Gaza: Alongside conflict, an information war is still happening, warns UNRWA chief

This article is published in association with United Nations.

Amid reported Israeli strikes across the Gaza Strip into Thursday that killed at least 23 people, the head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, issued an urgent call to “get international media into Gaza” to cover the conflict, in addition to those reporters trapped in the enclave. 

“Palestinian journalists continue to do heroic work, paying a heavy price; 170 have been killed to date,” said UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini. “The free flow of information and independent reporting are key to facts and accountability during conflicts.”

In his appeal, Mr. Lazzarini noted that in the more than 18 months since war in Gaza began, sparked by unprecedented Hamas-led terror attacks on Israel, reliable reporting has been overtaken by propaganda and “dehumanizing” messages about the war.

Spike in attacks, censorship

Ajith Sunghay, head of the UN human rights office, OHCHR, in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, also expressed deep concerns about the dangers facing journalists there – although the situation “has always been very difficult”, he maintained.

“They have been subject to oppression in many instances we’ve recorded – killings and censorship and detention,” he told UN News. “But we have also recorded a massive spike in such operations – attacks, killings, detention and censorship – since 7 October 2023.”

Mr. Sunghay noted that OHCHR data indicates that 209 journalists have been killed in Gaza since 7 October 2023, the higher number reflecting all journalists killed on duty or at home.

The situation for journalists in the West Bank is also critical, with reports of arrested reporters receiving simulated beatings and threats of sexual violence against women journalists by Israeli authorities, the OHCHR office noted.

“Journalists are civilians and are protected from attacks under international humanitarian law unless they’re directly participating in hostilities,” Mr. Sunghay said, adding that Palestinian authorities were also reportedly responsible for “oppression” of media professionals. “The intentional killings of journalists is a war crime, and this is something that we have highlighted on several occasions.”

All aid still cut

In a related development, other UN agencies issued fresh alerts about the mounting impact of Israel’s six-week-old decision to cut off all food and other supplies from entering the shattered territory. Fuel is also included in the embargo and supplies are dwindling, with “bakeries shutting, hospitals running out of medicine” and gasoline for generators to keep their machinery working, said UNRWA.

Since Israeli bombing of Gaza resumed on 18 March, about 500,000 people have been newly displaced “or uprooted once more”, said spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General Stephanie Tremblay. Her comments came as Israel’s defence minister reportedly said that troops will remain in Gaza’s so-called security zones indefinitely, along with Lebanon and Syria.

Aid deliveries also continue to be impacted by Israeli refusals, with only two out of six missions that had been coordinated with the Israeli authorities allowed to go ahead on Wednesday. “The remaining four were denied” including one mission to retrieve urgently needed fuel from Rafah, noted Ms. Tremblay, citing the UN aid coordination office, OCHA.

Some 30 per cent of the Gaza Strip is now a security buffer where Palestinian civilians cannot live, the Israeli military reportedly announced.

Positive developments

Amid ongoing Israeli bombardment, military manoeuvres and evacuation orders, UN aid teams highlighted their continuing efforts to help the people of war-torn Gaza, despite encountering immense difficulties.

Here’s some of the latest positive news from UNRWA:

• Health centre reopens: Approximately 1,300 patients attended a newly reopened UNRWA health centre in Maan, southern Gaza, after it was severely damaged in December 2023 during an Israeli military incursion into east Khan Younis. The facility provides outpatient services, non-communicable disease care, medications, vaccinations, antenatal and postnatal health care. It also offers physiotherapy and psychosocial support.
• A blood donation drive for local hospitals is also underway in southern Gaza at UNRWA medical points amid an urgent need for thousands of blood units for life-saving operations. “Medicines and medical consumables are rapidly running out in Gaza, including critically low levels of supplies and blood units for maternal and child health,” the UN agency said.
• Water well flowing again: Repairs have been successful to a water well that serves around 20,000 displaced people in Jabalia camp and others sheltering in seven UNRWA shelters in the surrounding area, the UN agency said on Thursday. UNRWA now operates five water wells: three in Jabalia, one in Gaza City and one in Khan Younis. Recycled and reused parts made the project possible. According to the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), around one million people, including 400,000 children, have gone from having access to 16 litres of drinking water per person per day, to just six.
• Daily waste removal continues in Gaza with around 2,500 cubic metres of water and 230 tonnes of solid waste collected every day. This represents about 40 per cent of overall needs.

In its latest update, OCHA said that at least 51,000 Palestinians have been killed since the start of the war on 7 October 2023 and 116,343 Palestinians injured. This includes 1,630 people killed and 4,302 injured since the escalation of hostilities on 18 March, it said, citing Gaza health authorities

Doctors recount never-ending incidents of patients they could have saved, if medical supplies were available
– OCHA

“The lack of heavy machinery and equipment hinder rescue efforts of the wounded and missing while casualties continue to fall due to continued bombardment by Israeli forces, including on tents for displaced people,” OCHA said.

Meanwhile, the aid community’s Nutrition Cluster has warned that the rapid deterioration of children’s nutrition status in Gaza “is already visible”. 

In March alone, 3,696 children were newly admitted for acute malnutrition out of 91,769 children screened. This marks a sharp increase compared with February, when 2,027 children were admitted out of a total of 83,823 screened.