Guterres condemns the “unprecedented” destruction and civilian deaths in the Israeli attack on Gaza

UN Secretary-General António Guterres highlighted the “total” devastation and “completely unprecedented” number of civilian deaths as a result of the military attack launched by the Israeli armed forces on the Gaza Strip. “Following the abhorrent Hamas attacks of October 7, the complete devastation of Gaza and the number of civilian casualties caused by the Israeli military in such a short period of time is unprecedented,” Guterres said from Kampala, Uganda. – Conference of Aligned Countries. Guterres noted that among the dead were 152 United Nations employees, which is “a heartbreaking tragedy for our organization, for their families, and for those who were working in Gaza.” He pointed out that humanitarian workers “are doing their best to deliver aid,” but “they face constant bombing and daily risks to themselves and their families.” “People are dying not only from bombs and bullets, but also from lack of food and clean water, from hospitals with no electricity or medicine, and from exhausting journeys to smaller parts of the land to escape the fighting,” he warned. For Guterres, the conflict “must stop.” He added: “I will not back down from my call for an immediate and humanitarian ceasefire and the unconditional release of all hostages. We must do everything in our power to prevent this conflict from affecting other countries in the region and the West Bank.” Guterres made particular reference to Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and the Red Sea. He stressed that “refusing to accept a two-state solution for Israelis and Palestinians and rejecting the right to establish a state for the Palestinian people is unacceptable.”