Ted Chaiban (UNICEF) & Carl Skau (WFP) on their recent joint mission to Gaza and the West Bank - Press Conference Press Conferences Date: 26 January 2026 Language: English Transcript: https://transcripts.un.org/ar/asset/k1b/k1b0hkh08i?lang=en Transcripts available through this tool are created by using automatic speech recognition and are not official records nor official documents of the United Nations. Official records and official documents are available on the Official Document System of the United Nations. --- Moderator · Stefan [0:24]: There we see him. So we're joined by, Tom, two colleagues who need no introduction, and that is Ted Chiban, Deputy Executive Director of unicef, and Carl Skau, Deputy Executive Director of World Food Program. Both went to Gaza together and they're here to brief you on what they saw and what they're doing. So I will. I don't know which one of you wants to start. WFP · Deputy Executive Director · Carl Skau [0:48]: I'll go ahead, Ted. We'll go ahead. Go ahead. UNICEF · Deputy Executive Director · Ted Chaiban [0:54]: Thanks, Stefan. Thank you all for coming in on a very wintry day and it's good to see a good number of colleagues around. So Carl and I have just returned from Gaza and the west bank, including East Jerusalem where we spent the entire of last week. And I'm speaking to you with both hope and concern after this visit. This was my fifth visit to the state of Palestine since the war began. For the first time in many months, there are signs that an imperfect, fragile but vital ceasefire is making a difference in the lives of over 1 million children. Since the agreement took hold, we've seen improvements impacting children's lives. More truckloads of life saving aid are entering Gaza, albeit not yet sufficiently to meet the magnitude of needs. Commercial goods have reappeared in markets we saw vegetables, fruits, chicken, eggs. The food security situation has improved and famine has been reversed. Recreational kits designed to help children heal and deal with their stress and trauma have finally started to reach children who have not played freely in over two years. And food availability has increased significantly in several areas. UNICEF and partners have reached more than 1.6 million people with clean drinking water. We've reached 700,000 people with blankets and winter clothes to help with the cold of winter. And we recently managed to restore essential life saving pediatric intensive care services at the Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. As people have moved closer to their places of origin, where they're allowed to do so, their homes are almost entirely destroyed and we're there with wash and dignity kits with tarpaulins, warm clothing for children and essential health and nutrition services. The second round of Gaza wide catch up campaign for routine immunization is currently underway and vaccinating children who have missed their life saving vaccines during the war is taking place since October last year. So with the ceasefire 72 UNICEF supported nutrition facilities have been established, bringing the total to 196 across the Strip. Carl will speak to what WFP and their partners have achieved since the ceasefire as well. These gains matter. They show what is possible when the fighting pauses, political commitment are sustained and humanitarian axis opens. But the situation remains extremely precarious and deadly for many children. More than 100 children have been reportedly killed in Gaza since the ceasefire of early October. Despite the progress with food security, 100,000 children remain acutely malnourished and require long term care. 1.3 million people, many of them children, are in urgent need of proper shelter. Families are living in tents and bombed out buildings, battered by heavy rain, strong winds and freezing temperatures. It really is miserable. In those tents I met families who were burning scraps of plastic and wood to keep the children warm. And tragically we received reports of at least 10 children dying of hypothermia since winter started. So this is still an extremely precarious situation with survival at the edge. And I want to express my deep concern about the implication of of the deregistration of international NGOs which risks undermining humanitarian operations and sharply limiting the delivery and scale up of life saving assistance across Gaza and the West Bank. We of course rely a lot on local partners, but there's key actors like msf, like Oxfam, like Save the Children, which are truly essential. And yet, in the midst of all this fragility and destruction, there's also hope. UNICEF and partners in the education sector are supporting over 250,000 children to resume learning. I spoke to a little girl at a temporary learning space run by UNICEF and Dar Elballa named Aya who was immersed in her learning. She told me that she was so glad to be learning again, to be with her friends and that she dreamed of being a nurse to help all the people who were ill or had been injured during the war. She dream of a Gaza at peace with homes rebuilt, schools, working places to shop and parks to walk in. In the past months we have seen and been working together to bring children back to learning. And I've been so glad to see dozens of children like Aya in our temporary learning spaces with huge smiles as they are getting non formal education for children in Gaza. Returning to classroom is not only about learning, it's a critical element of mental health and psychosocial Support. More than 700,000 school age children across the Gaza Strip have been out of formal education since October 2023 and we will be announcing a major back to learning campaign this week. So some progress, but a lot more that needs to be done. UNICEF and WFP are among the leading agencies delivering for Gaza's children since the start of the ceasefire. Together we bought more than 10,000 trucks of aid into Gaza, representing 80% of all humanitarian cargo. Together we are leading an accelerated learning response. We are working together on learning activities with WFP providing nutrition bars for children attending temporary learning spaces. We're also working together on digital cash assistance reaching over 1.3 million people over time. But if we're serious about creating an enabling environment for children in Gaza, one that helps getting closer to Aya's dreams Three things are essential. First is the ceasefire must hold and move forward. Phase two is not just a political milestone but but a humanitarian necessity. We are thankful that the remains of Rand Gvili were recovered which helps us move towards phase two. It is a chance to turn fragile improvements into something more durable, including with recovery and reconstruction and a safer environment for children. We met with the Israeli authorities and asked them to open more routes for humanitarian and commercial supplies. We need to allow people to move in and out safely for medical care, family reunification and essential services. We called for the Rafah corridor to be opened again for two way traffic as announced and for it to remain open so children who need urgent medical evacuations can have a better chance at treatment. The same applies to Kerem Shalom, Zikim, Kisofim, Eretz Eats and Eretz West. All available crossing must operate simultaneously with safe corridors via Jordan Egypt. Internally reopening Salahdin Road would transform transport efficiency. We need large scale improvements in shelter including winterized tents and more durable temporary housing. We need temporary learning spaces so children can resume some form of education. And we need urgent repairs to water system and electricity network to restore basic services. Second, the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza or NCAG Radical represents a real opportunity to improve humanitarian access and move towards early recovery and reconstruction if it is fully operationalized and supported given Palestinian Agency to the road ahead. And third, humanitarian operations need predictability and can be used to jumpstart early recovery and reconstruction. Essential items required for water and sanitation, including so called dual use items which we can fully account for and supplies related to learning and education need to be allowed in. We have indications today that some of the learning materials are starting to get in and get the necessary approvals, which is welcome news. It is also the case that UN humanitarian actors on the ground have the contacts know the context of where systems are broken and what needs to be done to fix them and are Therefore, best placed to support early recovery and reconstruction plans in line with international norms and standards. WFP and UNICEF are ready to scale up all of this. We have the supplies positioned. We have our great staff doing good work on the ground. We have the plans that can be activated immediately if access is granted, and we move decisively into phase two. The children of Gaza and the state of Palestine, including the west bank, which is also experiencing a wave of violence, don't need our sympathy. They need decisions that give them warmth, safety, food, education. In the future, we have an opportunity, a window to change the trajectory for these children. And we can't waste it. Thank you. Speaker 4 [10:26]: Thank you very much, Ted. Carl, go ahead. And Carl, you're in Rome, correct? WFP · Deputy Executive Director · Carl Skau [10:32]: Yes, indeed. Thank you. Thank you, Steph. And great to be with you. I mean, I will just add to what Ted has said, aligning with everything, of course. You know, when I last visited Palestine in July last year, Gaza was on the brink of famine. It was one of the worst crisis I have ever seen. Almost every single person I then met was suffering from acute hunger or malnutrition and no humanitarian aid was getting in. So last week, Kittad and I saw a somewhat different picture. Of course, the ceasefire has allowed us to scale up and stabilize the most acute levels of hunger and nutrition. Famine has been reined in. Most people I spoke to were eating at least once a day, some people twice. And WFP has really scaled up massively over these past hundred days, reaching more than 1 million people in Gaza every month with full rations for the first time since this war began, serving 400,000 hot meals every day and delivering school snacks to some 230,000 children in 250 temporary learning centers operating hundreds of distribution points and some 20 warehouses. Also, our shared logistics services are helping other humanitarian partners to bring in essentials like tents, blankets and mattresses. And through the logistic cluster, we are facilitating more regular aid convoys and we're expanding common storage facilities so that more aid can be positioned closer to people. Some commercial goods are also flowing into Gaza. Markets are more active, although food prices are still too high for most families. And with this in December, we've been able to scale up E Wallet cash support to some 60,000 households being able to buy from the markets. So in some places, people are now starting to feel the change. And like Ted, I was struck by especially our conversation with this group of bright, talkative girls in one of these temporary learning spaces. They told us they were happy to be back learning and eating more regularly. They could see a future Again, as nurses or engineers or restaurant owners. And they seemed impressively. Moderator · Stefan [13:05]: Iftikar. You need to mute. Can somebody mute? Iftikar? All right, go ahead. Go ahead, Carl. Go ahead. Carl. Now you're muted. All right, go ahead, Carl. Go ahead. No. All right, we've lost. If the car. We've lost. Carl. Tom, can we unmute? Carl. WFP · Deputy Executive Director · Carl Skau [13:39]: Short timer, can you hear me or no, Moderator · Stefan [13:41]: go ahead. Yeah, you can. Okay. All right. WFP · Deputy Executive Director · Carl Skau [13:46]: As I said, you know, in some places, people are really starting to feel the change. And like Ted, I was particularly struck by our conversation with this group of bright and talkative girls in one of the temporary learning spaces. You know, they told us they were happy to be back learning and eating more regularly. They could see a future again as nurses or engineers or restaurant owners. And they seemed impressively confident and determined to build a future for themselves. But I think equally important to say is that there is still a very long way to go. The situation is still extremely fragile. The gains we have made can easily be reversed, and so much, much more needs to be done. Now, hundreds of thousands of people are still displaced and cannot return to their homes. Their homes are piles of rubble, so they live in tents or many in these heavily damaged buildings. Extremely dangerous. I spoke with one woman in Gaza City who had lost her husband, most of her relatives, and her house, which used to be outside the yellow line, had been completely destroyed. So, you know, she had four children to care for and left with absolutely nothing. So families like hers just don't have the support they need for what they face now, especially these harsh and cold rains that the winter storms have brought on them. Hundreds of thousands of people are shivering in these fabric tents that do not keep the heat in or the rain out. And living conditions in these tent camps are just brutal. I met a young woman with a child born just some 10 days ago, and she was sitting on a wet mattress in this cold tent on the beach. Just absolutely brutal. So an entire population is now living on the brink, and frankly, having an entire population living on the brink is just not acceptable. So we need to urgently build on this progress we have made so far. We need to address the obstacles holding back a bigger humanitarian scale up, and we need to start laying now the foundations for for recovery in this phase two. But this will require much more predictable and safe operating conditions. Our teams must be able to work without fear for their lives to start off with. And it will also depend on crossings staying open and functioning at scale and also be able to use more routes inside Gaza so that we can get supplies in, but we can also get them to those most in need. The immediate priority is to really flood the strip with shelter to give families protection against the biting cold and driving rains. Gaza also needs more commercial supplies, especially fresh foods. And as the market activity picks up, we want to really expand cash assistance, working with UNICEF and others to also boost the local food system and economy. I think this would be the way also to bring back agency to family and also to allow for a much more varied diet which is necessary to recover from the famine. I think that Gaza's dignity and ambition, really the people of Gaza's dignity and ambition will be central for this next phase. I met a family in Gaza City whose story was symbolic of hope and determination still flickering. They returned home to their find to find their home or property completely destroyed. But they had immediately now started to recultivate their land, planting trees, vines and food. And you know, when I asked them, you know, they told me that they knew that the harvest would not come overnight, if ever. And they also told me that, but they told me that they also need to show their children that life could still grow and continue. So I think investing in these families, in their optimism, in their livelihoods is really what would be critical for a sustainable, resilient recovery. And that will mean working in partnership with them and collaborating more closely with others. Our visit, I think was a statement of that ambition and intent. The people of Gaza need us to work as one across the UN, with international and local NGOs and most importantly, of course, with the Gazans themselves, including their civil society, the private sector and of course the authorities. So, Steph, we will continue to do everything we can to help the people of Gaza. You can count on WFP and UNICEF in this. Thank you. Moderator · Stefan [19:05]: Thank you very much, Carl, Edie, then Michelle. Associated Press · Journalist · Edith Lederer [19:11]: Thank you very much on behalf of the United Nations Correspondence association for doing this briefing. My name is Edith Lederer from the Associated Press. Questions to you both. First, have you heard anything about when the Rafah crossing might open and are you prepared to surge aid when it does? And secondly, on phase two, what are your hopes that phase two will accomplish? What, what would be the most important things for you? Thank you. UNICEF · Deputy Executive Director · Ted Chaiban [20:12]: Thank you for, for those questions on, on the, the timing of, of Rufra's crossing. We haven't heard anything more than what you've heard in, in the, in the press basically, and the different pronouncements, including from ncag. But we're very much looking forward to it being open for two way traffic and we're ready. I mean, we're ready including with, should it also be open for commercial traffic with significant supplies in Egypt, there's a huge backlog of supplies that could come in on phase two. I think it needs to be an opportunity to move from what's been an immediate life saving response to something more significant for the population, including bringing in shelter materials that go beyond the flimsy tents and the tarpaulin that we're currently using so that people can actually start rebuilding their lives. It's incredible to see families go back to where they're outside of the so called yellow line, but where they're able to, to go back and identify the exact plot where their home used to be and to go back and even just pitch anything there to kind of reclaim. This is my space. Essentially we saw a place in Jabalya where that's exactly what was happening. 4000 families had gone back in the midst of the rubble to kind of start to rebuild their lives. So it's to be able to bring the equipment in to clear that rubble, to be able to bring more permanent shelter materials, to move more decisively towards learning activities so that those are allowed in through things, the so called dual use items to be able to repair the sewage system. In the midst of Gaza City there's a cesspool which is the size of five football fields. We've been able to partly drain it, but in order to really drain it, we need to be able to have some cement, some metal pipes. So all of that's needed on the phase two. And the other thing that's I think essential on the Phase II is to have the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza on the ground. Mr. Mladenov. WFP · Deputy Executive Director · Carl Skau [22:37]: So to begin to have a governance structure that reflects Palestinian views and Palestinian agency. Thank you, Carl. I can come in as idiot, if you don't mind adding to what Ted just said. And interestingly, I will start with education, which I thought Ted would speak to, I mean, honestly, to meet with his children who had been able to come back only three hours a day for three days a week and to see how, you know, their energy and their determination was just, you know, by far the highlight of this visit. But it is still some 300,000 children who are not having that opportunity. We saw even kids lining up outside wanting to come into these learning centers so, you know, to expand quickly so that everyone, all the children can have that opportunity. And of course we would partner to make sure that they also get then something to eat while they are at those learning Centers, I think that, you know, would be a top priority for me. The second is to really have a proper market approach. I mean, there is more commercial coming in, but it is the commercial sector that is heavily constrained by having only a few actors being able to export into Gaza and also only a few actors being licensed to import. And that of course, is not a market approach. We need the market to be deciding on the demand and the supply. And with that then we could scale up our cash systems, which would be a way also to bring back that agency, that dignity to people, but also to start rebuilding then a domestic food system, you know, based on that private sector approach. Reuters · Journalist · Michelle Nichols [24:30]: Michelle, thank you for the briefing. Michelle Nichols from Reuters. Just following on from Edie's question or Ted, your answer. More to the point, what engagement have you both had with Nikolai Mladinov and his new team? Who are you dealing with most? Is it like the cmcc, who do you deal with on the Israeli side? And then when it comes to working actually in Gaza, you know, we hear a lot about Hamas having re established control. What are your dealings with Hamas? UNICEF · Deputy Executive Director · Ted Chaiban [25:03]: So let me just finish also on Edi's question. I mean, for the first time today, we've gotten some what we call school in the box kits into Gaza. And I think this is clearly, you know, because we're in moving into phase two. So I think it is allowing us to have a bit more of a systematic approach to being able to support learning. And as I said later, well, this week actually we're hoping to really make a major push across the education sector, as Carla said, to move from the 250,000 children who are currently in school to get as close as possible to the 700,000 children that need to be in school. In terms of who we're talking to, Mr. Mladinov wasn't in the state of Palestine or Israel when we were there, so we were not able to meet with him. But we met with members of the ncag. We met with, we went to the cmcc, the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, which is the Palestinian technocrats who as part of the phase two will be in place essentially. And that's essential because that's Palestinian agency. And when we also met with the Palestinian Authority, they made it clear that for them that connection needs to continue to be there. On the Israeli side, COGAT's going through its own transition. We continue to have contact with them technically and we met with the Ministry of Foreign affairs. So we, we kind of met with anyone who can have an impact on the situation on the ground and the messages that we carried forward are the ones that we gave you today, in effect. So we need to continue to engage, to open up that access, but also to move from what's been a life saving humanitarian response, which is essential and continues to be needed, towards a more comprehensive approach which does start to look at early recovery and reconstruction, something more permanent and steady within Gaza. I mean, our, you know, we have access specialists with OCHA who are the interface with the authorities day to day. And that's our main channel to exchange information with Hamas. What is important and what has helped, and this is not directly related to your question, but what has helped is to see the blue police on the ground, which has helped with just anything from traffic because everything has to go down the coastal road. And it's a huge jam when you've got a humanitarian convoy going in. But also with increased supplies with the blue police at checkpoints. The looting that was a big concern weeks ago is no longer a concern right now. Moderator · Stefan [28:04]: Thank you. Carl, did you want to add something? Okay, Bisant and Pam, actually, I just. Wanted to ask about the West Bank. Besant, quick with Al Jazeera Arabic, you mentioned that you went to the West Bank. Al Jazeera Arabic · Journalist · Besant [28:16]: Can you. I know the focus more is on Gaza, but if you can elaborate a little bit more about your visit to the West Bank. Where did you go, who did you meet? And you know, given the escalating settler violence and the Israeli operations in the west bank, how is the humanitarian situation there? If you can give us like a quick overlook of what happened there, what's happening there? UNICEF · Deputy Executive Director · Ted Chaiban [28:36]: I think Carl and I actually split that day and so we have a different experience to speak about. For me, firstly, we were also in Ramallah to meet with the Palestinian Authority and the ministers who were present. And then of course, we did our own. On that day, separate visits on the West Bank, I met with children and families from a given community where there were three settler communities surrounding that village. And we spoke about the tensions that had happened as the two communities are at odds over issues of water of access. I met with some of the children that had actually been arrested allegedly for throwing rocks. And we work with a local NGO there, ymca, to provide psychosocial support, counseling to those children after they come back and make sure they have a pathway back towards education and don't lose out on the school year that they were in, when they were, when they were detained. The situation is extremely serious. We have 800,000 children in the west bank whose education has been affected by this increase in violence, 75,000 people have been displaced. So it's also an extremely concerning situation. And not just Gaza, but the west bank and East Jerusalem, there needs to be a lowering of the temperature. And again, under the 20 point plan, we hope that we get to those latter points so that those needs can be addressed as well. Carl, I know you also had a very important visit on that day. WFP · Deputy Executive Director · Carl Skau [30:40]: So I went to a Bedouin village just in the south outside Hebron, a village of some 37 families, about 250 people. A village that, you know, was completely surrounded now by, by settlers for years. They had not been able to use their lands for their sheep. And what had happened over the past couple of months is that the situation had escalated by settlers putting containers through the village. There were like four or five, you know, of these barracks straight through that village, dividing it in two, basically. And in that attention also one of the Bedouins had been, had been killed and allegedly the perpetrator of that was still living among them. So a very, very tense environment. And we had the chance to engage with these communities. I mean, wfp, we provide no solutions to this situation. What we have done is that we have over the years worked with UNRWA to provide food to these most vulnerable Bedouin families in the area. See, it's been in kind mainly over the past few months. We have, as the situation has escalated, we have stepped up that we're also providing some top ups in terms of cash, something that we also do in close coordination with the Palestinian Authority. But I mean, being there engaging with the families, it's clear that that's not solution. There needs to be a political solution to this issue. It's just not sustainable and the environment extremely, extremely tense. US News and World Report · Journalist · Pamela Falk [32:30]: Thank you, Steph. Mr. Chaivon, Ambassador Scouts, Pamela Falk from US News and World Report. Thanks for the briefing. A few follow up questions. One on the, for Mr. Chaivon on the food in the box, school in the box. It's been a very successful program. Many of us have covered it in other conflict areas. Does it, are you including teachers or people, staff to be able to. I mean, some of it can be done by itself, but other. Do you have any staff on that? And to both of you on the phase two, how do you foresee the disarmament of Hamas, which is a piece of this and are you worried about that endangering the progress that's been made and on the reconstruction? Have you both or either of you been consulted on this? And is there some kind of registry you mentioned the person who said they wanted to just make sure it was their land and they kept it. How, how will that come about? Is there a registry? Thank you. UNICEF · Deputy Executive Director · Ted Chaiban [33:53]: Carl, you want to go first? WFP · Deputy Executive Director · Carl Skau [33:57]: No, I don't think we have the answers to that. That's not for wfp. I think that UNDP has been supportive on some of these issues around registry and providing also legal support and advice. And it's clear that's going to be a massive, massive issue. But I think what's important also to remember here is that, you know, we haven't talked about that really, but the yellow line is basically dividing the strip in two and whatever is beyond the yellow line no one has access to. And you know, I thought when I was there in July that the destruction couldn't get any worse, but frankly I was even shocked coming into Gaza City, into Jabalia, that it is much, much worse. August, September must have been very heavy. And of course, what everyone tells me is that the destruction outside the yellow line is far beyond that. So, you know, I think the registry is one issue, but there are many, many, many more issues related to that. And one is, of course, you know, what is the status of this land that is beyond the yellow line in terms of disarmament? That's not on our table. So I will leave that question for others to answer. Ted? UNICEF · Deputy Executive Director · Ted Chaiban [35:14]: Yeah, so first what we're focusing now is temporary learning spaces and they focus really on the essential Arabic, mathematics, reading and writing. I mean, basically, and we have these temporary learning spaces. We're now just today starting to be able to bring in pencils, exercise books, those kind of materials. And we are providing incentives to teachers who are part of the civil service of the Palestinian Authority, but who haven't been getting their salaries as regularly as they needed. I mean, they're this place along with the rest of the community. And so essentially we, we give them a top up so that they can work those three hours. It's three shift of three hours, you know, three days a week. So if you're, is there a number. On how many teachers there are now? I can get back to you with that number. The total number of children that UNICEF is supporting through those shifts is 120,000. With the rest of the cluster, we're reaching around 240,000 versus the 700,000 denominator. Right. So you could say it's about 40% of the total on the phase two and perhaps maybe let me. So on the disarmament, it's neither Carl nor my area of expertise, but on the issue of the registry, the land. Let me make two points. I think we've both been heavily involved in the rdna, the needs assessment that the eu, the World bank and the UN put together to come up with an objective determination of needs. And that's both where we have access. This side of the yellow line, it's physical examination of the destruction, otherwise it's the use of satellite imagery and to get a sense of the level of destruction that occurs. But you know, that should be the basis for any kind of recovery and reconstruction plan because, you know, it's the multilateral system coming together to provide an objective determination of what's needed. And then the other point that we make is that every piece of land in Gaza is accounted for. You know, it's either privately owned, often with a building with several families living on top of it, or it's public land. And no plans should be made for the use of that land, whether this side or that side of the yellow line, without Palestinian voice, without Palestinian agency, without those who own the land being consulted about how to use that land. Thank you. Moderator · Stefan [38:15]: Thank you. Al Quds al Arabi · Journalist · Muna Awtul [38:18]: Thank you very much for the briefing. Muna Awtul with Al Qudsal Arabi. UNFPA is currently reporting that in Gaza the economic collapse is directly driving a surge in gender based violence and child marriage. So based on the work you did on the ground, have you witnessed any specific cases of this? And if yes, can you please give us information on the specific mechanisms by which this financial desperation spirit, specifically the lack of access to the most basic necessities lead to gender based violence and child marriage. And last question, if you could please share with us any resources currently available for women and girls to ensure their safety. And thank you. UNICEF · Deputy Executive Director · Ted Chaiban [39:10]: Thanks for that. I mean, so look, there's no doubt that when a society goes through the kind of dislocation and dehumanization that Gazan society has gone through, that there's going to be an increase in tensions, including within the family, within the community. And we have seen examples of gender based violence. We have seen examples of child marriage. Just this time when we were in, we spoke to a woman who was fearful of a neighbor who was particularly being aggressive towards her. I mean, people are living on top of each other. Oftentimes families have been dislocated. Oftentimes families have lost their male members. So often you have female headed household. And those vulnerabilities are definitely exacerbated. And that report from UNFPA is absolutely correct. What we're doing about it is to try to have in place through national NGOs, a network of social workers that can offer an address where you can go to report if you're either experiencing sexual violence or aggression or even are feeling depressed or otherwise needs any kind of support. So it's a combination of counseling and referral services within the context of what's possible in Gaza. So I think what's essential is that we continue this work, that life saving humanitarian assistance is not limited to health, nutrition, water, but that we recognize that protection is a life saving activity. That the work that we do on education as well, education in emergency also helps with that sense of normalcy, that sense of recovery. So most definitely we've seen these cases. There are very embryonic, basic, you know, support, social support networks and the work needs to continue. Da Margi · Journalist · Sinan [41:31]: Thank you. Thank you, Stefan. And thank you everyone for all the information regarding the situation in Gaza. Unfortunately, I have a question about Syria. Since UNICEF is here, I hope it makes sense. According to local sources, five children have died from the cold weather in, in northeast Syria last couple of days. I wonder if you have any information regarding this issue or this incident or. And plus, can you give me a comment regarding how the war impacts the kids specifically? Thank you very much. And this is Sinan from Da Margi. UNICEF · Deputy Executive Director · Ted Chaiban [42:09]: Thank you. I don't have specific information on the five children you're referring to. I'll have to get back to you. I'll ask Curtis if we can have your contact so that we can specifically close the loop with you. I know that the situation in Syria does offer some hope for a way forward, but it's also extremely precarious. Again, you've had people who have been displaced multiple numbers of time, including from the most recent events and the fighting that has taken place. And it is again cold in Syria. People are living on the tents in cases, not all, but in some cases of displacement. And we have continued to respond with that immediate humanitarian action. We have an office in Qamishli, I heard you mentioned earlier and I will be asking for feedback from them to get back to you. So we'll get back to you subsequently in terms of how war affects children. Think of yourself back as a child. When you were a child, what was the most important for you? Your sense of something that's predictable in the world, your sense that your parents could protect you, that there was some kind of rhythm in your life. You knew how to count on being fed during the day, housed at night. You knew that you went to school and you learned and you felt a sense that there was a future with your friends that's taken away from you when you're in the kind of conflict that Gaza has gone through the last two years, the kind of war that Gaza has gone through the last two years, and certainly the kind of civil war that Syria experienced for the last 10 years. And what we need in both cases is to take advantage of those kernels of hope that in both places we have to move away from the violent past that we've experienced towards a political solution in a way. Forward. Forward. Great. Moderator · Stefan [44:11]: Ted, thank you very much. Carl, thank you very much. And we hope to see you guys back here after your next trip. Thank you. Thank you very much. WFP · Deputy Executive Director · Carl Skau [44:19]: Thank you for having us. Thank you.