UN Secretary General: Bad Dreams In Gaza Enter A Terrible And Disappropriate Second Year

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres. (Wikimedia Commons/US Mission/Eric Bridiers)

JAKARTA - UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday expressed concern over the escalating humanitarian and political crisis in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon, as he condemned international law violations.

"The nightmare in Gaza is now entering its second terrible and heinous year. This is a year full of crisis. Crisis of humanity. Political crisis. Crisis of the diplomatic crisis. And a moral crisis," Secretary General Guterres told a news conference at the United Nations headquarters in New York, United States, as reported by Anadolu, October 9.

Further said by him, the Gaza Strip "has become a starting point for elusive human suffering," noting more than 41,000 Palestinians have died, most of them are women and children, with thousands more missing and believed to be trapped under the rubble.

"I strongly condemn all violations of international humanitarian law in Gaza," he said.

Highlighting the deteriorating situation for humanitarian workers and journalists, Secretary General Guterres noted "the journalists have been killed at an unprecedented level in any conflict in modern times. And humanitarian workers, those who have devoted their lives to helping others, face unprecedented and devastating dangers."

On the occasion, Secretary General Guterres stressed the important role of the UN Aid and Work Agency (UNRWA) in Gaza, warning of the potential consequences of the Israeli bill to limit the agency's operations.

UN Secretary-General said he had sent a letter to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "to express deep concern about a bill that could prevent UNRWA from continuing its important work in the occupied Palestinian Territories."

The move would hinder efforts to ease human suffering and tensions in Gaza and even the entire occupied Palestinian territories.

"It will be a disaster that is already unavoidable," he said.

Last week, Knesset (Israeli parliament) proposed a bill to lift immunity and privileges granted to UNRWA, in a move that Palestinians and the United Nations see as part of Israel's campaign to dissolve the UN agency and resolve the refugee issue.

Furthermore, Guterres also condemned Israel's increasingly intensive military operations in northern Gaza, where residential areas and hospitals were targeted, forcing 400,000 residents to move back to crowded and unsafe conditions in the south.

"Ordering civilians to evacuate will not make them safe if they do not have a safe place to go and have no shelter, food, medicine, or water," he said, adding that there was no safe place in Gaza.

The Secretary-General also warned of an escalating conflict in Lebanon that threatened to hit the region.

"We are on the brink of an all-out war in Lebanon with devastating consequences," he said, citing a massive Israeli attack that has killed more than 2,000 casualties in Lebanon, and displaced more than 1 million people.

Secretary General Guterres stressed, "the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries must be respected."

Repeating calls for peace, the UN Secretary-General said, "the conflict in the Middle East is getting worse every hour and our warning of the dire impact of escalation continues."

"Every airstrike, every missile launch, every rocket fired, further distances peace and makes the suffering of millions of civilians trapped in the middle worse," he said.

The secretary-general ended by calling for an immediate ceasefire and renewing efforts towards a two-state solution.

"Everyone in the region has the right to live in peace," he concluded, calling for an immediate ceasefire and renewing efforts towards a two-state solution.