Guterres calls war on Gaza 'highest level of killing' he saw as UNSG
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Guterres detailed that law and order have completely disappeared in Gaza, with no body left in charge of security.
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Palestinians displaced by the Israeli air raids and attacks in Gaza fled from parts of Khan Younis on July 1, 2024 (AP)
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned Thursday about the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip while reiterating a two-state solution.
"The humanitarian situation in Gaza is a total disaster,” Guterres said as he presented two reasons.
“First, a military campaign that has the highest level of killing and destruction that I remember in any other military campaign since I am Secretary General, anywhere in the world,” he said, adding “The second reason is because the level of humanitarian aid is totally out of proportion with the needs.”
During a news conference with UN media, Guterres detailed that "law and order has completely disappeared, nobody is in charge of security anywhere in the area of Gaza."
The Health Ministry in Gaza's daily report updating the death toll resulting from the ongoing Israeli genocide in Gaza revealed that 39,175 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli occupation forces (IOF), while 90,403 others have been injured, since October 7.
On the 293rd day of the genocide, the IOF committed three massacres against Palestinian civilians, killing 30 and injuring 146.
A number of victims are still trapped beneath the rubble, with rescue and civil defense teams unable to reach them.
The Government Media Office in Gaza declared earlier in June that 3,500 more children were at risk of dying from malnutrition and starvation, and 34 children had already starved to death.
This prompted the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) to issue a dire warning over the effects of hunger on Palestinian mothers and children in Gaza as a result of "Israel's" genocide.
Discovery of poliovirus in Gaza incredibly alarming, UNICEF chief says
The discovery of poliovirus in Gaza after UNICEF carried out tests on sewage samples is "extremely alarming", UNICEF Executive Director Catheline Russel underlined Thursday.
Gaza today is one of "the most dangerous places to be a child right now," the UN children's agency head warned.
Russell said the world was "getting so close, we believe, to getting rid of polio once and for all," adding that a potential outbreak requires "close attention."
"When children are already hungry and weak, their bodies are much more vulnerable and susceptible to getting these diseases," Russell said during an interview in Australia, expressing concern about the possible transmission of other infectious diseases in Gaza, such as cholera.
The International Criminal Court's (ICC) chief prosecutor accused "Israel" of weaponizing the "starvation of civilians as a method of warfare", an act that violates international humanitarian law which the occupation government has denied.
'It's not totally lawless, but there's an element of lawlessness to it'
As part of her visit to Australia, the UNICEF executive met with Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong on Monday, expressing that Gaza is an "incredibly dangerous" operating environment for the UN organization and other humanitarian institutions.
"It's not totally lawless, but there's an element of lawlessness to it," she said, according to The Guardian.
Aside from "Israel's" ongoing nine-month bombardment and genocide in Gaza, Russell attributed the Strip's status as potentially "the most dangerous place to be a child right now" to the destruction and "radically compromised" health facilities, as well as the contentious displacement of the population.
"People are moving with nothing and moving to places where there is nothing," she said.
The director also responded to the occupation regime's constant blame on the UN organizations' alleged inability and lack of coordination to deliver aid to Gaza, stressing that the damaged infrastructure and security breakdowns were contributing factors to ineffective distribution.
"Yes, it is hard to get aid around for sure," she said. "But that's not for a lack of trying or a lack of competence on our part."
