is what people have said. Some agriculture projects, if we can, cash-for-work, and any other opportunities. Rubble removal is a lot of work," he said.
Despite progress, Hadi acknowledged the challenges in maintaining and scaling up aid delivery. “The reason I don't like to focus on trucks is simply that there are a lot of services that the people of Gaza need that you don't load on trucks: protection, psychosocial support, education itself.” He also added, “We need to make sure right now that we focus on bringing in as much humanitarian aid as we can.”
Hadi also highlighted the critical role of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), “It's not easy to replace UNRWA, and we're hoping that they will continue, one way or another, operating. We're talking about education, health, and logistics support. UNRWA employs 13,000 people in Gaza, by the way—it is the second-largest employer in Gaza after the Palestinian authorities. So, you can imagine the critical role of UNRWA,” he said, underscoring the need for continued support for the agency's operations.
