The United Nations has been working in the
Middle East region around the clock to de-escalate the
Israeli-Palestinian crisis by engaging key actors and providing
emergency assistance to civilians on the ground.
As the conflict intensified amid escalating violence, a complete
blockade of food, water, and vital services was put in place by
Israel as reports emerged of Israeli ground operations in Gaza,
which is home to more than two million people.
While UN offices in Gaza sustained “significant damage” from
nearby airstrikes on Monday night, agencies were striving to help
the affected population there and elsewhere, including the West
Bank, home to 871,000 registered
refugees.
The UN relief agency for Palestine refugees, UNWRA, currently has 13,000
national and international staff, most of them refugees
themselves, in Gaza and nearly 4,000 in the West Bank.
In addition, hundreds of employees continued working for
other UN agencies.
Along the restive Israel-Lebanon border, the UN peacekeeping
mission there, UNIFIL, is operating with
9,400 ground troops, 900 civilian staff, and 850 naval personnel
on its Maritime Task Force.
Here is a snapshot of how the UN is helping on the ground:
1. Protection
Heavy airstrikes since Saturday had displaced nearly 190,000
people in Gaza, so the UN relief agency for Palestine refugees,
UNRWA, is sheltering 137,500 men, women, and children in 83 of
its 288 schools, according to the agency’s latest
situation report. As of Tuesday, 18
UNRWA facilities sustained collateral and direct damage from
airstrikes, with injuries and deaths reported.
2. De-escalation
Top UN officials, including the Office of the UN Special
Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process (UNSCO), were engaging with
parties to the conflict and key stakeholders, including the
United States, Qatar, and the European Union, to de-escalate the
conflict.
The UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon, UNIFIL, continued to monitor
the unfolding “volatile” security situation along the
Israel-Lebanon border, issuing guidance for civilians and updates
via social media.
“We have fully engaged our liaison and coordination mechanisms at
all levels, to help avoid misunderstandings between Lebanon and
Israel that could lead to an escalation of the conflict,”
UNIFIL said. “This is our main
focus at the moment, and we are working 24/7 to accomplish it.”
3. Emergency services
Israel’s announced blockade of food, water, fuel, and electricity
in Gaza on Monday came as UN agencies warned of food scarcity
and a looming crisis. Mobile toilets and showers are being
deployed to UNRWA shelters, as needed. Palestinians in Gaza now
only have electricity for three to four hours per day, hindering
the ability of health facilities to function and treat those
injured, according to the UN humanitarian coordination
agency, OCHA.
4. FoodThe World Food Programme (WFP) and UNRWA were
coordinating the distribution of bread to displaced people in the
shelters in Gaza. “Nearly half a million people, or 112,000
families, have not been able to get their food rations this week
since UNRWA food distribution centres are closed,” UNRWA said.
As of Tuesday, WFP started distributing
fresh bread, canned food, and ready-to-eat foods to around
100,000 people at UNRWA shelters, with plans to reach more than
800,000 affected people in Gaza and the West Bank.
5. Health
Emergency healthcare services were being offered through the
toll-free hotline continued across Gaza. The UN’s country-based
pooled funds (CBPF) and its partners
released life-saving trauma and emergency drugs and medical
supplies to enable the health system in Gaza to respond to rising
needs. A total of 125 health staff are working in rotating shifts
at UNRWA health centres, with 15 out of 22 clinics providing
primary healthcare services from 9 am to 12 pm to patients with
urgent referred appointments received through a free-toll
hotline.
Relief and social services helplines were operational as of
Tuesday, and psychosocial support and psychological first aid
were being provided remotely. The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) had psychosocial
support experts ready to provide assistance to those who needed
it in Gaza and in the West Bank. “The community is appealing to
UNRWA to open the closed health centres due to the high demand
for services,” the agency said.
An UNRWA school sheltering more than 225 displaced people,
including many families, in the Gaza Strip was directly hit,
sustaining severe damages, but no casualties were reported.
6. Humanitarian corridors
Access for humanitarian staff and supplies into Gaza was cut this
week and the intensity of the hostilities was limiting the
ability of staff to deliver aid, according to Humanitarian
Coordinator for the occupied Palestinian territory, Lynn
Hastings, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator for the occupied
Palestinian territory. Meanwhile, the World Health Organization
(WHO), other UN agencies, and
partners continued to work towards establish a corridor to reach
people with critical supplies in Gaza.
