UN Geneva Press Briefing – 21 June 2024 (excerpt on Situation in Gaza by OCHA, WHO and UN Women)

21 June 2024

Watch full Press briefing

(Excerpt)

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Situation in Gaza

Maryse Guimond, for UN Women Palestine Office, who had just returned from a week-long mission in Gaza, speaking from Jerusalem, said that homes, hospitals, schools, universities, daycare centers across Gaza were all demolished. People were trapped in the world of scarcity; they were moving to any available open space, including roads, agricultural land, and damaged buildings. After nearly nine months of war, the population was almost entirely disposed of means to provide for their livelihoods. The people of Gaza were asking for the war to stop, as every day of war brought more destruction and suffering. Gaza was more than two million stories of loss; every woman Ms. Guimond had met had her own story of loss. Despite the challenges, women-led organizations continued to provide essential services. In their meeting with Ms. Guimond, some of these women emphasized, “The question is not what women need; the question should be what they don’t need. Women don’t want to die, they don’t want to bury their loved ones, they don’t want to be left alone to suffer.” Such organizations should be provided support so that they could continue their lifesaving humanitarian work. It was crucial to help protect the dignity of people in Gaza, especially women and girls. The women Ms. Guimond had met all called for the end of this war, while doing what they could to help their families and communities. Ms. Guimond concluded by stressing that conflicts were never gender-neutral, which was why it was so critical that we all ensure that men, and women of all ages sit at decision-making tables and fully access humanitarian aid. 

Dr. Richard Peeperkorn, World Health Organization (WHO) Representative in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, speaking from Jerusalem, said that an estimated 70,000 people remained in the Rafah area. The closure of the Rafah crossing had cut off the UN logistics hub, which had hindered the flow of supplies. Access through Kerem Shalom was much more challenging. Without regular fuel, humanitarian operations were severely constrained. WHO had for the first time managed to bring in supplies from Jerusalem through Kerem Shalom, which was a welcome development, said Dr. Peeperkorn. The Rafah crossing ought to be reopened, as much more of the supplies needed be regularly brought in. Some 4,800 patients had been medevacked from Gaza so far; an estimated 10,000 more patients needed medical evaluation, according to the WHO, half of whom had chronic diseases and the other half because of the conflict-inflected injuries. Before the war, up to 100 patients from Gaza used to be referred to hospitals in East Jerusalem and the West Bank every day; that was needed again. Speaking of infectious diseases, Dr. Peeperkorn said that there was water contamination, food spoilage, dehydration, in combination with the incredibly poor water and sanitation circumstances, leading to 25 times more diarrhea than normal, as well as high numbers of Hepatitis A cases.

Dr. Thanos Gargavanis, World Health Organization (WHO) trauma surgeon and emergency officer, also speaking from Jerusalem, stressed that the United Nations were trying to operate in a non-workable environment in Gaza. Closure of the Rafah crossing, ongoing hostilities, and destruction of law and order were all contributing factors. The UN was doing only a fraction of what it should be doing. The expansion of the humanitarian zone, as described by the Israel Defense Forces, did not reflect the reality: no place in Rafah, the middle area, or the north of Gaza was really safe, he stressed. WHO and the UN continued to deliver in an extremely challenging context. Right now, there were issues related to the heat, but later in the year, there would be different challenges related to humidity or cold weather. Each season brought its own challenges for the health of people in Gaza.  

Answering questions from the media, Dr. Peeperkorn, for the WHO, said that 17 out of 36 hospitals were partly functional. The largest hospital in Gaza – Al-Shifa – was not functional, he said. In Rafah, no hospitals were currently functional. He praised the incredible resilience of local health workers. There was a total of ten field hospitals in Gaza, added Dr. Peeperkorn. Many trauma cases and amputations had been noticed among adolescents and children, he said. Dr. Gargavanis, also for the WHO, said that, based on estimates and extrapolations, there were 3,000 amputees so far. WHO was focused on lifesaving and limb-saving, but there were currently no conditions for prothesis and rehabilitation of amputees, something that the ICRC used to do before the current conflict. Dr. Peeperkorn added that helping amputees and mental health would be among public health priorities after the conflict. 

Ms. Guimond, for UN Women, said that the situation of pregnant and breastfeeding women was rather catastrophic. More than 37,000 people had been killed since the beginning of the conflict, majority of them women and children, emphasized Ms. Guimond. She said that never before had she witnessed such a disastrous situation. Many women she had encountered had spoken of specific hygiene and care challenges they were facing; women and girls were thus double affected. There were an estimated 50,000 pregnant women in Gaza, added Dr. Peeperkorn. It was difficult to estimate if the number of pregnancies had dropped down since the start of the conflict. A lot of preterm and low-weight babies had been observed across Gaza. More and more women were asking for early Cesarian section in order to secure a safe delivery, as they did not know if they could access hospitals later. Adequate post-natal care was missing. 

Responding to further questions, Dr. Gargavanis explained that the humanitarian pause had not been really reflected on the ground. Jens Laerke, for the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), said that any initiative aiming to facilitate aid delivery was welcomed. In reality, unfortunately, such various initiative had amounted to little as fighting on the ground had for the most part continued. It was the responsibility of the Israeli authorities, as the occupying power, to address the public order and safety, and to create an enabling environment for the UN and partners to deliver the much-needed humanitarian law. 

Since the closure of the Rafah crossing on 7 May, the WHO had not been able to conduct any medical evacuations from Gaza, said Dr. Peeperkorn answering another question. The 4,800 patients who had been medevacked so far were mostly in the region, including Egypt, Jordan, and Türkiye. East Jerusalem and West Bank hospitals were the most logical destinations for medical evaluations; before the conflict, over 90 percent of patients used to be sent there.  Some 67 percent of water and sanitation facilities had been destroyed or damaged, informed Dr. Gargavanis.

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