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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
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Ghana girls, Tanzania boys crowned CAF African Schools Football champions

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DRC: UNICEF, partners provide clean water to 700,000 people a day in Goma

04 march 2025 - 07:14:20
Goma, DRC (PANA) - The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and partners in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) [...] Full text...

thread Society

Football scouts search for talents in DR Congo's turbulent east

13 september 2023 - 06:32:06
Kinshasa, DR Congo (PANA) - Despite the violence in eastern DR Congo, the founder of Goma's GOAL Football Academy, Ugo [...] Full text...

thread Sports

DR Congo engages to tighten security in high risk zones

23 february 2021 - 23:41:53
Kinshasa, DR Congo (PANA) - The Security Council, at a meeting here Tuesday presided by President Felix Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo, [...] Full text...

thread Politics

NGOs demand stop to oil exploration in DR Congo's Virunga, Salonga National parks

16 february 2021 - 11:07:57
Kinshasa, DRC (PANA) - Civil Society groups in DR Congo have called on the country's elected leaders to stop granting oil [...] Full text...

thread Environment

DR Congo registers new birth of gorilla in Virunga Park

23 december 2020 - 21:23:51
"Kinshasa, DR Congo (PANA) - The Virunga National Park (PNVi) announced Wednesday the birth of a new gorilla in the [...] Full text...

thread Environment

Rights group says criminal gangs, kidnap, rape scores of women, girls in Virunga National Park

30 july 2020 - 07:33:03
Kinshasa, DRC (PANA) - Criminal gangs have kidnapped for ransom at least 170 people near the Virunga National Park in [...] Full text...

thread Society

Rwanda 'baptises' 25 endangered baby gorillas

06 september 2019 - 19:22:18
Kigali, Rwanda (PANA) - Rwanda "baptised" 25 rare baby mountain gorillas at what has become an annual event to highlight [...] Full text...

thread Environment

Rwanda launches US$38 million flood control program

14 june 2019 - 18:14:33
Kigali, Rwanda (PANA) - The Rwandan government on Friday launched a first-ever flood control project to address the overflow of water [...] Full text...

thread Environment

The environmental organization 350Africa.org mobilizes against use of fossil fuels in Africa

25 may 2019 - 15:08:45
Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire (PANA) - The international environmental organization against climate change, 350Africa.org, initiated Saturday, on the occasion of Africa [...] Full text...

thread Environment

Media professionals in DR Congo urged to contribute to efforts to preserve Virunga park

07 april 2019 - 15:41:34
Kinshasa, DR Congo (PANA) - DR Congo media professionals have been urged to contribute to efforts toward the preservation of [...] Full text...

thread Environment

UNESCO condemns killing of guards in Virunga National Park

11 april 2018 - 06:45:24
Paris, France (PANA) - The Director-General of UNESCO, Audrey Azoulay, on Tuesday condemned the deadly attack perpetrated on 9 April [...] Full text...

thread Environment

Conservation NGO condemns murder of ranger in eastern DR Congo

05 april 2018 - 11:21:35
Kigali, Rwanda (PANA) - Authorities of Virunga National Park in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on Thursday strongly condemned [...] Full text...

thread Environment

Rwanda's volcanoes national park expanded to improve conservation programme

10 january 2018 - 15:34:20
Kigali, Rwanda (PANA) - In a move to improve wildlife conservation programme while protecting the endangered mountain gorillas, Rwanda's [...] Full text...

thread Environment

South African adventurer to promote mountain hiking in Rwanda

10 november 2017 - 10:45:46
Kigali, Rwanda (PANA) - A South African adventurer, Vilane Subusiso, is hoping to reach the summit of Rwanda's highest mountain, [...] Full text...

thread Society

US: UN salutes park rangers' dedication and commitment

01 august 2017 - 05:46:59
New York, US (PANA) – The head of the United Nations entity on protection of endangered species said on Monday [...] Full text...

thread Environment

France: UNESCO photo exhibition marks African World Heritage in Paris

15 may 2016 - 11:40:00
Paris, France (PANA) - A photo exhibition, under the theme "The African World Heritage: a horizon for development", will be [...] Full text...

thread Culture

DR Congo: About 40 killed in new carnage in Béni

22 november 2014 - 17:01:57
Kinshasa, DR Congo (PANA) - About forty people were killed on Friday evening in three villages near the Virunga park, [...] Full text...

thread

Sweden: Experts urge Nigeria, DR Congo to clean up oil spills, cancel oil license

27 june 2014 - 11:42:41
Stockholm, Sweden (PANA) - Eleven award-winning experts from Africa and Switzerland have called on the governments of Nigeria and the [...] Full text...

thread Economy

Belgium: Director of Virunga national park received at the European Commission

19 june 2014 - 21:02:23
Brussels, Belgium (PANA) – Prince Emmanuel De Mérode, director of the Congolese national park of Virunga, in Kivu region, on [...] Full text...

thread Environment

UN: UNESCO applauds decision by oil firm to halt exploration in DRC national park

12 june 2014 - 22:51:50
New York, US (PANA) - The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) has welcomed as a step in the [...] Full text...

thread Culture

Rwanda: Rwanda, Uganda and the DRC sign agreement on biodiversity conservation

15 may 2014 - 21:03:19
Kigali, Rwanda (PANA) - Countries responsible for the conservation of biodiversity within the the Greater Virunga, shared by Rwanda, Uganda [...] Full text...

thread Environment

UN: UNESCO chief condemns attack on DRC national park director

17 april 2014 - 21:48:38
New York, US (PANA) - Ms. Irina Bokova, Director-General of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), has condemned [...] Full text...

thread Environment

Belgium: Director of DR Congo Virunga national park wounded in ambush

17 april 2014 - 20:44:46
Brussels, Belgium (PANA) – The director of the national park of Virunga in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Belgian Emmanuel [...] Full text...

thread Politics

Rwanda to open prehistoric cave to tourists

03 may 2013 - 12:08:47
Kigali, Rwanda (PANA) - Rwanda will soon allow tourists to visit the 2-km long prehistoric cave in Musanze (North), according [...] Full text...

thread Society

“Rwanda Mountain Gorilla” rally starts Friday

30 september 2011 - 12:44:06
Kigali, Rwanda (PANA) - At least 20 crews from five African countries - Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Madagascar and host [...] Full text...

thread Sports

Official regrets poor monitoring of two DRC volcanoes

19 may 2011 - 21:12:20
Kinshasa, DR Congo (PANA) - Two active volcanoes in Dr Congo are not monitored closely because of the poor state [...] Full text...

thread Environment

UNESCO DG welcomes suspension of oil prospecting at Virunga National Park in DRC

18 march 2011 - 18:36:27
Paris, France (PANA) - The Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, has welcomed the announcement by the Minister for Environment, Nature [...] Full text...

thread Culture

Five Virunga park rangers killed by gunmen in DRC

01 february 2011 - 13:08:03
Kinshasa, DR Congo (PANA) - Five rangers in Virunga Park in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo have been killed in [...] Full text...

thread Society

Congo MPs oppose plan to relocate population from Virunga park

13 october 2010 - 13:36:00
Kinshasa- DR Congo (PANA) -- Most MPs from the East of the Democratic Republic of Congo are opposed to the [...] Full text...

thread Politics

UN launches new environmental initiative on humanitarian operations

19 august 2010 - 16:05:00
New York- US (PANA) -- The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) on Thursday launched a new online resource centre to help [...] Full text...

thread Environment

Ugandan Wildlife Authority to sue communities for killing 5 lions

22 may 2010 - 16:18:00
Kampala- Uganda (PANA) -- Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) is to take court action against communities suspected of killing five lions [...] Full text...

thread Agriculture

Tourism to rake in US$187 million in Rwanda

24 february 2010 - 21:47:00
Kigali- Rwanda (PANA) -- The tourism sector in Rwanda is expected to rake in US$1 87 million this year, up [...] Full text...

thread Economy

UN monitors volcanic eruption in eastern DRC

05 january 2010 - 16:13:00
New York- US (PANA) -- Following the eruption of a volcano in the far east of the Democratic Republic of [...] Full text...

thread Environment

Population of hippopotamus in Lake Edouard shrinks

20 january 2009 - 23:07:00
Kinshasa- DR Congo (PANA) -- The French NGO, "Objectif Brousse (Bush Objective)", has denounced a sharp drop in the population [...] Full text...

thread Environment