The following is a near-verbatim transcript of today’s noon briefing by Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesman for the Secretary-General.
**Occupied Palestinian Territory
Good afternoon and thank you all for your patience.
So first off, in Gaza, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says that people continue to be displaced amidst active fighting and bombardment.
Currently, the UN Relief and Works Agency, UNRWA, estimates that 65,000 people remain in Rafah. This is in stark contrast to six weeks ago, when Rafah hosted 1.4 million displaced people before the Israeli evacuation orders and military operations.
UNRWA also tells us that for more than eight months now, 625,000 children have been out of school because of the hostilities. Humanitarian partners are lending support by offering psychosocial activities, but children need to resume their schooling.
Meanwhile, OCHA reports that for the first time since early June, five trucks of fuel entered Gaza. However, the supplies remain scarce as no fuel had been delivered in the Strip for the past two weeks.