STORY: Egypt voices support for UNRWA's work in Gaza
SHOOTING TIME: March 18, 2024
DATELINE: March 19, 2024
LENGTH: 00:01:41
LOCATION: Cairo
CATEGORY: POLITICS

SHOTLIST:
1. various of the exterior shots of the Egyptian Foreign Ministry
2. various of the meeting between Sameh Shoukry and Philippe Lazzarini
3. SOUNDBITE 1 (English): SAMEH SHOUKRY, Egyptian Foreign Minister
4. various of the press conference attended by Sameh Shoukry and Philippe Lazzarini
5. SOUNDBITE 2 (English): PHILIPPE LAZZARINI, UNRWA Commissioner-General

STORYLINE:

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry on Monday reaffirmed support for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) to ensure its continued and uninterrupted services to the Palestinian refugees.

Shoukry made the remarks while meeting with UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini. 

A number of donor countries decided to suspend funds to UNRWA after Israel accused the agency's employees in Gaza of taking part in the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
   
While some have partially reinstated UNRWA funding, given that Israel's claims have not been verified, the agency has lost the bulk of its financial support.

SOUNDBITE 1 (English): SAMEH SHOUKRY, Egyptian Foreign Minister
"We should not in any way taint the credibility of over 30,000 employees nor the organization that has been working for decades in support of the Palestinian people, not only during conflicts, but for the Palestinians that have been displaced to Lebanon, to Jordan, to Syria, and of course in the occupied Palestinian territories both the West Bank and Gaza."

Lazzarini warned that the Gaza Strip, inhabited by about 2.35 million people, is on the verge of entering into a famine.

SOUNDBITE 2 (English): PHILIPPE LAZZARINI, UNRWA Commissioner-General
"This is a man-made hunger crisis. And it is extraordinary that we are not in East Africa or in the Sahara. Within four months, we have already been talking about looming starvation, looming famine. And within four months, people now are not only dying because of the bombardment, but have started to die because of the impact of the siege imposed on Gaza. We have children dying from dehydration and from hunger."

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Cairo.
(XHTV)