GAZA, (Palestine Foundation Information Center ) UN Secretary-General António Guterres has warned of “the devastating consequences of expanding Israeli military operations in Gaza City, forcing hundreds of thousands of exhausted and traumatized civilians to flee once again.”
Speaking to reporters outside the UN Security Council chamber on Thursday before participating in a council session, Guterres said, “Civilians in Gaza are once again facing another deadly escalation.”
He added that “the initial steps taken by Israel toward full military control over Gaza City indicate a new and dangerous phase.”
Guterres emphasized that “the levels of death and destruction in Gaza are without parallel in recent times.”
He stressed the importance of not using starvation as a weapon of war and called for the protection of civilians and the unhindered delivery of humanitarian aid.
“There is no room for more excuses, no more obstructions, and no more lies,” Guterres said.
He addressed the repeated Israeli bombings, including the recent attack on Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis in southern Gaza that killed 21 Palestinians, including five journalists, saying, “One attack after another, killing civilians, among them medical workers and journalists doing their essential jobs, all this happens before the eyes of the world.”
The UN chief noted that “these attacks are part of an endless record of atrocities” and stressed the urgent need for accountability.
