(United Nations) The Middle East is on the edge of the “precipice” of a “generalized regional conflict”, the UN Secretary General warned Thursday before the Security Council, also denouncing the “humanitarian hell” created by Israeli operations in Gaza.
“The Middle East is on the precipice. The past few days have seen a dangerous escalation, through words and actions,” said Antonio Guterres.
“A miscalculation, a bad communication, a mistake, could lead to the unthinkable, a widespread regional conflict which would be devastating for all those concerned, and for the rest of the world,” he said, condemning in particular Iran’s unprecedented attack on Israel last weekend.
“This moment of maximum danger must be a moment of maximum restraint,” he pleaded. “It is high time to end the bloody cycle of reprisals.”
“We have a responsibility together to face these risks and move the region away from the precipice,” he insisted. “Starting with Gaza.”
He denounced in the strongest terms the Israeli operation in the Palestinian territory, reiterating his call for an immediate ceasefire, unhindered access for humanitarian aid and the release of all hostages.
“In Gaza, six and a half months of Israeli military operations have created a humanitarian hell,” he lamented, describing two million Palestinians enduring “death, destruction, denial of vital humanitarian aid,” and hunger.
“The death toll is overwhelming and unprecedented, in pace and scale, since I have been secretary general” (2017), he stressed.
“And all this is happening with significant limits imposed by Israeli authorities on the delivery of aid to the people of Gaza, who face widespread hunger.”
The war was triggered by the attack on Israel on October 7 by Hamas commandos infiltrated from Gaza, which resulted in the death of 1,170 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP report based on data. Israeli officials.
Israeli retaliatory operations in the Gaza Strip left 33,970 dead, mainly civilians, according to the Hamas Ministry of Health.
The UN secretary-general made the speech during a high-level meeting of the Security Council on the situation in Gaza, attended by several foreign ministers from the region, including Jordan and Iran.
A Council vote is planned for later today on the Palestinians’ request for full membership in the UN, the Maltese presidency of the Council has confirmed. An approach which appears doomed to failure due to opposition from the United States.
Antonio Guterres was also concerned about the “explosive situation in the occupied West Bank”, calling for “de-escalation” while “more than 450 Palestinians, including 112 children” have been killed there since October 7, “the majority by Israeli forces during their operations and during exchanges between Israeli forces and armed Palestinians.”
“Others were killed by armed Israeli settlers, sometimes in the presence of Israeli security forces who allegedly did nothing to prevent these deaths,” he said, calling on “Israel to take immediate action to end to unprecedented settler violence.”