UN Secretary General: Israel's Plan To Control Total Gaza Dangerous Escalation

Gazans queue for UNRWA's food/DOK

JAKARTA - United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres criticized Israel's plans to take control of Gaza.

A spokesman for the UN Secretary-General said the decision marked a "dangerous escalation" that would result in forced transfer of Palestinians.

Israel's previous security cabinet approved plans to take control of the Gaza City to expand Israel's military offensive on Palestinian enclaves destroyed by Israeli attacks for nearly two years.

The plan drew strong criticism at home and abroad on Friday, August 8.

When asked by Fox News' Bill Hemmer on Thursday about whether Israel would take over the entire coastal territory, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said "we intend to do it."

"This decision marks a dangerous escalation and risks deepening the consequences of disasters that already exist for millions of Palestinians, and could further endanger lives, including the remaining hostages," a UN Secretary-General spokesman said in a statement.

The UN said the decision would result in additional forced evacuation, murder, massive destruction, which exacerbated the unimaginable suffering experienced by Palestinians in Gaza, the statement added.

Forced evacuation is illegal under international law.

Meanwhile, Gaza's Ministry of Health said Israeli military attacks killed more than 61,000 Palestinians.

The attack also led to a hunger crisis, internally displaced the entire population of Gaza, and sparked allegations of genocide at the International Court of Justice and war crimes at the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Israel denies the allegations.

The Israeli attack follows an October 2023 attack in which Palestinian Hamas militants killed 1,200 people and held about 250 people hostage, according to Israeli tallies.

The attack sparked the latest bloodshed in the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict.