Media Home
UN Web TV
UN Audiovisual Library
UN PhotoGAZA / HUMANITARIAN AID DEPLETION
Download
There is no media available to download.
Share
STORY: GAZA / HUMANITARIAN AID DEPLETION
TRT: 05:49
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGES: ARABIC / ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 05 MAY 2025, GAZA CITY
1. Various shots, tents for displaced people, Omar Al-Mukhtar Street, Al-Rimal neighborhood
2. Various shots, family taking refuge. Rashad Al-Shawa Cultural Center
3. Various shots, Montasira Al-Kafarneh, displaced from Beit Hanoun, as she tries to collect bird feed that can be used to bake bread
4. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Montasira Al-Kafarneh, displaced from Beit Hanoun:
“There is no food, no water, and no aid reaching us. What I’m doing now is trying to separate rice from bulgur and stones. As you can see, we’re forced to eat stones because there is no flour, no food, no water. Nothing reaches us — not even aid. As you can see, I’m sorting this just to silence my children’s hunger. The kids are crying all the time from hunger. This is bird feed — it’s not fit for human consumption — but we cook it to quiet the children’s cries. Prices are extremely high, and we can’t find anything.”
5. Various shots, children carrying empty pots as they search for places distributing free food
6. Various shots, empty grocery store
7. Various shots, woman living in tents
8. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) displaced:
“The situation here is extremely difficult. The children are exhausted from hunger, and we adults can’t even walk in the streets. There is no medicine, no flour, and vegetable prices are very high. A single tomato costs five shekels, as does an onion. Life here is extremely harsh. We appeal to the Arab countries and the world to look at us — save us. We in Gaza are perishing and dying from hunger.”
9. Various shots, water truck supervised by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) as it distributes water to residents.
10. Various shots, United Nations facility
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Olga Cherevko, spokesperson, United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Gaza:
“So, the plan that we were briefed on by the Israeli authorities looks to establish hubs through which aid would be delivered. This contravenes humanitarian principles as this would basically shut down the existing aid delivery mechanism that already operates within the bounds of humanitarian principles. This would violate the humanitarian principles of neutrality, impartiality, and independence and could also put people at risk, including aid workers, by having them around these militarized zones. This would also risk vulnerable people not being able to reach assistance because, for example, people with mobility issues are particularly vulnerable and individuals who would not be able to reach these hubs. So, that means that large areas of Gaza, where these people live, would not be able to receive assistance. So, we have made it very clear that the mechanism, this plan that was presented, is not in line with the humanitarian principles and giving more operational control to a party to the conflict would risk aid not reaching the vulnerable people who actually need this aid the most
12. Various shots, streets
The humanitarian situation of civilians in the Gaza Strip is worsening as Israel’s total blockade enters its ninth week, amid the depletion of aid and an almost complete absence of food supplies and healthcare, according to a statement by the United Nations on Sunday (4 May).
The UN has called on world leaders to take urgent action to deliver food and essential aid to civilians in the enclave, warning of the grave consequences of Israel’s continued closure of border crossings, which has triggered an unprecedented humanitarian crisis.
In a statement, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that Israel's proposed aid distribution plan, which it seeks to implement under its direct supervision, “contradicts fundamental humanitarian principles, endangers civilian lives and relief efforts, and contributes to the intensification of forced displacement.”
The statement further warned that forcing civilians to travel into conflict zones in search of food would “leave large parts of the Gaza Strip without access to food supplies.”
The UN confirmed that its teams are prepared to distribute food, water, and healthcare across the Strip, but Israeli-imposed restrictions continue to obstruct these efforts.
Amid these dire conditions, some families are resorting to primitive means of survival.
Montasira Al-Kafarneh, displaced from the town of Beit Hanoun to Gaza City, said: “We’re cooking bird feed for our children to silence their hunger. There is no food, no water — everything is either unavailable or sold at unaffordable prices.”
Markets across Gaza are experiencing a severe shortage of food items, with most shops appearing nearly empty.
Many families have lost access to basic necessities such as meat, flour, and vegetables, while the limited available quantities have seen a sharp rise in prices.
