United Nations, Oct 16: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for rapid and unimpeded humanitarian access to Gaza and for the release of hostages kept by Hamas.
“In this dramatic moment, as we are on the verge of the abyss in the Middle East, it is my duty as Secretary-General of the United Nations to make two strong humanitarian appeals,” he said on Sunday in a statement.
“To Hamas, the hostages must be immediately released without conditions; to Israel, rapid and unimpeded access for humanitarian aid must be granted for humanitarian supplies and workers for the sake of the civilians in Gaza,” he added.
“Each one of these two objectives are valid in themselves. They should not become bargaining chips,” the UN chief said.
The United Nations has stocks available of food, water, non-food items, medical supplies and fuel, located in Egypt, Jordan, the West Bank and Israel. These goods can be despatched within hours, Xinhua news agency reported. To ensure delivery, UN staff and partners on the ground need to be able to bring these supplies into and throughout Gaza safely and without impediment to deliver to those in need, Guterres added.
US actively working
to ensure assistance
Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, during his second arrival in Israel on Monday, said Washington is “actively working” to ensure that humanitarian assistance can get into Gaza as the Hamas-Israel conflict continued for the 10th consecutive day.
In a post on X, Blinken said: “We stand with Israel as it defends itself. The United States is also actively working to ensure the people of Gaza can get out of harm’s way and the assistance they need – food, water, medicine – can get in. Hamas does not care if Palestinians suffer.”
Gaza is facing a critical humanitarian crisis, with shortages of water, electricity, food, fuel and medicine.
The Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt, the only remaining outlet for supplies, has been closed for much of the past week.
On Monday however, Israel denied reports that it had agreed to a ceasefire in southern Gaza to allow the Rafah border crossing to open to let aid into the Hamas-controlled enclave.
Earlier, reports said that Israel had agreed to halt fire from 9 a.m. in a deal agreed on with Egypt and the US. The Hamas has also said that it did not have any information about the proposed humanitarian truce at the Rafah border crossing to ensure much-needed aids. (IANS)
