The secretary-general of the United Nations (UN) yesterday called on Israel to remove “the last obstacles to humanitarian aid” in the Gaza Strip, insisting on the defense of an immediate ceasefire
“When you look at Gaza, it seems that the four horsemen of the Apocalypse (…) are spreading war, hunger, conquest and death”, said António Guterres, in a joint press conference with the Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs , Sameh Choukri, Cairo.
“The whole world believes it is time to silence the guns and establish an immediate ceasefire,” he added.
During the morning, Guterres met with the Egyptian President, Abdel Fattah al-Sissi, accompanied by the head of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), Philippe Lazzarini.
The war in Gaza escalated on October 7, when the Islamist group Hamas launched a surprise attack against Israel, which resulted in the deaths of at least 1,160 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP report based on official Israeli sources. .
In response, Israel promised to annihilate Hamas, in power in Gaza since 2007, and the Israeli offensive has already caused more than 30,000 deaths, according to the latest report from the Islamist movement’s Ministry of Health.
On Saturday, the UN Secretary General had already denounced the pain of the inhabitants of Gaza, prisoners of “an endless nightmare”, during a trip to the crossing point with the city of Rafah, located in the south of the Palestinian territory.
Israel has imposed a complete siege on Gaza since October 9 and controls aid that arrives mainly from Egypt through Rafah, controls that, according to the UN, reduce the number of trucks entering Palestinian territory.
“On one side of the border, we see humanitarian trucks as far as the eye can see, on the other a humanitarian catastrophe that gets worse every day”, reported Guterres.
The UN Secretary-General also highlighted Egypt’s “vital political and humanitarian role with al-Arich airport and the Rafah crossing point, essential arteries for the entry of vital aid into Gaza”.
Egypt, the first Arab state to recognize Israel, is a historic mediator between Israelis and Palestinians.
With Qatar, he contributed to the establishment of a truce that allowed the release of Hamas hostages and Palestinian prisoners at the end of November.