Anadolu: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday warned of the rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, describing it as a “horror show” marked by mass devastation and starvation.
“We need look no further than the horror show in Gaza – with a level of death and destruction without parallel in recent times,” Guterres told the UN Security Council during a debate on multilateralism and peaceful dispute resolution.
“Malnourishment is soaring. Starvation is knocking on every door. And now we are seeing the last gasp of a humanitarian system built on humanitarian principles,” he said, adding: “That system is being denied the conditions to function. Denied the space to deliver. Denied the safety to save lives.”
He denounced Israel’s military operations, stressing that “with Israeli military operations intensifying and new displacement orders issued in Deir al-Balah (in central Gaza Strip), devastation is being layered upon devastation.”
Guterres also noted that the situation in Gaza reflects a broader failure to uphold international obligations, as “conflict is raging, international law is being trampled, and hunger and displacement are at record levels” in regions from Ukraine and Sudan to Haiti and Myanmar.
The UN chief condemned recent attacks on UN facilities in Gaza, and said: “I am appalled that UN premises have been struck – among them facilities of the UN Office for Project Services and the World Health Organization, including WHO’s main warehouse.”
“These premises, like all civilian sites, are inviolable and must be protected under international humanitarian law – without exception,” Guterres said.
