With the situation in Gaza “worsening by the day”, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has appealed for Israeli and Hamas leaders currently taking part in intense negotiations to reach a ceasefire agreement.
“For the sake of the people of Gaza, for the sake of the hostages and their families in Israel and for the sake of the region and the wider world, I strongly encourage the Government of Israel and the Hamas leadership to reach now an agreement,” he said at a news conference in New York on Tuesday.
The UN chief expressed fear that without an agreement, “the war, with all its consequences both in Gaza and across the region, will worsen exponentially”.
Another round of Israeli military operation is imminent on the Rafah area in southern Gaza, where more than 1.2 million people are now sheltering with limited access to food, medical care and other services and with nowhere safe to go.
Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu said Israel has already begun evacuating civilians in Rafah and that “there [would] be an operation there soon.”
He also said that Israeli forces would enter Rafah with or without a deal.
Guterres said a military assault there “would be an unbearable escalation, killing thousands more civilians and forcing hundreds of thousands to flee”. Furthermore, it would have a devastating impact on Palestinians in Gaza, with serious repercussions in the occupied West Bank and across the wider region.
“All members of the Security Council, and many other governments, have clearly expressed their opposition to such an operation. I appeal for all those with influence over Israel to do everything in their power to prevent it,” he told reporters.
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