NEW YORK: The world is confronting “one of the darkest chapters of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,” the UN secretary-general said on Tuesday, warning that nearly two years after the “horrific Hamas terror attacks” of Oct. 7 and the “devastating Israeli military response,” violence has only deepened across the Occupied Territories, posing grave threats to regional and global peace and security.
The Israeli onslaught in Gaza City is compounding an already catastrophic humanitarian crisis, said Antonio Guterres.
“Famine is a reality, with the population constantly forced to move and being starved,” he told a high-level UN Security Council meeting. “To call this situation untenable, and morally and legally indefensible, doesn’t begin to capture the scale of human suffering.”
Impunity prevails “and our collective credibility is being undermined,” he said, adding that violence is spreading from Gaza to the occupied West Bank and beyond, including several countries in the region, most recently Qatar.
“Efforts to secure a ceasefire and hostage release deal — led by Qatar, Egypt and the US — suffered a serious blow on Sept. 9,” Guterres said.
