Dakar, Senegal (PANA) - The draw for the 25th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations for Women's Handball, held Wednesday in Dakar placed Senegal, the host country, in group C with Cameroon, Ivory Coast, and Madagascar Full text...
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Gaza: UN official warns of ’assault on dignity’ as blockade cripples humanitarian response Jonathan Whittall, Head of UN OCHA’s Office for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, speaks with journalists in Gaza. UN News Jonathan Whittall, Head of UN OCHA’s Office for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, speaks with journalists in Gaza. 26 April 2025 Humanitarian Aid Gaza City, Gaza (PANA) - The coming days in Gaza are set to be critical, the UN warned on Saturday, as humanitarian operations are severely curtailed amid an intensifying blockade, escalating violence, and soaring humanitarian needs. Speaking to journalists in Gaza City, Jonathan Whittall, local Head of Office for the UN aid coordination wing, OCHA, painted a dire picture of life under what he called a "total and complete blockade" now approaching its third month. "The coming days in Gaza are going to be critical. Today people are not surviving in Gaza, those that aren’t being killed with bombs and bullets are slowly dying," he said. Whittall stressed that humanitarian agencies are unable to meet the soaring needs of civilians due to the collapse of supply lines. Hospitals are overwhelmed, but medicines and equipment are running out. People are going hungry, but food warehouses are empty and bakeries are closing. Clean water is desperately needed, but water wells are inaccessible. He noted that solid waste is piling up in the streets with no equipment to remove it, and that rescue efforts after airstrikes are impossible without fuel and machinery. Displaced families are forced to live in rubble without shelter materials, and fishermen are being shot at sea, while humanitarian organisations lack the resources to assist them. "Nowhere in Gaza today is safe", he said. He added that children need to learn, but schools have been destroyed or are inaccessible, and that education supplies are not available. Prices of the remaining goods in Gaza continue to rise, but there is no cash available. There is no cooking gas or fuel, forcing families to burn trash to generate some energy. A war ’without any limits’ "This is not only about humanitarian needs, but it’s about dignity. There is an assault on people’s dignity in Gaza today," he warned. "We also know that humanitarian workers, first responders, you as journalists, should be protected, like all civilians, but we’re being killed in a war that appears to be fought without any limits," he added. Whittall emphasised that the situation in Gaza does not even resemble a war. "People in Gaza are telling me that they feel like it’s the deliberate dismantling of Palestinian life in plain sight, for all to see, documented every day by you as journalists," he said. He described the devastation witnessed daily — including children’s bodies thrown by explosions, families burnt alive, and colleagues killed — as part of what he termed "everyday atrocities." "As humanitarians we can see that aid is being weaponised through its denial," he warned. "There’s no justification for the denial of humanitarian assistance. And humanitarian aid should never be weaponised." Despite the catastrophic conditions, he stressed that humanitarian organisations are continuing to operate where possible, but "we have less and less and less supplies and less and less capacity to be able to meet the growing and growing needs that are intensifying across Gaza." "Lives depend on the blockade being lifted, on aid being allowed to enter into Gaza, on the ceasefire being reinstated," he said, calling for real accountability rather than waiting for history to judge the international community’s response. Hunger and malnutrition surging In a separate statement, OCHA warned of a “severe decline” in food availability across Gaza, as malnutrition rates escalate rapidly, particularly among children. A UN partner organisation recently screened around 1,300 children in northern Gaza and identified over 80 cases of acute malnutrition, representing more than double the rate recorded in previous weeks. "Nutrition partners report a critical shortage of supplies due to the obstruction of aid entry and challenges in transporting essential materials within Gaza," OCHA said. Access to key facilities, including UNICEF’s main warehouse in Rafah, remains heavily restricted. Journalists who visited the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) main warehouses this week found them largely empty of food supplies, including flour. Call for accountability and action "Nothing can justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people," UNRWA said in a separate statement, stressing that international law prohibits indiscriminate attacks, the obstruction of humanitarian assistance, and the destruction of vital civilian infrastructure. The agency reiterated its call for a renewed ceasefire, the dignified release of all hostages, and the immediate, unhindered flow of humanitarian aid and commercial goods into Gaza. -0-PANA RA 27April2025
- Sports
Ghana girls, Tanzania boys crowned CAF African Schools Football champions
The semi-finals of the AFCON 2020 Handball Championship played Friday night in Tunis
Handball CAN 2020 marks a break this Saturday
Tunis, Tunisia (PANA) - The matches of the final phase of the African Handball Cup of Nations to be played until January 26 takes a break this Saturday before resuming Sunday for matches of the third day of the first round Full text...
Tunisia defeats Congo in handball friendly
Tunis Tunisia (PANA) - Tunisia closed preparations for the African Handball Cup of Nations on Sunday by beating Republic of Congo 39-23 in a friendly match played at the Salle de Rades Full text...
Tunisia organises Olympic qualifiers for African national handball teams
Tunis, Tunisia (PANA) - Tunisia is organizing the African Handball tournament from January 16-26 for teams seeking to qualify for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games and the Egyptian World Cup in 2021 Full text...
Egyptian Sporting Club in quarter-finals of African Handball champions
Praia, Cape Verde (PANA) - Egyptian men's team of Sporting Club on Tuesday beat the JKS of Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) by 37-24, to become the team of the League of African Handball Champions who reached the quarter-finals of the event taking place in Praia, a sports source told PANA Full text...
Senegal fails to attend women's handball tournament at African Games
Dakar, Senegal (PANA) - Senegal, bronze medalists in women's handball at the last African Games in 2015 in Brazzaville, has decided not to compete in the next edition of the "African Olympic Games" scheduled for 23 August to 3 September 2019 in Morocco, a statement issued here and reaching PANA said Full text...
Sénégal wins IHF continental handball trophy in Conakry
Dakar, Senegal (PANA) - Senegal on Sunday won the IHF Continental Handball Trophy when it defeated Cameroon 32 – 31 in the finals here Full text...
Dakar to host women's OTQ next September
Dakar, Senegal (PANA) - The African Handball Confederation (AHBC) said here Tuesday it had chosen the Senegalese capital, Dakar, as venue for the Women's Olympic Qualification Tournament (OTQ) for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo to be held next September Full text...