It is the voice of the largest humanitarian organization that now operates in the Gaza Strip. He describes the situation there as one of the worst humanitarian disasters since World War II.
UN Office spokeswoman for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) Juliette TOUMA however, in an interview for Aktuality.sk also complains of cooperation with Hamas.
“We are almost at the end of the two years of one of the most brutal wars in modern history. Everything, including dignity, has been deprived of people,” he says.
At the same time, he rejects the accusations that UNRWA workers participated in the terrorist attacks of Hamas of October 2023.
From the outside, we often have incomplete information about what is actually happening in the Gaza Strip, as journalists have a difficult approach from Israel. What is the current situation in the Gaza band from the perspective of the UN Office for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA)?
I am not sure if we have the right words to describe what is happening there with women, children, older people and men. It’s very difficult and desperate. If people do not die in bombing, they die from hunger. There are very few foods available in Gaza and children are also dying for their lack.
UNRWA, where I work, is the largest humanitarian organization in Gaza. We have been forbidden to send any humanitarian stock for more than five months. Our warehouses in Jordan and Egypt are full of food, medicines and other basic needs such as sanitary napkins for women and girls, diapers, soap or toothpaste, but help will not reach people.
Could you bring specific conditions, for example, in Rafah or in Khan June in the south of Gaza, where the situation is probably the worst? How do people get food there and where do they sleep?
It is a disaster that lasts more than 660 days. We are almost at the end of the two years of one of the most brutal wars in modern history. Everything, including dignity, was withdrawn to people. They were dehumanized, resettled and forced to run not only from their homes, but also from the places where they found refuge.
At the beginning of the war, a million people in North Gaza were given forced resettlement orders and had to move south. Then they asked them to move over and over again. We have stories of people who had to run ten times, sometimes on average once a month they must always pack up the most necessary and look for safety, but there is no Gaza. No one is spared in this war – neither health professionals nor journalists, doctors or sisters. Only in UNRWA, 340 team members have been killed since the beginning of the war, which is the highest number of victims in the UN history since World War II. Many died while working for their communities.
The numbers about the number of dead provide the outside world Hamas. Do you have your own verified data?
Official data come from local health authorities in Gaza. The last report states more than 61,000 deaths. We know from the previous wars that when the UN compared these figures with verified data, they usually coincided.
We have verified two specific numbers: more than 340 killed colleagues from UNRWA and more than 1,400 people killed from the end of May while trying to get food from the Gaza Humanitarian Forum. We use the triangulation process to verify, which means that we are talking to eyewitnesses, doctors, nurses and survivors.
When you listen to families in Gaza, what do they miss most, what do they tell you?
Most often they talk about the need for security that does not exist there. You can be in a place that is calm for a while, and a few hours will be bombarded. Parents cannot assure their children that they will be fine.
In addition to safety, they lack the most food, clean water, hygiene supplies, privacy, access to toilets and showers. People need diapers for children and older, hygienic inserts for women, soap, toothpaste – things that are a matter of course elsewhere.
You are talking about “local bodies”, in fact you probably mean Hamas that controls Gaza. What does your cooperation with this militant movement look like?
Relations with local authorities have never been good. They disagreed with the mixing of classes for boys and girls, opposed our human rights program and gender equality. In Gaza we have more women than men among employees, which also hindered them.
There are news that children in Gaza have been learning to hate Israel since childhood. Does this also apply to your UNRWA schools?
Not. There are 330,000 children in our schools. Although we teach a Palestinian learning plan, teachers have instructions in accordance with the UN and its values, including peace and tolerance.
What about the dialogue with the Israeli government, especially given the blocking of assistance?
Before the war we had a functional working relationship – we got visas, transported stocks. Since the beginning of the war, the situation has changed dramatically. The Israeli Parliament has passed a law prohibited by the Israeli Office contact with UNRWA. We haven’t been able to bring any help to Gaza for five months. We do not even have visas for international staff.
There have been claims that Hamas steals trucks with humanitarian help. Do you have evidence for it?
Not. This is a claim that has never been confirmed. Both USAID and Israeli military representatives for the media have confirmed that the aid was not distributed to armed groups. In UNRWA, we carry stocks from borders directly to our warehouses and then UN vehicles to our shelters – without intermediaries.
Israel even accused you that some of your employees also participated in the terrorist attacks of October 7, 2023. How do you respond to it?
These allegations are of January 2024. Israel has never provided evidence, only oral names. We immediately released the employees concerned and launched an investigation through the UN headquarters in New York. The investigation did not produce a binding result and the Israeli government has not yet provided further information. However, unjustified accusations are harmful to our agency and the safety of our workers.
Does Gaza Genocid go today? Do you use this term in connection with this war?
No, we don’t use the word genocide in UNRWA. We stick to the facts we can prove, and bring voices of survivors, including our colleagues. We know that there is a massive bombing in Gaza, civil losses are huge and infrastructure – schools, hospitals, houses – was destroyed. International law has not been observed.
What do you think the solution is to make Gaza a place where one day can be lived normally?
The first step must be the ceasefire and protection of civilians. We ask an agreement that would include the release of the prisoners and of course we condemn the October Hamas attack. We also ask for a renewal of both humanitarian and commercial flux – at least 500 to 600 trucks a day through the Israeli border crossing. At present, only a few dozen trucks are passing through, which is not enough to prevent famine.
