United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said on Saturday that the people of the Gaza Strip need a “continued supply of aid on the necessary scale” after only 20 trucks entered Egypt’s Rafah crossing.
The humanitarian situation requires a “commitment to much more” on the part of Israel and the Islamist movement Hamas, and a ceasefire, the former Portuguese prime minister said.
“A caravan of twenty Egyptian Red Crescent trucks is driving today. But the people of Gaza need a commitment to much, much more, a continued delivery of aid to Gaza on the scale that is needed. We are working tirelessly with all parties to achieve this goal. this,” António Guterres said in a speech at the Peace Summit, which is taking place in Egypt’s so-called new administrative capital, east of Cairo.
On Friday, Guterres went to the Rafah crossing, which connects Egypt with the Palestinian enclave, to oversee preparations for the opening of the border, after days of waiting for Israeli permission, and the repair of the bomb-damaged road to Gaza .
“Yesterday I went to the Rafah border crossing. I saw a paradox: a humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in real time. On the one hand, I saw hundreds of trucks full of food and other essential goods. On the other hand, we know that, on the other side on the other side of the border there are two million people without water, food, fuel, electricity and medicine,” he stated.
The UN Secretary-General emphasized that these trucks must travel “from Egypt to Gaza as quickly as possible, in a sustainable and safe manner.”
During his speech, he stated that the UN’s short-term objectives must be clear, including “immediate, unlimited and sustained humanitarian assistance to civilians under siege in Gaza, the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages,” as well as “immediate efforts and committed assistance” . to prevent the spread of violence that increases the risk of its spread.”
To further all these efforts, Guterres called for “a humanitarian ceasefire now.”
According to Israeli authorities, more than 1,400 people have been killed by Hamas fighters on Israeli soil since October 7, with most civilians shot dead, burned alive or mutilated on the first day of the attack by Gaza fighters.
According to the Israeli military, approximately 1,500 Hamas fighters were killed during the counter-offensive that allowed Israel to regain control of the attacked areas.
According to the Hamas Health Ministry in Gaza, 4,137 Palestinians, most of whom were civilians, have been killed in Israeli army bombings in retaliation in the Gaza Strip.
Source: DN
