Guterres Calls for Sufficient Humanitarian Aid to be Allowed into Gaza to Save Lives

SadaNews - On Saturday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for the entry of a sufficient amount of humanitarian aid necessary to save lives in Gaza. This came in a message from Guterres on the occasion of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, observed worldwide on November 29 each year, a date established by the United Nations in 1977 to show international support for the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, including self-determination, national independence, sovereignty, and the right of return for refugees displaced from their homes in 1948. In the message published by the UN News website, he stated, "This International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People comes this year after two years of horrific suffering in the Gaza Strip and the urgent need for a ceasefire." Guterres added, "The survivors are now in mourning for tens of thousands of friends and relatives who have lost their lives, almost a third of whom are children, alongside thousands of injured individuals, and the region is witnessing widespread hunger, disease, psychological trauma, and debris from destroyed schools, homes, and hospitals." He said, "There must be sufficient humanitarian aid allowed to enter Gaza to save lives." The ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel, which has been in effect since October 10, stipulates the entry of aid estimated at 600 trucks daily into Gaza. However, Israel has not adhered to the agreement and only allows up to 200 trucks to enter each day. Guterres continued in his message, "The international community must continue to stand firmly with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), which represents an essential lifeline for millions of Palestinians." Concurrent with the onset of the genocide in the Gaza Strip, the Israeli government launched a campaign of "allegations" against UNRWA, and on October 28, 2024, the Knesset passed two bills aimed at banning it. The decision by the Tel Aviv government to end the operations of UNRWA in Israel and occupied East Jerusalem came into effect on February 1, 2025. Guterres noted, "At the same time, hundreds of humanitarian workers have been killed, most of them Palestinian UN staff, the highest number of personnel the organization has lost in its history. Journalists have also been killed in numbers unprecedented in any other conflict since World War II." He added, "This tragedy has tested, in many respects, the standards and laws that have guided the international community for generations. It should never be acceptable under any circumstances to kill this large number of civilians, to repeatedly displace entire populations, and to obstruct the delivery of humanitarian assistance." Guterres considered that "there is a glimmer of hope provided by the recent ceasefire, which it is vital that all parties respect fully and that they work in good faith to achieve solutions that restore and uphold international law." He added, "In occupied West Bank as well, including East Jerusalem, injustices are being committed continuously, with ongoing Israeli military operations, settler violence, settlement expansion, evacuations, demolitions, and threats of annexation." Guterres renewed his call for "ending the illegal occupation of Palestinian land, as affirmed by the International Court of Justice and the General Assembly, and for making irreversible progress toward a two-state solution, in line with international law and relevant UN resolutions, so that Israel and Palestine can live side by side in peace and security within their recognized and safe borders, based on the pre-1967 lines, with Jerusalem as the capital of both states."