(UN News)* — Gaza has become a “graveyard” for children with thousands now killed under Israeli bombardment, while more than a million face dire shortages of essentials and a lifetime of trauma ahead, UN humanitarians said on Tuesday [].
UN relief chief Martin Griffiths, who has been visiting Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory, spoke to families in Gaza over the phone from east Jerusalem on Tuesday and said that what they have endured since the start of Israel’s retaliation for Hamas’ deadly 7 October attacks is “beyond devastating”.
“When an eight-year-old tells you that she doesn’t want to die, it’s hard not to feel helpless,” he wrote on social platform X.
“…If you wanna make the world a better place Take a look at yourself and then make a change…” — Siedah Garrett and Glen Ballard
Tucked into a corner of a tiny apartment on the 8th floor of a block of flats not far from the Douro River in Porto, Portugal, are a small desk, two laptops and an orthopedic chair. “This,” proclaimed Antonio with a flourish, “isTMS!”
Antonio C.S. Rosa, Porto Oct 2023 | Photo by Marilyn Langlois
(UN News)* — UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Monday [] called on the world to “stop the madness” of climate change as he visited the Everest region in Nepal where melting glaciers are putting entire communities at risk of extinction.
UN Photo/Narendra Shrestha | UN Secretary-General António Guterres visits Syangbpoche in Solukhumbu district, Nepal.
Nepal has lost almost a third of its ice volume in 30 years, with glaciers melting 65 per cent faster in the last decade than in the previous one.
“The rooftops of the world are caving in,” the UN chief said, warning that the “disappearance of glaciers altogether” looms even larger.
For peace, an immediate ceasefire, dialogue and negotiations in Gaza.
The Israeli government is committing war crimes and genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza. They are breaking international law, which prohibits the collective punishment of civilian populations.
Mairead Corrigan Maguire
Governments like the USA and United Kingdom that support Israel’s genocidal policies must also be held legally responsible.
These governments are supporting the deaths of Palestinians, many of which are children, and the destruction of their land.
All of this is exacerbated by the US sending warships to support the Israeli siege of Gaza, with obscene bombing.
These war crimes have rightly shaken all peoples in the world who value human rights, dignity, equality and freedom.
28 October 2023 — Médecins Sans Frontières [Doctors without Borders] calls for an immediate ceasefire to prevent more deaths in Gaza and allow desperately needed humanitarian supplies in.
War in Gaza: find out how we’re responding
Since Friday 27 October, the bombing by the Israeli forces has intensified to a degree not seen until now: northern Gaza is being razed to the ground, while the whole Strip is being hit and civilians have no place to take shelter.
— As much needed aid starts to trickle into besieged Gaza, a war over facts is ratcheting up as conflicting narratives about the situation on the ground are being fuelled by social media.
Harmful disinformation about the ongoing conflict in the wake of the 7 October attacks by Hamas against Israel continues to circulate online, with potentially dangerous consequences on the ground.
While misinformation refers to the accidental spread of falsehoods, disinformation can be circulated intentionally by State or non-State actors, including during an armed conflict, to influence public or political opinion; it can affect all areas of development, from peace and security to humanitarian aid.
UNITED NATIONS, Oct 272023 (IPS)* – Last August, 91 UN member states, “in a demonstration of solidarity and commitment”, signed a U.S.-Led Joint Communiqué condemning the Use of Food as a Weapon of War.
A young girl eats bread distributed by World Food Programme, at a school shelter in Gaza. Credit: WFP/Ali Jadallah
Roughly 345 million people – in 79 countries – face acute food insecurity, often caused or exacerbated by armed conflicts, the US said, pointing out that the joint communiqué was born out of the United States’ resolve to once again use its UN Security Council presidency to draw attention to conflict-induced food insecurity.
Geneva/Cairo/Port Sudan, 16 October 2023 (IOM)* – Six months into the conflict, Sudan has become the largest internal displacement crisis in the world with over 7.1 million people displaced within the country, 4.5 million of whom have been displaced since violence erupted in mid-April, according to the latest figures from the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
Ali, originally from Khartoum, is now forced to sleep in the open air in Northern Sudan. Shelter is among the most pressing needs for millions displaced by the violence. Photo: IOM Sudan/Noory Taha
Approximately three million are originally from Khartoum, the capital and the epicenter of the conflict.
Marking the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, Mr. Guterres pointed out that nearly 700 million people are living on less than $2.15 per day and over a billion don’t have access to basic needs like food, water, health care and education.
Billions more lack sanitation and access to energy, jobs, housing and social safety nets, he added.
Distress is being deepened by conflicts, the climate crisis, discrimination and exclusion – particularly against women and girls, the UN chief said.
HUMAN WRONGS WATCH 