‘This must stop’, says UN Secy-General Guterres over spiralling deaths in Gaza

United Nations, Nov 20: In response to the spiraling deaths in Gaza amid the raging Israel-Hamas war, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has reiterated his call for a humanitarian ceasefire in the besieged enclave.
“This war is having a staggering and unacceptable number of civilian casualties, including women and children, every day,” Xinhua news agency quoted the UN chief as saying in a statement on Sunday. “This must stop. I reiterate my call for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire,” he added.
Since Oct. 7, over 11,000 individuals have lost their lives in the beleaguered region of Gaza.
Spikes in casualties, attacks on schools and shelters, including the death of a UN worker, and crippling fuel shortages blocking aid deliveries rippled across Gaza over the weekend, as the World Health Organization helped to evacuate 31 babies in critical condition at the besieged Al-Shifa Hospital.
“I am deeply shocked that two UNRWA (UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East) schools were struck in less than 24 hours in Gaza.
“Dozens of people – many women and children – were killed and injured as they were seeking safety in United Nations premises,” the Secretary-General said.
He added that hundreds of thousands of Palestinian civilians are seeking shelter at UN facilities throughout Gaza due to the intensified fighting.
“I reaffirm that our premises are inviolable,” the UN chief asserted. (IANS)