At a high-level meeting convened by the Security Council, the United Nations chief stressed that the siege and obstacles to the entry of aid are affecting civilians and humanitarian workers, despite enormous efforts to bring them.
“I renew my call for an immediate ceasefire. “This will ensure that enough aid reaches where it is needed, facilitate the release of hostages and contribute to reducing tensions in the Middle East,” Guterres stressed to foreign ministers and diplomats gathered in the security agency’s horseshoe.
The entire population of the Gaza Strip is experiencing destruction on a scale and speed unparalleled in recent history, he added, emphasizing that nothing can justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people.
With rampant disease, hunger and skyrocketing needs in the middle of winter, UN staff and partners are committed to achieving results despite overwhelming challenges, he said.
Guterres revealed that Israel proposed a two-month pause in hostilities in exchange for a “gradual release” of the remaining hostages in the Gaza Strip.
“I will continue to do everything within my limited means to contribute to his release,” he said.
The High Representative warned of concern about violence outside the Gaza Strip and an increase in the number of victims in the occupied West Bank. the shootout across the blue line; the escalation of the situation in the Red Sea and the attacks in Syria and Iran.
At the same time, he considered the clear and repeated rejection of the two-state solution at the highest levels of the Israeli government to be unacceptable.
“Together with the denial of the right to statehood to the Palestinian people, this would indefinitely prolong a conflict that has become a major threat to global peace and security,” he said.
The right of the Palestinian people to build their own, fully independent state must be recognized by all, he emphasized.
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