BEIJING: United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Wednesday that attacks by militant group Hamas on Israel did not justify the “collective punishment” of Palestinians, and called for an immediate cease-fire.
Speaking at an economic forum in China, Guterres condemned the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel that killed more than 1,400 people as “acts of terror” that could not be justified.
“But those attacks cannot justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people,” Guterres said.
He appealed for an “immediate humanitarian cease-fire” in the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, reiterating what he called “two urgent humanitarian appeals.”
Guterres called on Hamas for the “immediate and unconditional release of hostages,” referring to at least 199 people kidnapped by the militants during their offensive, the deadliest in Israel’s history.
Guterres also called on Israel to “immediately allow unrestricted access of humanitarian aid to respond to the most basic needs of the people of Gaza, the overwhelming majority of whom are women and children.”
“I call for an immediate humanitarian cease-fire to provide sufficient time and space to help realize my two appeals and to ease the epic human suffering we are witnessing,” Guterres said.
“Too many lives and the fate of the entire region hang in the balance.”
Guterres said was “fully aware of the deep grievances of the Palestinian people after 56 years of occupation.”
“But as serious as these grievances are, they cannot justify the acts of terror committed by Hamas on October 7,” he said.
The UN chief earlier said he was “horrified” by a deadly blast that ripped through a hospital in Gaza late Tuesday, killing hundreds of people.
Hamas has blamed Israel for the hospital strike. Israel has said it was caused by a rocket misfired by Islamic Jihad militants in Gaza.
“My heart is with the families of the victims. Hospitals and medical personnel are protected under international humanitarian law,” Guterres said in a post on X.
Guterres also condemned an attack on a school run by the UN in a Gaza refugee camp that killed six people.
UN’s Guterres denounces ‘collective punishment’ of Palestinians
https://arab.news/vq674
UN’s Guterres denounces ‘collective punishment’ of Palestinians
- Hamas attacks ‘cannot justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people’
- UN chief ‘horrified’ by a deadly blast that ripped through a hospital in Gaza
North Korean leader Kim watches cruise missile tests with his daughter
- KCNA said the missiles hit target islands off North Korea’s west coast
SEOUL, South Korea: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his teenage daughter observed tests of strategic cruise missiles fired from a warship, state media reported Wednesday, as North Korea threatened responses to US-South Korean military drills.
Images sent by the Korean Central News Agency showed the two in a conference room looking at a screen showing weapons being fired from the Choe Hyon, a year-old naval destroyer.
Kim Jong Un watched the missiles launches via video on Tuesday and underscored the need to maintain “a powerful and reliable nuclear war deterrent,” KCNA reported in a dispatch that did not mention his daughter.
The girl, reportedly named Kim Ju Ae and about 13, has accompanied her father at numerous prominent events including military parades and weapons launches since late 2022. South Korea’s spy agency assessed last month Kim Jong Un was close to designating her as his heir.
KCNA said the missiles hit target islands off North Korea’s west coast. It quoted Kim Jong Un as saying the launches were meant to demonstrate the navy’s strategic offensive posture and get troops familiarized with weapons firings.
Kim Jong Un observed similar cruise missile launches from the Choe Hyon in person last week, but his daughter was not seen at that appearance.
Tuesday’s missile firings came after the start of the springtime US-South Korean military drills that North Korea views as an invasion rehearsal.
On Tuesday, Kim Jong Un’s sister and senior official, Kim Yo Jong, warned the drills reveal again the US and South Korea’s “inveterate repugnancy toward” North Korea. She said North Korea will “convince the enemies of our war deterrence.”
The 11-day Freedom Shield drill that began Monday is largely a computer-simulated command post exercise and will be accompanied by a field training program. North Korea often reacts to the two sets of training with its own weapons tests.
