U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Wednesday that the Hamas attack in Israel “cannot justify collective punishment of Palestinians” in Gaza, an area hit hard by Israeli retaliatory bombing.
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“I am fully aware of the deep sadness of the Palestinian people after 56 years of occupation,” Mr. Guterres stressed during a speech in Beijing.
“But as serious as these grievances are, they cannot justify Hamas’ terrorist attacks on October 7.” But these attacks cannot justify collective punishment of the Palestinians,” the UN chief stressed.
Antonio Guterres also called for an “immediate humanitarian ceasefire” in the conflict between Israel and Hamas.
“I call for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire to alleviate (…) the terrible human suffering we are witnessing,” he told representatives of around 130 countries at the New Silk Roads forum.
An explosion that Israel and the Palestinians blame each other for killed hundreds of people in a Gaza hospital on Tuesday evening and sparked international condemnation and protests across the Muslim world, hours before US President Joe Biden’s arrival in the Region.
“Between 200 and 300 people died,” the Palestinian territory’s health ministry said, adding that “hundreds of victims still lie in the rubble” of the Ahli Arab hospital in central Gaza. Hamas speaks of more than 500 victims and blames Israel.
Antonio Guterres said he was “horrified” by this attack on civilians.