UNITED NATIONS, Nov 21 (APP): UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday decried events in bombed-out Gaza since Oct. 7, calling them a \u201ckilling of civilians that is unparalleled and unprecedented\u201d since he took office. \u201cWhat is clear is that we have had in a few weeks thousands of children killed, so this is what matters,\u201d the UN chief said in New York while presenting a new UN environmental report.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are witnessing a killing of civilians that is unparalleled and unprecedented in any conflict since I am secretary general.\u201d It is important to be able to transform the tragedy into an opportunity, Guterres said, adding: \u201cIt is essential that after the war we move in a determined, and the reversible way to a two-state solution.\u201d In reply to a question, the secretary-general said that in all the reports issued during his tenure, on children in conflict, it was clear that the current war in Gaza has seen thousands of child deaths \u2013 compared with hundreds, in conflicts in Yemen and Syria.<\/p>\n
Without entering into discussing the accuracy of the figures released by the Palestinian health ministry in Gaza, which are regarded by UN agencies as reliable, he said that \u201cwhat is clear is that we have had in a few weeks thousands of children killed.\u201d Latest reports from health authorities indicate that more than 13,000 civilians in total have died in the enclave since the 7 October attacks by Hamas, and subsequent Israeli offensive. \u201cThis is what matters. We are witnessing a killing of civilians that is unparalleled and unprecedented in any conflict since I have been Secretary-General.<\/p>\n
\u201d Also addressing how the region can move forward once the fighting stops, the UN chief said that it was \u201cimportant to be able to transform this tragedy into an opportunity.\u201d \u201cFor that to be possible, it is essential that after the war we move in a determined, irreversible way to a two-state solution\u201d, he told correspondents. \u201cIt means also that after the war \u2013 and this is my opinion \u2013 I believe it to be important after the war to have a strengthened Palestinian authority to assume responsibilities in Gaza.\u201d He said a humanitarian ceasefire was a crucial first step, along with unrestricted access to humanitarian aid, \u201cthe liberation of hostages\u201d and an end to violations of international humanitarian law and protection of civilians.<\/p>\n
He said the Palestinian Authority which administers the West Bank, and which was forced out of Gaza in 2006 by Hamas, could clearly not assume control while Israeli tanks remain, meaning there must be a \u201ctransition period\u201d. \u201cI do not think that a UN protectorate in Gaza is a solution. I think we need a multi-stakeholder approach in which different countries, different entities, will cooperate. For Israel, of course, the US is the main guarantor of its security. For Palestinians, the neighbouring and Arab countries of the region are essential\u201d, Guterres said.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo everybody needs to come together to make the conditions for a transition, allowing for a strengthened Palestinian Authority, to assume responsibility in Gaza and then, based on that, to finally move\u2026in a determined and irreversible way to a two-State solution based on the principles that have been largely established by the international community and which I have time and time again outlined.\u201d Meanwhile, in Gaza, a tweet by the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNWRA on Monday, described the situation in shelters as \u201cunliveable\u201d.<\/p>\n
It said that Gazans had \u201cno options\u201d, echoing repeated warnings from UN humanitarians that nowhere is safe for civilians in Gaza. Since Oct 7, hundreds of thousands of Gazans have fled south, following an evacuation directive from the Israeli military. Satellite images of the exodus showed a mass of people moving across a landscape of shattered buildings, while photographs taken at ground level showed families carrying their belonging on foot and a woman dragging two babies in car seats behind her.<\/p>\n
In an update on Sunday, Tom White, Director of UNRWA Affairs, told US network ABC that 13 UNRWA sites where people had been \u201csheltering under the UN flag\u201d had been \u201cdirectly hit\u201d since 7 October, while \u201ccountless other shelters\u201d had suffered \u201ccollateral damage\u201d \u2013 many of them in the south of Gaza, where civilians had been told to flee. White said that 73 people had been killed in UNRWA shelters to date, \u201ca large proportion of them in the south\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe reality is the Gazans have got nowhere to go for safety and they are all exposed to the threat of fighting and particularly airstrikes,\u201d the UNRWA official said. According to the UN agency, more than 880,000 internally displaced have sought shelter in 154 UNRWA installations across all five of Gaza\u2019s governorates. Out of Gaza\u2019s 2.3 million people, 1.7 million are now displaced. To date, 104 UNRWA staff have been killed along with at least 11,000 people in Gaza according to health authorities. \u201cHouses have been hit all across the Gaza Strip,\u201d said UNWRA\u2019s White, who said that people\u2019s main concern was, \u201cIf they\u2019re in the north or in the south, are they safe?\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
UNITED NATIONS, Nov 21 (APP): UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday decried events in bombed-out Gaza since Oct. 7, calling them a \u201ckilling of civilians that is unparalleled and unprecedented\u201d since he took office. \u201cWhat is clear is that we have had in a few […]<\/p>\n
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