Stephane Dujarric Archives - CrossFireArarbia

Israel Displaces 1500 in The Occupied West Bank in 2025 – UN Report

CrossFireArabia
March 11, 2026

The UN on Wednesday warned that more than 1,500 Palestinians have already been displaced in the occupied West Bank in 2026, reaching 90% of the total figure recorded in 2025.

Citing the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said at a news conference that “new figures indicate that more than 180 Palestinians have been displaced due to settler attacks and access restrictions across the West Bank since the onset of the regional escalation,” bringing “the total number of Palestinians displaced within this context so far this year to more than 1,500 people, 90% of the number for all of last year.”

“Palestinians’ access to their places of work and where they receive services continues to be impeded by tightened movement restrictions imposed by Israeli security forces,” he said.

Noting that such Israeli restrictions “largely impede movements between cities and keep the iron gates at the entrances of many villages closed,” he added that “high levels of violence are persisting.”

He further stressed that “more than 40% of those displaced are children and that displacement deepens people’s reliance on humanitarian aid support and is often associated with the loss of economic livelihoods.”

OCHA called again “for the protection of Palestinians in the West Bank and for the perpetrators of violence against them to be held to account.”

On the situation in the Gaza Strip, Dujarric emphasized Israel’s “ongoing restrictions on aid operations,” which, he said, “are worsening an already critical humanitarian situation.”

“One example we can share with you today is about the growing number of generator failures in hospitals due to the lack of spare parts and lubricating oil,” he said.

Dujarric also reported “high levels of infections spread by insects that can be found in the many displacement sites throughout Gaza,” saying “nearly 23,000 suspected cases were recorded last month alone,” while “supplies of hygiene kits, insecticides and scabies treatment remain critically low, limiting our ability to respond.”

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UN: Women Give Birth on Gaza Streets

CrossFireArabia
September 17, 2025

The UN on Wednesday said women in the Gaza Strip are being forced to give birth on the streets as thousands are displaced amid Israeli military operations that have continued since October 2023.

“Israel’s offensive in Gaza is forcing women to give birth in the streets, without hospitals, doctors or clean water,” UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told a news conference, citing the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).

The “UNFPA says that 23,000 women are going without care, and about 15 babies are being born each week with no medical help,” he added.

Dujarric urged the immediate protection of civilians, saying the situation on the ground “is worsening by the hour.” He stressed that “issuing displacement orders does not absolve parties to a conflict from their responsibilities to protect civilians in the conduct of their hostilities.”

He said Israel “once again ordered” people in Gaza City to leave within the next 48 hours and “move south along a temporary passageway on the Salah ad Din road, which is the one that runs through the center of the Gaza Strip.”

“Thousands of people continue to flee, amid active hostilities. Roads, as you can well imagine, are congested. People are hungry, and children are traumatized,” he said.

Dujarric reported that nearly 40,000 people were displaced to the south between Monday and Tuesday, with about 200,000 movements recorded since mid-August.

“Partners have set up three support points in areas receiving displaced people in southern Gaza to assist separated, orphaned and injured children,” he added.

Highlighting the collapse of health care services, the UN official said that “since the collapse of the ceasefire in March, 80 medical points and primary health care centers providing sexual and reproductive health outpatient services have been affected, with 65 out of service.”

Emphasizing that Israel continues to obstruct aid operations in the enclave, Dujarric said that “yesterday, two humanitarian movements to collect food cargo from the crossings into Gaza were either cancelled or denied.”

“Other missions were facilitated but faced impediments on the ground. The Zikim crossing remains closed for a fifth consecutive day,” he said.

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In Wrecked Classrooms: 100,000 Pupils Return to School in Gaza

CrossFireArabia
February 28, 2025

For the first time in 16 months pupils in Gaza are returning to schools despite the destruction of most of the educational system in Gaza.

The UN, Thursday, reported that more than 100,000 students have enrolled in schools across the Gaza Strip since the new academic year began Feb. 23.

“As of yesterday, more than 100,000 students have enrolled in school following the start of the new academic year on 23 February,” UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said at a news conference as reported in Anadolu.

The “back-to-school” item is trending on the social media with much images of pupils and teachers return to what is left of their schools since Israel waged a genocidal war on the enclave soon after 7 October, 2023.

He stated that “to date, 165 public schools have reopened in Gaza. For most students, this will be their first time returning to in-person learning in 16 months.”

Available figures show 85% of schools in Gaza have been wrecked and no longer able to operate because of the Israeli bombardment.

The Gaza Media Office have reported at least 12,800 students, and 800 teachers and administrative staff, were killed, and 1,166 educational establishments destroyed in this Israeli war with estimating damage to the education sector at more than $2 billion.

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Over 500,000 Return Home in North Gaza

CrossFireArabia
February 4, 2025

The UN on Tuesday reported that “more than 565,000 people have crossed from the south to the north of Gaza since” Jan. 27.

Citing the Office of the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), spokesman Stephane Dujarric reported during a news conference that “more than 45,000 people have been observed moving from the north to the south” of the Gaza Strip.

He stated that the UN and its partners on the ground are “working to mitigate the impact of the widespread destruction of critical water, sanitation and hygiene infrastructure that has taken place throughout the Gaza Strip.”

Asked about US President Donald Trump’s impending executive order to withdraw from the UN Human Rights Council and block funding for the UN relief agency for Gaza (UNRWA), Dujarric said: “We will obviously see what is being signed right.”

“But the US will take the decision that it takes. It doesn’t alter our position on the importance of the Human Rights Council,” he said according to Anadolu.

Describing the executive order as “something that’s very new,” Dujarric affirmed that the decision will not change the UN’s ” commitment to supporting UNRWA in its work and in its work of delivering critical services to Palestinians under its jurisdiction, its mandate.”

The US funding to the UNRWA was suspended in 2024 under the Joe Biden administration after Israel accused 12 of UNRWA’s thousands of employees in Gaza of being involved in the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel.

Amid a probe of the claims, at least 16 countries, including the US, paused or suspended funding to the agency, and its aid work for Gaza’s famine-stricken population. But most of the key donors resumed aid after an independent review of UNRWA found that Israel had not provided any evidence to back its claims.

UNRWA was created by the UN General Assembly more than 70 years ago to assist Palestinians who were forcibly displaced from their land

Israel had ordered UNRWA to shut down all operations in East Jerusalem by Thursday, in line with a directive communicated in a letter from Israel’s Permanent Representative to the UN Danny Danon to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Jan. 24.

Following the order, UNRWA evacuated its headquarters in Sheikh Jarrah in East Jerusalem, where it had operated since 1951, as well as a clinic in the Old City and multiple schools, including a vocational training center.

The move came amid growing tensions between Israel and international organizations, as multiple UN bodies continue to raise concerns over the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza and the West Bank.

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UN: Extra 100,000 Palestinians in Makeshift Sites

CrossFireArabia
November 3, 2024

Some 100,000 people recently displaced from North Gaza are sheltering in schools, buildings, or makeshift sites in Gaza City, said a UN spokesman.

“The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warns that in North Gaza governorate, virtually all incoming supplies and humanitarian services have ceased,” Stephane Dujarric told reporters during a briefing.

“This is due to the ongoing siege imposed by Israeli security forces, as well as insecurity limited supplies and the displacement of aid workers,” he added.

About 75,000 people are estimated to remain in North Gaza governorate, Dujarric said.

“With no electricity or fuel allowed since October 1, only two of eight water wells in Jabalia refugee camp remain functional, just partially,” he added.

Israel has continued its brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip following an attack by the Palestinian group Hamas last Oct. 7, despite a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire.

The onslaught has resulted in over 43,200 Palestinian deaths, mostly women and children, and over 101,800 injuries, according to local health authorities.