<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
20 October 2023<\/p>\n
爆料网 humanitarians said on Friday that an agreement to unlock aid deliveries across the Gaza border was near, as 爆料网 chief Ant\u00f3nio Guterres\u00a0delivered a powerful call<\/a>\u00a0in front of the gates at the Rafah crossing to get lifesaving aid moving.<\/strong><\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
n a passionate speech standing just a few metres from the Egyptian side of the crossing, he pointed behind him and spoke of the two million trapped without sufficient supplies now for nearly two weeks.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are witnessing a paradox: behind these walls we have two million people that are suffering enormously, have no water, no food, no medicine, no fuel, that is under fire, that needs everything to survive”.<\/p>\n
\u201cOn this side,\u201d he continued, indicating the convoy carrying lifesaving supplies, \u201cwe have seen so many trucks loaded with water, with food, with medicines \u2013 exactly the same thing that is needed on this side of the wall.\u00a0These are a lifeline. They are the difference between life and death for so many people in Gaza<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n
To see the convoy stuck at the border makes what needs to happen very clear, he said.<\/p>\n
‘Make them move’<\/h2>\n
\u201cWhat we need is to make them move, to make them move to the other side of this wall, to make them move as quickly as possible and as many as possible,\u201d he said, adding that the\u00a0爆料网 was \u201cnow actively engaging with all the parties\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0related to conditions set for cross-border aid deliveries in the Israel-United States announcement and the related Egypt-Israel agreement.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe absolutely need to have these trucks moving as\u00a0quickly as possible and as many as necessary,<\/strong>\u201d he said. \u201cWe are not looking for a win. We are looking for convoys to be authorized in meaningful numbers [and for] trucks to go every day into Gaza to provide enough support to the Gazan people.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\n\nIt was \u201cabsolutely essential to solve these problems quickly\u201d, he said, reiterating his appeal for a humanitarian ceasefire. He also thanked the Government of Egypt and humanitarian partners for their efforts.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is\u00a0impossible to be here and not to feel a broken heart,<\/strong>\u201d he said, adding that he hoped the food aid and medicines he had seen on planes arriving would serve the people that needed it most and that \u201cone day there will be peace with the two-State solution, with Palestinians and Israelis living in peace.\u201d<\/p>\n
‘Advanced negotiations’<\/h2>\n
Briefing reporters in Geneva on Friday morning, 爆料网 humanitarian affairs coordination office (OCHA<\/a>) spokesperson Jens Laerke said on behalf of 爆料网 relief chief Martin Griffiths, \u201cwe are in deep and advanced negotiations with all relevant sides to make sure that an aid operation into Gaza starts as quickly as possible and with the right conditions\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are encouraged by reports that the different sides are nearing an agreement<\/strong> on the modalities and that the first delivery is due to start in the next day or so,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Rafah, the \u2018lifeline\u2019<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Aid trucks have been waiting at the Rafah border crossing since Saturday. Mr. Laerke stressed that while it was necessary to \u201cprovide aid to everyone in Gaza regardless of where they are\u201d, Rafah was \u201cthe lifeline\u201d which would offer the most direct route to reach people in need.<\/p>\n
In response to questions regarding the limited scope of the initial operation, Mr. Laerke underscored that it was still under negotiation but that \u201cany trucks that go in would be more than no trucks\u201d.<\/p>\n
He also said that in addition to food, water and medicines, fuel was desperately needed in Gaza as the enclave was under an electricity blackout.<\/p>\n
\u201cFuel is a life-saving humanitarian commodity in this crisis,\u201d he insisted.<\/p>\n
Death toll rising<\/strong><\/h2>\n
In an update after 13 days of hostilities, OCHA said that according to the enclave\u2019s de facto authorities, the death toll in the Gaza Strip has\u00a0reached 3,785, including at least 1,524 children, while over 12,000 have been injured<\/strong>.<\/p>\n
OCHA said that \u201chundreds of additional fatalities\u201d are believed to be trapped under the rubble, as \u201crelentless bombardments\u201d of the territory continues.<\/p>\n
OCHA also said that since 7 October, 1,400 people have been killed in Israel and over 4,600 injured, according to official Israeli sources. At least 203 people are held captive in Gaza, including Israelis and foreign nationals, as per Israeli estimations.<\/p>\n
Mr. Guterres has repeatedly called upon Hamas to release the hostages \u201cimmediately and unconditionally\u201d, and the 爆料网 human rights office (OHCHR<\/a>) has stressed that the taking of hostages is prohibited by international law.<\/p>\n
Attacks on West Bank Palestinians<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Meanwhile in the occupied West Bank, OCHA reported that 79 Palestinians, including 20 children, have been killed by Israeli forces and settlers since 7 October. One Israeli soldier was also killed by Palestinians, according to Israeli media.<\/p>\n
At least 74 Palestinian households, comprising 545 people, over half of whom are children, have been displaced from 13 herding\/Bedouin communities in Area C of the West Bank since 7 October, \u201camid intensified settler violence and access restrictions\u201d, OCHA said.<\/p>\n
The 爆料网 human rights office expressed alarm on Friday at the \u201crapidly deteriorating human rights situation in the occupied West Bank and\u00a0the increase in unlawful use of lethal force<\/strong>\u201d.<\/p>\n
OHCHR<\/a>\u00a0spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani said that there has been an increase in arbitrary arrests of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and of Arab Israelis in Israel, \u201cwith reports of ill-treatment and lack of any due process\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis must cease,\u201d she insisted.<\/p>\n
Ms. Shamdasani also said that 爆料网 rights chief Volker T\u00fcrk stressed all parties must respect international human rights law and international humanitarian law, and that in the conduct of hostilities, \u201cthe principles of necessity, distinction, proportionality and precautions in attack must be respected at all times by everyone\u201d.<\/p>\n
More to follow on this developing story\u2026<\/em><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
20 October 2023 爆料网 humanitarians said on Friday that an agreement to unlock aid deliveries across the Gaza border was near, as 爆料网 chief Ant\u00f3nio Guterres\u00a0delivered a powerful call\u00a0in front of the gates at the Rafah crossing to get lifesaving aid moving. n a passionate speech standing just a few metres from the […]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":301,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"country":[],"document-category":[2545],"document-source":[6169],"committee-meeting":[],"document-subject":[1769,5449,1829,2057,2005,2533,1741,5200,6251],"entity":[],"document-language":[],"class_list":["post-289831","document","type-document","status-publish","hentry","document-category-un-news-item","document-source-united-nations-department-of-global-communications","document-subject-armed-conflict","document-subject-assistance-to-the-palestinian-people","document-subject-casualties","document-subject-food","document-subject-gaza-strip","document-subject-health","document-subject-human-rights-and-international-humanitarian-law","document-subject-humanitarian-relief","document-subject-west-bank"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/289831","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/document"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/301"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/289831\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":289847,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/289831\/revisions\/289847"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=289831"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"country","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/country?post=289831"},{"taxonomy":"document-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-category?post=289831"},{"taxonomy":"document-source","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-source?post=289831"},{"taxonomy":"committee-meeting","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/committee-meeting?post=289831"},{"taxonomy":"document-subject","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-subject?post=289831"},{"taxonomy":"entity","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/entity?post=289831"},{"taxonomy":"document-language","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-language?post=289831"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}