UN chief calls for “immediate” ceasefire in Gaza – DW – 01/15/2024
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for an “immediate” humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza in a statement this Monday (01/15/2024) marking 100 days since the beginning of the conflict between Israel and the Hamas terrorist group. Guterres also called for the release of Israeli hostages held by the radicals and for “substantial” aid to Gazans.
“We need an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza” to ensure “sufficient aid reaches where it is needed” and “to extinguish the flames of the wider war, because the longer the conflict in Gaza continues, the risk of it escalating” “There will be more and more miscalculations,” Guterres said in a statement to reporters in New York.
He also had words for escalating tensions on the border between Lebanon and Israel. He said, “It is my duty to convey this simple and direct message to all parties: stop playing with fire on the other side of the Blue Line, de-escalate tensions and end hostilities.” We are watching in Gaza.
indescribable situation
More than 24,000 people have been killed – most of them women and children – since the conflict with Israel began on October 7, according to figures from Hamas, which rules the Palestinian territory. “Nobody can justify the collective punishment of Palestinians,” Guterres recalled, adding that a ceasefire would facilitate the release of Israeli hostages in the hands of Hamas, whose “horrific” attacks on October 7 led to Israeli military action. Reaction started, he condemned again.
The Secretary-General warned that “the humanitarian situation is indescribable: there is no one and no safe place” in Gaza, which has experienced the largest displacement of Palestinians since 1948, according to UNWRA, the UN arm for refugees in the region. . “Along with disease, malnutrition and other health threats, the long shadow of famine looms over Gaza’s population,” Guterres said, calling himself “deeply concerned” by the apparent “violations of international humanitarian law that we are witnessing.” Before declaring.
Several UN agencies as well as most of the world’s countries have called for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip due to the huge number of civilian casualties. Israel and the United States reject this possibility, arguing that it would allow Hamas to regain strength.
dzc (AFP, EFE)