UN Chief Warns Israeli Operation In Gaza May Deepen Humanitarian Catastrophe

Last Updated:August 09, 2025, 00:01 IST

UN Secretary-General Guterres warned Israel's control of Gaza City risks worsening the situation for Palestinians, urging a ceasefire and compliance with international law.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres (Image Credit: Reuters)

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday warned that Israel’s decision to take control of Gaza City “risks worsening the already catastrophic situation for millions of Palestinians and could put even more lives at risk, including those of the remaining hostages," according to his spokesperson.

Guterres also warns that an Israeli offensive will result in additional forced displacement, killings and massive destruction, “compounding the unimaginable suffering of the Palestinian population in Gaza," associate spokesperson Stephanie Tremblay said.

The secretary-general reiterated his urgent appeal for a ceasefire, she said.

The UN Secretary-General strongly called on Israel to comply with the International Court of Justice’s July 2024 advisory opinion, which urged an end to its “unlawful presence" in Palestinian territories, including Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem, spokesperson Florencia Soto Nino-Martínez told UN reporters on Friday.

EU report finds little aid is getting into Gaza. The European Union has concluded that little aid is flowing into Gaza despite an understanding reached between Brussels and Israel last month, according to a report by the 27-nation bloc’s foreign service.

According to a copy of the report obtained by The Associated Press, although roughly 5,000 trucks entered Gaza during the “limited lifting of the blockade by Israel," there are still “significant operational and bureaucratic constraints" on aid delivery.

Since May 19, an average of 36 trucks a day have entered Gaza, laden with food, nutrition supplements, medical supplies and chlorine, but 90% were looted once in Gaza, the report says.

The EU had reached an agreement with Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar to increase humanitarian aid to Gaza, but officials have not been able to confirm any improvements for themselves.

Anna-Kaisa Itkonen, a European Commission spokesperson, at a press conference in Brussels, said on Thursday that Israel has blocked an EU monitoring team from entering Gaza because they were not humanitarian aid providers.

Palestinians have requested an emergency UN Security Council meeting following Israel’s announcement. Palestinian UN Ambassador Riyad Mansour urged that the meeting be held without delay, potentially on Friday afternoon or Saturday.

He described Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s announcement of a military operation to seize control of all of Gaza—beginning with Gaza City, home to around one million Palestinians—as “a reckless, irresponsible, dangerous, and brutal plan."

“Our objective is to stop Israel from taking this extremely dangerous escalation," he said. “We need all of us collectively to prevail, to stop this insanity and to allow peace to be the option of war and the continuation of the suffering."

Location :

United States of America (USA)

First Published:

August 09, 2025, 00:01 IST

News world UN Chief Warns Israeli Operation In Gaza May Deepen Humanitarian Catastrophe

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