Latest news with #JonathanWhittall
Scoop
3 hours ago
- Health
- Scoop
‘Our Kids Cry For Food': Most Gaza Families Survive On One Meal A Day
The meals which families are able to obtain are nutritiously poor — thin broths, lentils or rice, one piece of bread or sometimes just a combination of herbs and olive oil known as duqqa. Adults are routinely skipping meals in order to leave more for children, the elderly and the ill. And still, on average since January, 112 children have been admitted on a daily basis for acute malnutrition. '[When my children wake up at night hungry] I tell them 'Drink water and close your eyes.' It breaks me. I do the same – drink water and pray for morning,' as one parent said. Risking lives for food Due to these extreme food shortages, people in Gaza are forced to risk their lives on a daily basis to access small amounts of food. Since 27 May, 549 Palestinians have been killed and 4,066 have been injured trying to access food, according to the Ministry of Health (MoH) in Gaza. 'The majority of casualties have been shot or shelled trying to reach US-Israeli distribution sites purposefully set up in militarized zones,' said Jonathan Whittall, head of office for the UN humanitarian affairs agency, OCHA, in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Since the end of May, the US-Israeli backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) has been distributing aid in Gaza, bypassing the UN and established NGOs. The UN has said Palestinians who seek aid from the GHF face threats of gunfire, shelling and stampedes. 'We don't want to be out there. But what choice do we have? Our kids cry for food. We don't sleep at night. We walk, wait, and hope we come back,' one Palestinian told WFP. Systems near collapse Protracted conflict and bombardment have pushed almost all service systems in Gaza to the brink. As a result of fuel shortages, only 40 per cent of drinking water facilities are functional and 93 per cent of households face water insecurity. The fuel shortage is also negatively affecting the provision of medical services with medical equipment and medicine storage reliant on electricity. For the first time since the resumption of limited aid entry on 19 May, nine trucks containing medical items offloaded supplies on the Israeli side of the Kerem Shalom crossing on Wednesday. Displaced, over and over again Since the resumption of Israeli bombardment in Gaza on 18 March after a 42-day ceasefire, over 684,000 Palestinians have been displaced. And for almost all of them, this is not the first time. With over 82 per cent of Gaza either designated as an Israeli militarized zone or under a displacement order, there are few places — much less safe places — that the newly displaced can go. They have been forced to take shelter in overcrowded displacement camps, makeshift shelters, damaged buildings and sometimes just on open streets. Schools are no longer buildings of learning but of shelter. 'Schools have transformed into empty shelters, devoid of any elements of a safe learning environment,' said Kamla, a teacher with the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in Nuseirat. All of these shelters are experiencing rapidly deteriorating conditions as a result of insufficient shelter materials, according to Stéphane Dujarric, spokesperson for the Secretary-General. 'No shelter materials have entered Gaza since 1 March, before the Israeli authorities imposed a full blockade on aid and any other supplies for nearly 80 days,' he said at a briefing on 19 June. 'While some commodities have subsequently been allowed in small quantities, tents, timber, tarpaulins and any other shelter items remain prohibited.' The UN and its partners have 980,000 shelter items prepared to dispatch into Gaza once authorization is granted by the Israeli authorities. 'Symbols of hope' Since the beginning of the violence in Gaza, UNRWA has continued to work tirelessly to provide displaced and injured Palestinians with many types of support. "Despite all this, the eyes and hopes of our community remain fixed on us. UNRWA staff are not merely service providers. In the eyes of people in Gaza, we are pillars of resilience, lifelines of stability and symbols of hope,' said Hussein, an UNRWA worker in Gaza City. But as fuel shortages continue and only small amounts of humanitarian aid — food, medicine, shelter materials — trickle through the Kerem Shalom border crossing, the job of UNRWA workers and other humanitarians in Gaza is increasingly untenable. 'We have lost all the tools needed to work, so we have had to adapt,' said Neven, a psychosocial UNRWA worker in Khan Younis. Despite their best efforts, the bombardment and devastation of Gaza continues with children going hungry and some even expressing suicidal thoughts. 'I told my daughter her deceased father is safe, eating and drinking with God,' one mother said. 'Now, she cries every day and says, 'I'm hungry and want to go to my father because he has food to feed us.''
Saba Yemen
3 days ago
- Politics
- Saba Yemen
UN official condemns Israel's killing of starving Palestinians in Gaza
New York - Saba: A UN official condemned the Israeli entity's killing of starving Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, describing what is happening there as a "massacre" that constitutes an "erasure of Palestinian life." This came in a media briefing on Gaza delivered by Jonathan Whittall, head of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in the occupied Palestinian territory, and republished by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). Whatsapp Telegram Email Print
Days of Palestine
4 days ago
- Politics
- Days of Palestine
OCHA: Conditions in Gaza Are Designed to Kill
DaysofPal- The head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in the occupied Palestinian territory, Jonathan Whittall, stated that the conditions civilians are enduring in Gaza are 'designed to kill.' In press remarks on Tuesday, Whittall said: 'What we are witnessing is a massacre. This is starvation being used as a weapon. This is forced displacement. This is a death sentence for people who are simply trying to survive.' He emphasized that these factors collectively amount to 'an operation to erase Palestinian life from Gaza.' Since October 7, 2023, the Israeli occupation has been committing acts of genocide in the Gaza Strip, including killing, starvation, destruction, and forced displacement, disregarding international appeals and rulings by the International Court of Justice to cease such actions. The ongoing war has resulted in the deaths of 55,998 people—most of them women and children—and injured 131,559 others. These numbers are not final, as many victims remain trapped under rubble and on the roads, unreachable by rescue and medical teams. Shortlink for this post:
Scoop
6 days ago
- Health
- Scoop
Gaza: UN Warns Of ‘Weaponised Hunger' And Growing Death Toll Amid Food Chaos
Speaking to journalists in Deir al Balah on Saturday, Jonathan Whittall, who heads the UN humanitarian coordination office (OCHA) in Gaza and the West Bank, said: 'The attempt to survive is being met with a death sentence.' Since Israel eased its total blockade last month, more than 400 people are reported to have died trying to reach food distribution points. 'We see a chilling pattern of Israeli forces opening fire on crowds gathering to get food,' Mr. Whittall said, noting many of these sites are in militarised zones. Others have been killed along access routes or while protecting aid convoys. 'It shouldn't be this way,' he said. 'There shouldn't be a death toll associated with accessing the essentials for life.' Empty warehouses, overwhelmed hospitals Conditions across Gaza continue to deteriorate. Water wells have run dry or are located in dangerous areas, sanitation systems have collapsed, and disease is spreading rapidly. 'Our warehouses stand empty,' Mr. Whittall said. 'Displaced families flee with nothing – and we have nothing to give them.' Partially functioning hospitals are overwhelmed by near-daily mass casualty events. Some have been directly hit, while others are choked by fuel shortages and forced evacuation orders. UNICEF reports more than 110 children are being treated for malnutrition every day. Mr. Whittall said humanitarian agencies are capable of reaching every family in the shattered enclave but are being systematically blocked. 'We have a we are prevented from doing so at every turn.' Death sentence He described the situation as 'weaponised hunger', 'forced displacement', and 'a death sentence for people just trying to survive'. 'This is carnage,' Mr. Whittall said. 'It appears to be the erasure of Palestinian life from Gaza.' He urged the international community to act: 'We need a lasting ceasefire, accountability, and real pressure to stop this. This is the bare minimum.'
New York Times
29-05-2025
- General
- New York Times
What to Know About Aid Getting to Gaza
A controversial new aid center in Gaza began its work on Tuesday, with chaos and confusion marring the first days of operation. The group running it was conceived by Israelis and the plan was backed by Israel, but the United Nations and many other humanitarian organizations are boycotting it, criticizing its lack of independence. The criticism is another sign of Israel's growing isolation. Britain, France, and Canada issued a rare public reprimand of Israel on May 20, demanding that it cease its widening military offensive in Gaza. That laid bare growing rifts between Israel and its traditional Western allies, and prompted a furious Israeli response. Much of the criticism has focused on Israel's decision to block aid to Gaza for more than two months beginning in March, exacerbating already dire conditions in the enclave. Jonathan Whittall, a senior U.N. humanitarian official, said nearly 50 people had been injured in the chaotic fray on Tuesday. He called the Israeli attempt to take control of humanitarian aid distribution for Palestinians in Gaza part of 'an assault on their human dignity.' On Thursday, the group running the new aid operation said warning shots and smoke bombs were fired to disperse crowds at a distribution hub it had just opened in central Gaza. Is any aid getting into Gaza? The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, the new group running aid distribution, said on Thursday that about 17,200 food boxes had been distributed in the enclave so far, with each one feeding '5.5 people for 3.5 days,' totaling more than 1.8 million meals. The flow of aid is expected to increase daily, it added. But the United Nations said the supplies constitute a mere trickle of assistance in face of the needs of a population of about two million people at risk of famine. Where tent camps are filling up again in Gaza Following fresh evacuation orders, people have fled once again to Mawasi, a small strip of land where Israel has repeatedly instructed Palestinians to go during the war. Feb. 15 Detail May 17 500 ft. Where tent camps are filling up again in Gaza Following fresh evacuation orders, people have fled again to Mawasi, a small strip of land where Israel has repeatedly instructed Palestinians to go during the war. Feb. 15 Detail May 17 500 ft. Source: Satellite images by Planet Labs By Samuel Granados Israeli military ground activity in Gaza in the past week A B Gaza City Mediterranean Sea GAZA STRIP C Khan Younis ISRAEL F D E Rafah EGYPT Near Gaza City A B Graded area Recently cleared areas Cleared areas New vehicle tracks Near Khan Younis C D Cleared areas Cleared areas New vehicle tracks Near Rafah E F Cleared areas Cleared areas Israeli military ground activity in Gaza in the past week Near Gaza City A B A Graded area B Gaza City Cleared areas Recently cleared areas New vehicle tracks GAZA STRIP C Near Khan Younis Khan Younis C D D E Cleared areas F Cleared areas Rafah New vehicle tracks Near Rafah E F Cleared areas Cleared areas Source: Satellite images taken on May 25 by Planet Labs By Samuel Granados Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
