“The Secretary-General condemns any act of reprisal and calls on the international community to cooperate to prevent any developments that could lead to devastating consequences for the entire region and beyond,” he said in a statement issued by his Office.
Reflecting those concerns, the head of the United Nations atomic energy agency Rafael Grossi called “extreme restraint” from all sides, after more than six and a half months of war in Gaza has raised fears of a wider regional conflict.
“IAEA can confirm that there was no damage to Iran’s nuclear facilities” and Director General Grossi “continued to call for utmost restraint and reiterated that nuclear facilities should never be targets in military conflicts”, International Atomic Energy Agency said in a tweet following unconfirmed media reports that drone attacks may have targeted Iran’s Isfahan province, home to nuclear facilities and military garrisons.
Same in Geneva. United Nations Office of Human Rights, OHCHR, called on all parties to “take steps to de-escalate the situation” quickly.
“(We) call on third countries, especially those with influence, to do all in their power to ensure there is no further deterioration in an already extremely precarious situation. defense,” he said. OHCHR spokesman Jeremy Laurence.
Hungry and scared
In Gaza, aid groups have given new insight into the dangers facing Palestinian civilians – especially pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers – as a result of the war “wanton destruction” Important and popular medical equipment “dehydration, malnutrition and fear” among Palestinians.
Speaking to journalists in Geneva, Dominic Allen, Representative of the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency (UNFPA) for Palestine, said there were indications that the number of complicated births was nearly double what it was before the war broke out.
“The number is definitely increasing,” he said, adding that before the war, about 15 percent of births required some form of emergency obstetric care. Today, some doctors have reported that “what they were treating before has doubled, and this is due to malnutrition, dehydration and fear, This affects a pregnant woman’s ability to safely give birth and carry her baby to term,” said UNFPA officials.
‘Indiscriminate destruction’
Mr. Allen describes his latest mission to Gaza to assess the impact of Israeli attacks on health care at besieged hospitals in the northern, central and southern provinces. male.
Apparently the last remaining hospitals in the area – including the second largest, Nasser Hospital – are “clinging to life while they are a lifeline for pregnant women in Gaza”, Mr. Allen said via video link from Jerusalem. “What I saw, it broke my heart…It was indescribable. What we see there is medical equipment intentionally damaged, ultrasound – which you will know is a very important tool that helps ensure safe birth – with cut cables, monitors of complex medical equipment such as ultrasound machines and other equipment screen is broken. Hence the wanton, purposeful destruction in the maternity ward.”
Before intense Israeli bombardment began in response to Hamas-led terrorist attacks across southern Israel on October 7, Nasser Hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis had a maternity ward which UNFPA teams have supported and provided for many years.
To return to full operations, the hospital will need to rehabilitate water and sanitation services and make minimal repairs to damaged generators. “However, I was standing next to the warehouse (where) we delivered months ago and it was literally on fire; Mr Allen said there was a lot of work to be done to try to re-establish that lifeline.
The fear is “palpable”
The UNFPA mission, which began on Monday 8 April and ends this Wednesday, was carried out in partnership with the United Nations World Health Organization (WHO), the institute’s coordinating office. aid from the United Nations, OCHAand the United Nations Palestinian Refugee Agency (UNRWA).
The goal is to visit about 10 hospitals in Gaza, among them Al Aqsa Hospital in central Gaza, which is “overloaded with trauma patients” and does not support maternity care.
At Emirati Hospital in the south of the region, Mr. Allen recounted meeting the facility’s medical director, who said “he no longer saw normal-sized children.”
Turning to Rafah and continuing concerns about an Israeli attack, the UNFPA official emphasized the “extreme sense of fear” weighing on the more than 1.2 million people sheltering there.
“This is a The fear was palpable from the Gazans I spoke with – midwives, doctors, pregnant women, my colleagues, people who are in Gaza… Right now, this is a paradise for 1.2 million Gazans; it’s not a safe haven, but at least it’s a shelter.”
