United Nations, Dec 5: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is alarmed by the resumption of hostilities between Israel and Palestinians after a short pause, his spokesman has said.
The secretary-general is extremely alarmed by the resumption of hostilities between Israel and Hamas and other armed Palestinian groups in Gaza over the weekend, including rocket fire toward Israel from Gaza and the renewal of ground operations and intensified airstrikes by the Israel Defence Forces in southern Gaza, said Stephane Dujarric, the spokesman, in a statement.
Guterres calls on all parties to respect their obligations under international humanitarian law. The United Nations continues to appeal to Israeli forces to avoid further action that would exacerbate the already catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza and to spare civilians from more suffering. Civilians, including health workers, journalists and UN personnel, and civilian infrastructure must be protected at all times, Xinhua news agency reported, citing the statement.
“The secretary-general reiterates the need for unimpeded and sustained humanitarian aid flow to meet the needs of the people throughout the (Gaza) Strip. For people ordered to evacuate, there is nowhere safe to go and very little to survive on,” it said.
The secretary-general reiterates his call for a sustained humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza and the unconditional and immediate release of all remaining hostages, said the statement.
100 trucks carrying aids went in Gaza
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) on Tuesday said that only 100 aid trucks entered the Gaza Strip from Egypt via the Rafah border crossing in the last 24 hours amid renewed Israeli attacks in the besieged enclave.
In its latest situation update, the OCHA said that 69,000 litres of fuel also entered Gaza, which was about the same as the previous day.
The UN agency noted that “this is well below the daily average of 170 trucks and 110,000 litres of fuel that had entered during the humanitarian pause implemented between November 24 to 30”. (IANS)
