Highlights of the noon briefing by Spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General (excerpt on Occupied Palestinian Territory) 1 July 2024

01 July 2024

(Excerpt)

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Occupied Palestinian Territory

From Gaza, our colleagues from the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs report that we and our partners in Gaza are providing food assistance to newly displaced people. This is in the wake of the displacement last week of tens of thousands of Palestinians from the areas of Gaza City in the north and from southern Al Mawasi in Rafah in the south. Unfortunately, there [are] little to no shelter materials or other critical supplies available to support these newly displaced people.

It continues to be nearly impossible to collect humanitarian aid from the Kerem Shalom crossing to distribute that assistance inside Gaza. This is due to the lack of public order and safety, as well as ongoing hostilities, damaged roads, fuel shortages, and access restrictions.
OCHA reports that during the entire month of June, Israeli authorities facilitated less than half of the 115 planned humanitarian assistance missions to northern Gaza. More than a third were impeded; nearly 10 per cent were denied access; and about 9 per cent were canceled due to logistical, operational, or security reasons.

Meanwhile, our humanitarian colleagues warn that the unexploded ordnance continues to pose a significant risk to the lives of people across Gaza, that includes internally displaced people and people trying to return to areas from whence they came. Children are particularly at risk. As an example, on Saturday, a nine-year-old girl was reportedly killed, and three others injured by unexploded ordnance in an area south of Khan Younis.

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