Guterres calls for an end to the Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people

New York (ST): The UN Secretary-General  António Guterres has called for an end to the continuous Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people, noting that the Israeli hostilities caused great damage to the infrastructure in the Gaza Strip, including roads and the electricity network, and contributed to the exacerbation of the humanitarian emergency.

In his speech  before the UN General Assembly meeting on the Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people, Guterres indicated that the Israeli attacks on the occupied Palestinian territories in the past ten days have witnessed a deadly escalation, especially in Gaza. The continued Israeli airstrikes on the Strip constituted a “great shock” in light of reports indicating that the aggression claimed the lives of more than 230 Palestinians, including 65 children, and wounded thousands.

Guterres pointed out that the Israeli aggression caused the closure of the crossings and the shortage of water supplies in addition to the damage to thousands of homes that were destroyed and no longer suitable for housing, while hospitals that were short of supplies were damaged and more than 100,000 Palestinians were displaced and more than 50 thousand of them sought refuge in UNRWA schools, without receiving any humanitarian aid.

Guterres described the life of children in the Gaza Strip as hell on the ground, denouncing at the same time that “Israel” targeted the press institutions and journalists who must work freely without any threat, as well as the United Nations facilities and humanitarian facilities that must be respected, protected and neutralized.

He expressed  concern about the Israeli attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank and Jerusalem and the attempts of Israel to displace Palestinians from their homes and desecrate the holy places, calling on them to stop targeting homes and displacing their residents, as this constitutes a violation of international law.

The UN Secretary-General  stressed that the settlement operations, the demolition of homes and the displacement of their inhabitants are illegal under international law, pointing out that what is happening in the Palestinian territories must be viewed in the context of the continuation of the occupation for several decades and the blocked prospects for a settlement between the Palestinians and the Israelis.

K.Q.