Food distribution in Palestinian refugee camps/SecGen report on Lebanese elections – Geneva press briefing (8 Oct. 2004) – Press release (excerpts)

REGULAR PRESS BRIEFING BY THE INFORMATION SERVICE

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Lebanon report

Ms. Heuzé recalled that the Security Council by its resolution 1599 had called for all foreign troops to withdraw from Lebanon. It had also called for the disbanding and disarmament of all Lebanese and non-Lebanese militias. The Secretary-General said in a ten-page report that, to the best of his ability to ascertain, the only significant foreign forces deployed in Lebanon are Syrian. The report was available at the Documentation Centre.

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Palestine

Christiane Berthiaume, World Food Programme, said the WFP had embarked on a joint effort with the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) to deliver food in Jabaliya, Gaza, for “high-risk distribution” since the borders were closed. In Jabaliya, WFP was assisting 300 families, a total of 2,000 people a day.

Gaza alone accounted for 140,000 people in need of aid the West Bank had half a million food recipients. The proportion of people living in poverty in Gaza is estimated to reach 72 per cent of the population. This involved negotiations with the Israeli authorities and ensuring military protection for house-to-house deliveries in dangerous circumstances. Distribution points were too dangerous to open. Food was available but distribution was a problem, nevertheless UNRWA had staved off malnutrition in Gaza.

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