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00:00 Let's go live to the Rafa Bordacar Singh, the UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres
00:05 is making a statement.
00:07 Let's listen in.
00:08 We have two million people that is suffering enormously.
00:17 That has no water, no food, no medicine, no fuel.
00:26 It is under fire that needs everything to survive.
00:33 On this side we have seen so many trucks loaded with water, with fuel, with medicines, with
00:43 food.
00:45 Exactly the same things that are needed on this side of the wall.
00:52 So these trucks are not just trucks, they are a lifeline.
00:59 They are the difference between life and death for so many people in Gaza.
01:06 And to see them stuck here makes me be very clear.
01:11 What we need is to make them move, to make them move to the other side of this wall,
01:18 to make them move as quickly as possible and as many as possible.
01:25 Now recently it was announced by Israel and by the United States that humanitarian aid
01:35 would be allowed to enter Gaza.
01:38 And I know that there is also an agreement between Egypt and Israel to make it possible.
01:48 But these announcements were made with some conditions and some restrictions.
01:55 And so we are now actively engaging with all the parties, actively engaging with Egypt,
02:04 with Israel, with the US, in order to make sure that we are able to clarify those conditions,
02:13 that we are able to limit those restrictions in order to have, as soon as possible, these
02:20 trucks moving to where they are needed.
02:25 We need, we absolutely need to have these trucks moving as quickly as possible and as
02:34 many as necessary.
02:38 But for that, this must be a sustained effort.
02:43 We are not looking for one convoy to come.
02:48 We are looking for convoys to be authorised with a meaningful number of trucks to go every
02:57 day into Gaza to provide enough support to the Gaza people.
03:04 On the other hand, there are requirements of verification.
03:10 But those verifications need to be effective, but at the same time, those verifications
03:16 need to be done in a way that is practical and in a way that is expedite.
03:26 On the other hand, we are not in a no-man's land.
03:30 We are in the land of a sovereign country, Egypt, and it's essential to recognise the
03:37 role of the Egyptian institutions, and namely of the Egyptian Red Crescent.
03:45 And finally, for UNRWA to be able to distribute aid on that side, it's necessary that UNRWA
03:51 is full.
03:53 And so we need to have the guarantee that there will be enough fuel on the other side
03:57 to distribute aid to the people in need.
04:01 So it is very clear that it is absolutely essential to solve these problems quickly,
04:11 and I'm hopeful they will be solved quickly, to make sure that there is massive support,
04:16 humanitarian support, to the people of Gaza.
04:20 Unfortunately, this is not a normal humanitarian operation.
04:25 It's an operation in a war zone.
04:29 And that is the reason why I have appealed for a humanitarian ceasefire.
04:35 Not that I consider that humanitarian ceasefire is a precondition for humanitarian delivery.
04:42 We don't want to punish the Gaza people twice.
04:45 First, because of the war, and second, because of the lack of humanitarian aid.
04:52 But it is clear that humanitarian ceasefire would make things much easier and much safer
05:00 for everybody.
05:02 And I want to end by expressing my deep gratitude to the people and the government of Egypt.
05:09 Egypt is today the fundamental pillar that allows hope to exist on that side of the border.
05:18 Hope that these tracks will move to support them.
05:22 Hope that the food aid and the medicines I've seen in a plane that has landed will also
05:31 go to the people that need it.
05:34 Hope that there will be a future, and hope that one day there will be peace with a two-state
05:41 solution with Palestinians and Israelis living in peace in two states, one side by the other.
05:49 Thank you very much.