Occupied Palestinian territory, Haiti, Burundi & other topics - Daily Press Briefing (22 May 2024)

Noon Briefing by Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.

Highlights: 
-Occupied Palestinian territory
-Haiti
-Burundi
-Central African Republic
-Biological diversity
-Guest tomorrow

OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY
I’ll start with an update on Gaza. Our colleagues from the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) say that civilians displaced by escalating hostilities and evacuation orders in Gaza lack shelter, they lack food, they lack water and other supplies and services essential for human survival.  
This comes amid reports of the ongoing Israeli bombardment, as well as heavy fighting and ground incursions, particularly in eastern Rafah in the south and Jabalya in the northern part of the Gaza Strip.
Since 6 May, nearly 815,000 people have been displaced from Rafah, with about 100,000 others displaced in the north. 
Over the past 10 days, nearly 150,000 people have registered with UNRWA (UN Relief and Works Agency) in Khan Younis – they’ve registered to receive services from UNRWA - with a 36 per cent increase in the number of people at UNRWA facilities there.
The agency says that families are living among rubble in damaged schools, and they lack tents, essential services as well as vital supplies. 
Yesterday, supply shortages and insecurity forced UNRWA to suspend food distribution in Rafah. 
Every effort is being made to establish additional kitchens in Khan Younis, in Deir al Balah and Gaza City and scale up the distribution of hot meals. However, our partners working to get food to people in need warn that supplies for hot meals might soon be exhausted. Persistent shortages – including of cooking gas, which is essential – are hindering efforts to keep community kitchens and bakeries running.
UNRWA says the agency is working with communities in Khan Younis to provide water, sanitation and waste collection support. However, the challenges are immense, including scarce water, fuel and sanitary resources.
Meanwhile, as hostilities continue in northern Gaza, the World Health Organization says Kamal Adwan hospital – the largest partially functional hospital in the north – was reportedly hit four times yesterday. In a social media post, the Director-General of WHO, Dr. Tedros, noted that efforts were underway to evacuate 20 health staff and more than a dozen patients who were still inside the facility. 
And turning in the West Bank, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports that 16 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces since 14 May, including nine in Jenin and four in Tulkarm governorate. 
 
HAITI 
Coming back to this hemisphere, in Haiti, our humanitarian colleagues say that violence continues to affect the health sector, further limiting people’s access to life-saving care in and around the capital, Port-au-Prince. 
According to our health partners, only 20 per cent of health facilities in Port-au-Prince are fully operational. The fact that 80 per cent of them are not fully operational is due to attacks and looting by armed groups.  
The resumption of some commercial flights at the Port-au-Prince International Airport at the beginning of the week is a positive development.  
Our humanitarian colleagues say it is critical for the airport to be fully operational but we also need the seaport to reopen to bring in a larger volume of supplies.
A lot of the seaport is crucial to ensure the entry of medicine and medical supplies into the country to replenish dwindling stocks. 
Since late February, the International Organization for Migration and its partners have supported the delivery of healthcare services to more than 21,000 displaced men, women and children, that is in Port-au-Prince and that is being done through mobile clinics. 
Meanwhile, UNICEF said yesterday that it facilitated the delivery of 38 tons of supplies, including health and cholera kits and other essential medical commodities.  
The delivery was made possible via an airbridge from Panama into Cap-Haïtien, and that is being supported by the European Union Aid Office and operationalized by the World Food Programme, who as you know deal with logistics among other things.

Full Highlights: https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/noon-briefing-highlight?date%5Bvalue%5D%5Bdate%5D=22%20May%202024