UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged for a “humanitarian ceasefire” in the conflict between Israel and Gaza’s Hamas, calling for worldwide “action to end this godawful nightmare”.
Speaking at a peace summit in Cairo during the ongoing conflict’s third week, Guterres described the situation in the small Palestinian territory, home to 2.4 million people, as a “humanitarian catastrophe,” with thousands of casualties and over a million individuals displaced.
Guterres made these comments shortly after the initial group of aid trucks entered southern Gaza. He emphasized the need to significantly increase these efforts, stressing that “much more” assistance must be dispatched.
He emphasized the necessity for “a continuous delivery of aid to Gaza at the scale that is needed” during the Cairo “Summit for Peace,” where numerous Arab leaders were present.
The current conflict started on October 7 when Hamas fighters infiltrated the Gaza-Israel border, initiating an assault that resulted in the deaths of at least 1,400 people, primarily civilians.
The attack stands as the deadliest on Israeli soil since the establishment of the state in 1948.
Israel has hit back with a relentless bombing campaign, killing more than 4,100 Palestinians, mainly civilians, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry.
Despite limited progress in diplomatic initiatives aimed at halting the violence, Cairo, which has traditionally played a pivotal role as a mediator between Hamas and Israel, revealed its intentions to convene the summit after a week of the ongoing conflict. The Egyptian government called for “restraint” and advocated for a resumption of peace negotiations, which have remained at a standstill for several years.
Diplomatic endeavors have primarily concentrated on facilitating the delivery of humanitarian aid to the conflict-ridden region, where Israel has enforced a comprehensive blockade, disrupting the flow of essential resources such as water, electricity, fuel, and food.
