The UN Security Council is to vote on a resolution put forward by the UAE calling for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza.
UN chief Antonio Guterres said the situation in Gaza was at breaking point and it was time to act as “the eyes of the world and the eyes of history are watching”.
Antonio Guterres says the brutality of the 7 October attacks by Hamas on Israel does not absolve Israel of its own violations of humanitarian law.
He says the people of Gaza are being told to move like human pinballs, without any of the basics for survival.
“But nowhere in Gaza is safe,” he adds.
Guterres says families have lost everything and have been sleeping on bare concrete floors, that there is a food crisis that most of the people in Gaza are starving.
He adds that he “unreservedly condemns” Hamas’ 7 October attacks and calls for the immediate release of the Israeli hostages taken by Hamas.
“At the same time, the brutality perpetrated by Hamas can never justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people,” he says.
The US has consistently opposed international calls for a ceasefire and is thought likely to vote against the resolution.
But US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has urged Israel to do more to protect civilians, saying there is a “gap” between its promises and the reality on the ground.
Israel’s ambassador to the UN, Gilad Erdan, has firmly rejected calls for a ceasefire.
He told the UN that “a ceasefire cements Hamas’s control of Gaza” and sends a mesage that “Hamas is forgiven for their deliberate atrocities”.
Erdan also said “Hamas’s oppression of Gazans” had been given a “green light by the international community”.
“Without the military pressure applied on Hamas no amount of diplomacy can secure the release of hostages,” he added.
The Palestinian Authority’s representative said the “Israeli’s objective is clear” and that it was “to force people out”. He said Israel would “make Gaza unlivable for all” and displace people.
Mansour went on to say that he believed Israel was pushing people into the south and would eventually “launch a full-fledged attack” on the area. BBC
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