The UN chief calls the death and destruction in Gaza the worst he’s seen

A man cycles as smoke from Israeli bombardment rises behind him in an area that was ordered to be evacuated by the Israeli army in the southeast of Khan Yunis, southern Gaza Strip on Sep. 8. (AFP)
Short Url
Updated 10 September 2024
Follow

The UN chief calls the death and destruction in Gaza the worst he’s seen

  • Guterres said: “The level of suffering we are witnessing in Gaza is unprecedented in my mandate as secretary-general of the UN”

UNITED NATIONS: The UN chief said Monday that the United Nations has offered to monitor any ceasefire in Gaza and demanded an end to the worst death and destruction he has seen in his more than seven-year tenure.
Secretary-General António Guterres said in an interview with The Associated Press that it’s “unrealistic” to think the UN could play a role in Gaza’s future, either by administering the territory or providing a peacekeeping force, because Israel is unlikely to accept a UN role.
But he said “the UN will be available to support any ceasefire.” The United Nations has had a military monitoring mission in the Middle East, known as UNTSO, since 1948, and “from our side, this was one of the hypotheses that we’ve put on the table,” he said.
“Of course, we’ll be ready to do whatever the international community asked for us,” Guterres said. “The question is whether the parties would accept it, and in particular whether Israel would accept it.”
Israel’s military assault on Gaza, triggered by Hamas’ attacks in southern Israel on Oct. 7, has stretched for 11 months, with recent ceasefire talks failing to reach a breakthrough and violence in the West Bank reaching new highs.
Stressing the urgency of a ceasefire now, Guterres said: “The level of suffering we are witnessing in Gaza is unprecedented in my mandate as secretary-general of the United Nations. I’ve never seen such a level of death and destruction as we are seeing in Gaza in the last few months.”
The war has killed over 40,900 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. The ministry, part of Gaza’s Hamas government, does not differentiate between fighters and civilians in its count though it says about half of the dead have been women and children. Israel says at least 17,000 militants are among the dead.
The war has caused vast destruction and displaced around 90 percent of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million people, often multiple times.
Israel’s UN Ambassador Danny Danon reacted to Guterres’ comments saying, “It is disappointing to see the UN advocate for a ceasefire without mentioning the hostages and without condemning Hamas.”
“A ceasefire cannot – and will not – take place so long as our remaining hostages taken from us on Oct. 7 remain in captivity in Gaza,” he said in a statement. “I urge the UN Security Council to urgently convene and condemn Hamas in the strongest possible terms and demand the release of all 101 hostages in Gaza.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government have accused the UN of being anti-Israel and have been highly critical of UN humanitarian operations in Gaza, including accusing UN workers of collaborating with Hamas. He also has voiced skepticism about peacekeeping missions, saying only Israel can protect itself.
Facing protests at home and increasing urgency from allies, Netanyahu has pushed back against pressure for a ceasefire deal and declared that “no one will preach to me.”
Israel’s UN Mission spokesperson did not immediately respond to calls or a text message seeking comment.
Looking beyond an agreement, Guterres stressed that a two-state solution to the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict is not only viable, “it’s the only solution.”
The United States and others support Palestinian statehood in lands captured by Israel in the 1967 Mideast war, but Netanyahu, who is leading the most conservative government in Israel’s history, has opposed calls for a two-state solution.
Guterres asked rhetorically whether the alternative is viable.
“It means that you have 5 million Palestinians living there without any rights in a state,” he said. “Is it possible? Can we accept an idea similar to what we had in South Africa in the past?“
He was referring to South Africa’s apartheid system from 1948 until the early 1990s when its minority white population marginalized and segregated people of color, especially Black people.
“I do not think you can have two peoples living together if they are not in a basis of equality, and if they are not in a basis of respect — mutual respect of their rights,” Guterres said. “So the two-state solution is, in my opinion, a must if we want to have peace in the Middle East.”
The Palestinians have circulated a draft UN resolution demanding that Israel end its “unlawful presence” in Gaza and the West Bank within six months. The proposed General Assembly resolution follows a ruling by the top United Nations court in July that said Israel’s presence in the Palestinian territories is unlawful and must end.
In the wide-ranging interview, the UN chief painted a grim global picture, saying, “Our world is in total disarray — I would say in total chaos.”
Conflicts are spreading and the most dramatic ones like Ukraine and Gaza have no end in sight, he said. Climate change is having devastating effects and artificial intelligence is developing without serious guardrails.
At the same time, Guterres said, “we see dramatic inequalities” and developing countries struggling, many submerged in debt and without resources to educate their children and or provide basic infrastructure.
The secretary-general has invited world leaders to a summit in the days before their annual high-level meeting at the UN General Assembly later this month to recommit to working together to meet those challenges and reform multilateral institutions established after World War II, including the UN
Guterres said Ukraine’s recent incursion into Russia’s Kursk region shows that the war, now in its third year, will not end quickly or easily.
“The situation in Ukraine is stuck, and I do not see a ceasefire in the immediate future,” he said.
The secretary-general also said UN humanitarian operations are in crisis because needs have increased dramatically “with the proliferation of conflicts, proliferation of natural disasters, with climate change moving fast.” But funding has not.
Unfortunately, the priorities of the world’s leaders “do not correspond to the real needs of humankind at the present moment,” he said.

 


Pope slams ‘shameful’ failure of diplomacy in Mideast

Updated 10 sec ago
Follow

Pope slams ‘shameful’ failure of diplomacy in Mideast

  • The 87-year-old had previously declared Monday a global day for prayer and fasting for peace, following similar initiatives for other conflicts in recent years

VATICAN CITY: Pope Francis on Monday slammed the “shameful inability” of world powers to end the conflict in the Middle East, on the first anniversary of Hamas’s deadly October 7 attack on Israel.
“A year ago, the fuse of hatred was lit; it did not sputter, but exploded in a spiral of violence, in the shameful inability of the international community and the most powerful countries to silence the weapons and put an end to the tragedy of war,” he said in an open letter to Catholics in the Middle East.
“Blood is still being shed, as are tears. Anger is growing, along with the desire for revenge, while it seems that few people care about what is most needed and what is most desired: dialogue and peace.”
The 87-year-old had previously declared Monday a global day for prayer and fasting for peace, following similar initiatives for other conflicts in recent years.
In his letter, the leader of the world’s almost 1.4 billion Catholics offered solidarity with followers in the region — “a small, defenseless flock” — on what he called “this sad day.”
But the pope also addressed “the men and women of every confession and religion who in the Middle East are suffering from the insanity of war: I am close to you, I am with you.”
“I am with you, who have no voice, for despite all the talk of plans and strategies, there is little concern for those who suffer the devastation of war, which the powerful impose on others; yet they will be subject to the inflexible judgment of God,” he added.


Fighting in Sudan’s North Darfur kills at least 13 children, UNICEF says

Updated 5 min 48 sec ago
Follow

Fighting in Sudan’s North Darfur kills at least 13 children, UNICEF says

  • The children were between 6 and 17 years old, the UN agency said

CAIRO: Fighting between the Sudanese military and its rival paramilitary in Sudan ‘s North Darfur killed at least 13 children and injured four others, UNICEF said.
The children were between 6 and 17 years old, the UN agency said in a statement on Sunday.
The Sudanese army on Friday launched airstrikes that targeted a market in the town of Al Kuma, around 70 kilometers (43 miles) east of the North Darfur capital of El Fasher, the local Daily Sudan Post reported.
The airstrikes, which also hit the city of Mellit, killed at least 45 people and injured dozens of others, according to the Sudan Tribune news portal and the Central Observatory for Human Rights.
Hamrat Al-Sheikh in North Kordofan was also struck, according to Mohammed H. Al-Ta’ishi, a former member of the Sovereignty Council of Sudan, who said Saturday that the strikes targeted areas that “haven’t seen any form of confrontation since the war began.”
War between the Sudanese military and the Rapid Support Forces broke out in April 2023 in the capital, Khartoum, and has spread across the country. Darfur has seen particularly intense fighting.
“These attacks on children are unacceptable. Children have no role to play in wars or civil conflict, but children are the ones who are suffering the most as the conflict in Sudan grinds on,” said Sheldon Yett, a UNICEF representative to Sudan.
“Children should be safe everywhere, in their homes, neighborhoods, and on the streets,” Yett added.
The UN estimated that 20,000 people have been killed and thousands injured since the conflict began. The war has also displaced over 10 million people, including 2.4 million who fled to neighboring countries and other nations.


Jordan foreign minister arrives in Beirut in show of solidarity

Updated 45 min 21 sec ago
Follow

Jordan foreign minister arrives in Beirut in show of solidarity

  • Jordan FM Ayman Safadi stressed his country’s support against the escalating Israeli aggression

BEIRUT: Jordan’s foreign minister Ayman Safadi arrived in Beirut on board a Jordanian aid plane, the foreign ministry said in a statement on Monday.
The aircraft was the seventh aid plane dispatched to Lebanon since the onset of the war, carrying 13 tonnes of food, relief items and medical supplies, according to the Jordanian foreign minister.
As part of his “solidarity visit,” Safadi met with Lebanon’s Prime Minister Najib Mikati and stressed Jordan’s support against the escalating Israeli aggression.
He reiterated his country’s commitment to achieving ceasefire and providing Jordan with the necessary aid to overcome the repercussions of the intense Israeli bombing.
Safadi is scheduled to meet Lebanon’s Parliament Speaker Nabih Berry and Commander of the Lebanese Armed Forces Joseph Aoun during his visit.


Hezbollah vows to keep fighting Israeli ‘aggression’

Updated 07 October 2024
Follow

Hezbollah vows to keep fighting Israeli ‘aggression’

  • The Israeli army deployed another division to participate in operations in Lebanon

BEIRUT: Lebanon’s Hezbollah on Monday vowed to keep up the fight against Israeli “aggression,” on the anniversary of its militant group ally Hamas’s October 7 attack that triggered war in the Gaza Strip.
Hezbollah and the Lebanese have paid a “heavy price” for the Iran-backed group’s decision to open a “support front” for Gaza on October 8, but “we are confident... in the ability of our resistance to oppose the Israeli aggression,” it said in a statement, calling Israel a “cancerous gland that must be eliminated, no matter how long it takes.”

Hezbollah said it targeted Israeli troops in a south Lebanon border village on Monday, as the Israeli army said it had deployed another division to participate in operations in Lebanon.
Hezbollah fighters “bombed... a gathering of Israeli forces in the Maroun Al-Ras park with a rocket salvo,” the Iran-backed group said in a statement, after announcing separately it had targeted several areas of northern Israel and military positions across the border.

The Israeli army on Monday said it had deployed another division to participate in operations in Lebanon — making it the third troop grouping at division strength to be used in the ground fight against Hezbollah.
“The soldiers of the 91st Division began localized and targeted operational activity in southern Lebanon,” said a statement from the army.

 


“Victory in Gaza may be delayed, but it is coming” says Hamas former leader Khaled Mashaal

Updated 07 October 2024
Follow

“Victory in Gaza may be delayed, but it is coming” says Hamas former leader Khaled Mashaal

DUBAI: Hamas’ former leader Khaled Mashaal said what is happening in Gaza is a “holocaust” in a speech he delivered on Monday morning. 

Mashaal said the Oct. 7. attacks happened because all political horizons were closed and has achieved "strategic results" since. 

He thanked Hezbollah, the Houthis and Iran for supporting Hamas and called on Arab countries to provide financial support to Gaza.

Mashaal said Israel opened the war front in Lebanon after failing to achieve its goals in Gaza and claimed that Israel is conspiring against Jordan and Egypt.

A year after Oct. 7, Israel has opened a new front in Lebanon against Hezbollah, which has traded fire with Israel since the war in Gaza began.

“Israel is defeated although it has achieved accomplishments against Iran and Hezbollah,” added Mashaal.

Mashaal concluded by asking the people of Gaza not to despair and promised them victory soon.

Over the past year in Gaza, more than 40,000 people, including over 10,000 children, have been killed by Israel’s forces, exacting indiscriminate and disproportionate vengeance for the 1,200 Israelis killed by Hamas on Oct. 7.

Advisor to the Palestinian President Mahmoud Al-Habash said Mashaal's statements are "empty slogans that achieve nothing".

Al-Habash said "real victory is protecting our people" and added that Hamas should have moved towards unity with the Palestinian authority. 

Globally, people have hit the streets to protest against Israel’s deadly military offensives in Gaza and Lebanon.

Demonstrators expressed outrage against the Israeli aggression, demanding an end to the war in Gaza, describing the situation as “genocide,” and calling upon the global community to act.

Protests have taken place from the Middle East to Europe, the US, India, Pakistan and Far East Asia.