GENEVA / MIDDLE EAST CRISIS

FILE – GENEVA, SWITZERLAND

1. Med shot, UN flag alley

15 OCTOBER 2024, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND

2. Wide shot, the UN Geneva Press room
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Rema Jamous Imseis, UNHCR Director, Middle East:
“The death toll in Lebanon continues to climb as the situation becomes more dramatic and we see continued Israeli airstrikes and people on the move seeking shelter and safety. Over 2,000 people - over 2,200 rather - have now been killed by Israeli airstrikes and we have over 10,000 people who have been injured as a result of the conflict.”
4. Wide shot, press room
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Rema Jamous Imseis, UNHCR Director, Middle East:
“Israeli airstrikes and Israeli evacuation orders continue to increase the areas impacted, so now that we have over 25 per cent of the country under a direct Israeli military evacuation order.”
6. Wide shot, press room, journalists, TV cameras
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Jeremy Laurence, spokesperson, OHCHR:
“What we're hearing is that amongst the 22 people who were killed were 12 women and two children. We understand it was a four-story residential building that was struck. With these factors in mind, we have real concerns with respect to IHL, so the laws of war and principles of distinction, proportion and proportionality. In this case, we would - our Office - call for a prompt, independent and thorough investigation into this incident.”
8. Med shot, participant
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Rema Jamous Imseis, UNHCR Director, Middle East:
“People are heeding these calls to evacuate and they're fleeing with almost nothing. Many of them are being forced out into the open, they're sleeping under the skies as they try to find their way towards safety and support.”
10. Med shot, podium from above, TV screen showing remote speaker
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Rema Jamous Imseis, UNHCR Director, Middle East:
“We also have challenges as humanitarians reaching people who are in need of our assistance; for the last three days running, we've had to endorse and approve and reapprove an interagency convoy movement which is now scheduled to take place today.”
12. Med shot, TV journalist operating camera
13. SOUNDBITE (English) Rema Jamous Imseis, UNHCR Director, Middle East:
“The latest count is that we have over 283,000 people who have crossed from Lebanon into Syria seeking safety, fleeing Israeli airstrikes. About 70 per cent of those people are Syrians, roughly 30 per cent of them are Lebanese.”
14. Med shot, press room, participants and TV screens showing speakers
15. SOUNDBITE (English) Rema Jamous Imseis, UNHCR Director, Middle East:
“We saw women with - two women - with about nine children between them who described their journey on foot for 10 hours to reach that point. They had seen directly the impact of the violence, an airstrike had hit a home 100 metres from their home and they fled, literally, with just the clothes on their backs.”
16. Med shot, press room
17. SOUNDBITE (English) James Elder, spokesperson, UNICEF:
“There are far too many children there with burns and with burn wounds that simply need that… which that hospital does not have the medicines and the antiseptics and the painkillers that are required. On my last mission to Gaza earlier this month, I discovered such a thing as fourth degree burns; I met a little six-year-old boy, Hamad – H-A-M-A-D - with fourth degree burns. So, what we saw last night will have again been large numbers of people, including children, with horrendous burns to which that hospital simply doesn't have the resources to treat.”
18. Med shot, journalist taking video images with mobile phone