Highlights of the noon briefing by Spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General (excerpt on Gaza) 15 July 2024

15 July 2024

(Excerpt)

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Occupied Palestinian Territory

Turning to the situation in Gaza, I think you all heard a rather extensive briefing from our friend Scott Anderson, the head of UNRWA in Gaza.

I can further tell you that we and our humanitarian partners continue to assist families who are being displaced from northern Gaza to areas in the south. A team from the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs carried out a mission today aimed at supporting the scaling up of services at points where families fleeing northern Gaza are arriving in the south.

Furthermore, our humanitarian partners are registering displaced people so that support can be provided to them wherever they seek shelter south of Wadi Gaza. We are also planning missions to areas [east] of Salahal-deen road to assess people’s needs in that area.

OCHA says that with each new evacuation directive, families in Gaza are forced to make impossible choices: stay, amid active hostilities, or flee to areas with little space and services – and of course, no guarantee of safety as we saw this weekend. OCHA also says the horrors witnessed in recent days only underscore what we have said repeatedly over the past nine months: There is no safe place in Gaza. Not shelters, not hospitals – and not the so-called humanitarian zones.

We call yet again for all parties to this conflict to respect their obligations under international humanitarian law. They must take constant care to spare civilians and civilian objects. This includes ensuring safe passage for those who flee. And wherever they are in Gaza, civilians must receive the essentials they need to survive: food, shelter and health care.

Making sure civilians in Gaza get the lifesaving support they need means ensuring safe and unimpeded humanitarian operations.