Mr. John Whyte:

I thank the Chairman and I wish the elected representatives a good afternoon. On behalf of my agency, I thank them for this opportunity to meet with them to say a bit about the work of UNRWA. As they can appreciate, these are challenging times in which we find ourselves, so it is important as part of the work of the agency and the implementation of our mandate that we reach out and advocate with as many member states as we can to spread the word about what we are doing and to look for support from the member states. I thank the committee for its kind invitation to provide an update on the activities of UNRWA in Gaza. While UNRWA also works in the West Bank, which is also facing many challenges, I will confine my comments to the situation in Gaza where I have been managing operations since November 2023.

As members are no doubt well aware, the situation in Gaza has been dramatically deteriorating since the imposition by Israel of a blockade on the entry of supplies into the Gaza Strip at the beginning of March this year. With the absence of food supplies since that time, conditions of famine have spread across the enclave, as formally confirmed by the international phase classification, IPC, on 27 August. In spite of the reopening of the border by the Israeli authorities to allow supplies to enter, the amounts that have managed to get in have been insufficient. As a result, conditions have not improved and a further update by the IPC later this month is expected to confirm the spread of famine to other parts of Gaza. On 15 September, the Israeli military launched a large-scale ground operation throughout Gaza city, escalating its attacks on inhabited residential buildings and dropping leaflets ordering residents to move south. Residential tower blocks and other buildings are being destroyed through aerial bombardment, artillery and the use of robotic tanks. As of 19 September, it is estimated that approximately 200,000 of the approximately 900,000 residents in Gaza have moved to the south in search of safety, many fleeing with only the most basic belongings. More are expected to do so over the coming days as IDF ground forces close in from the north west and the south east of Gaza city. However, it is anticipated that many will stay, if for no other reason that they cannot afford to leave or have nowhere safe to go. As has been repeatedly stated by our Commissioner General, nowhere is safe in Gaza.

For Gazans who have managed to flee south, shelter and other supplies are scarce or, where available, are simply too expensive for most people to afford. With the south now completely congested, there is simply insufficient space for people to find shelter. Amid all of this destruction, upheaval and misery, UNRWA has continued to deliver its services to the people in Gaza city, the middle area and the south of Khan Younis. Despite immense challenges, approximately 12,000 Palestinian UNRWA personnel in Gaza continue to provide critical services and assistance at scale to vulnerable populations across the Gaza Strip. The agency remains an active and leading partner in all sectors. Throughout the conflict and during the ceasefire period at the beginning of this year, UNRWA reached over 2 million people with critical food assistance. Since 2 March 2025, however, the agency has not been permitted by Israel to bring in any humanitarian assistance, including food, and ran out of food stocks inside Gaza at the end of April. Outside of Gaza, UNRWA has positioned enough food supplies to cover the food needs of the entire population for three months.

In terms of non-food items, NFIs, UNRWA has distributed either blankets, tents, mattresses or other vital NFIs to over 100,000 displaced families. Regarding health, UNRWA remains the second largest provider of medical care in the Gaza Strip, after the Ministry of Health, and the largest individual provider of primary care services. Since the beginning of this year, UNRWA has provided 2.7 million consultations, an average of 13,000 per day. As of 19 September, UNRWA operates six health centres and 20 medical points across the middle area and Khan Younis, with 1,000 healthcare staff employed.