Palestine: The United Nations chief Mr. Antonio Guterres has repeated his demand for a ceasefire in Gaza, remarking that international law is being violated in the Israel-Hamas war.
In recent days, Israel has continuously bombarded the besieged Gaza Strip since Hamas launched a surprise attack on southern Israel on October 7.
After the attack, Israel cut off supplies of water, food, fuel, and electricity to the enclave’s 2.3 million residents. It also launched an assault on the territory, killing at least 5,791 people.
Speaking before the 15-member UN Security Council, Mr. Guterres pleaded for protection for civilians and warned that the fighting risked a wider conflagration in the region.
“It is important to also recognise that the attacks by Hamas did not happen in a vacuum. The Palestinian people have been subjected to 56 years of suffocating occupation. But the grievances of the Palestinian people cannot justify the appalling attacks by Hamas. And those appalling attacks cannot justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people,” the UN chief commented.
Mr. Guterres also criticised Israel without naming it, stating that “protecting civilians does not mean ordering more than one million people to evacuate to the south, where there is no shelter, no food, no water, no medicine, and no fuel, and then continuing to bomb the south itself.”
Israel’s UN Ambassador Mr. Gilad Erdan called the Secretary General’s speech “shocking.” “His statement that ‘the attacks by Hamas did not happen in a vacuum’ expressed an understanding of terrorism and murder. It’s truly sad that the head of an organisation that arose after the Holocaust holds such horrible views,” Mr. Erdan posted on X.
Mr. Guterres called the attack by Hamas “horrifying and unprecedented” and demanded the release of the roughly 200 people captured and held captive by Hamas.
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