UN Secretary-General António Guterres said Monday that he is “deeply distressed” by Israel’s total siege of the Gaza Strip following Hamas’s attack on the country and revealed that at least two United Nations schools that housed Displaced families were hit by missiles.
“Civilians must always be respected and protected and civilian buildings must never be attacked, but we already have indications that Israeli missiles
They attacked medical buildings in Gaza, residential buildings and a mosque. Two schools belonging to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) that were hosting displaced families were also hit,” he said at a press conference in New York.
António Guterres indicates that there are already at least 137,000 people taking refuge in UN buildings and warns that the number “continues to increase in line with the strong attacks” promoted by Israel.
The UN leader assured that he recognizes the legitimacy of the “pain of the Palestinian people,” but warned that “nothing justifies these acts of terror and the murder, mutilation and kidnapping of civilians.”
“I reiterate my call for these attacks to immediately cease and for all hostages to be released,” the head of the United Nations also made an appeal, confessing to being “alarmed by the information that more than 500 Palestinians, including women and children, have died in Gaza and another 300 are injured”, and the number of victims increases “every minute, in line with Israel’s operations.”
Regarding Israeli actions, Guterres also highlighted concerns about the country’s security as “legitimate”, but stressed that “military operations must be carried out with strict respect for international humanitarian law.”
Given this scenario, the UN Secretary General asked to facilitate the entry into Gaza of “medical equipment, food, fuel and other essential goods that are desperately needed”, as well as the access of “humanitarian workers” to the territory.
“The United Nations will continue its efforts to provide what is necessary to address these needs. I urge all parties to allow the United Nations access so that we can provide humanitarian aid to civilians trapped in the Gaza Strip and I call on the international community to mobilize in this effort,” he said.
Since Saturday, the Palestinian attacks and the Israeli responses have claimed victims: there have been more than 1,200 from one side to the other.
Source: TSF
