Gaza is becoming a “graveyard for children,” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Monday, amplifying demands for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
He underlined the need to support a $1.2 billion humanitarian appeal to help nearly 2.7 million people in Gaza and half a million people in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.
“The nightmare in Gaza is more than a humanitarian crisis. It is a crisis of humanity,” Guterres told reporters in New York.
He noted that ground operations by the Israel army and continued bombardment are hitting civilians, hospitals, refugee camps, mosques, churches and UN facilities, including shelters. “No one is safe,” he said.
At the same time, Guterres criticized Hamas and other militants for “using civilians as human shields and for continuing to launch rockets indiscriminately towards Israel.” The UN chief also called for an immediate and unconditional release of all hostages.
“Gaza is becoming a graveyard for children. Hundreds of girls and boys are reportedly being killed or injured every day,” Guterres said.
He added: “More journalists have reportedly been killed over a four-week period than in any conflict in at least three decades. More United Nations aid workers have been killed than in any comparable period in the history of our organization.”
Guterres highlighted how “the unfolding catastrophe in Gaza makes the need for a humanitarian ceasefire more urgent with every passing hour,” stressing that the protection of civilians is paramount.
He remarked that although some aid is getting into Gaza via the Rafah crossing from Egypt, this “trickle of assistance does not meet the ocean of need.”
Over the past two weeks, 400 trucks have made the journey, compared with 500 a day prior to the conflict that erupted on October 7. Deliveries have not included desperately needed fuel.
“Without fuel, newborn babies in incubators and patients on life support will die,” Guterres warned. Water cannot be pumped or purified, raw sewage could soon start gushing onto the streets, further spreading disease, and trucks loaded with critical relief will be stranded.
“More food, more water, more medicine and of course fuel – entering Gaza safely, swiftly and at the scale needed. Now. Unfettered access to deliver supplies to all people in need in Gaza. Now. And the end of the use of civilians as human shields. Now,” he urged.
He stressed that the way forward is clear, repeating his call for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire and for all parties to respect international humanitarian law.
Addressing the wider impact of the conflict, Guterres pointed to the “spiral of escalation from Lebanon and Syria, to Iraq and Yemen”. Calling for an end, he said “cool heads and diplomatic efforts must prevail.”
Moreover, he said he was deeply troubled by the rise in antisemitism and Islamophobia, noting that both Jewish and Muslim communities in many parts of the world are on high alert, fearing for their personal safety and security.
