‘History will judge us’ says UN Secretary General as consensus grows for humanitarian pause in Gaza
Antònio Guterres, the UN secretary-general, has said he is “surprised by an unprecedented escalation of the bombardments” by Israel after calls for a ceasefire to end suffering in Gaza.
Speaking from Qatar on Saturday, the UN chief said: “This is the moment of truth. Everyone must assume their responsibilities. History will judge us all.”
He spoke as Israel’s military said it had moved to a new phase of its war with Hamas in Gaza as ground forces continued operations in the bombarded Palestinian enclave.
The chief of the general staff Herzi Halevi said: “This war has stages and today we are moving to the next stage. Our forces are currently operating on the ground in the Gaza Strip.”
In a statement, Mr Guterres again called for a ceasefire and expressed concern for UN workers delivering humanitarian assistance after more than 50 staff are reported to have been killed.
He said: “Regarding the situation in Gaza, I was encouraged in the last days by what seemed to be a growing consensus in the international community, including the countries supporting Israel, for the need of at least a humanitarian pause in the fighting to facilitate the release of hostages in Gaza, the evacuation of third country nationals and the necessary massive scale up of the delivery of humanitarian aid to the people in Gaza.
“Regrettably, instead of the pause, I was surprised by an unprecedented escalation of the bombardments and their devastating impacts, undermining the referred humanitarian objectives.
“Given the breakdown in communications, I am also extremely concerned about the UN staff who are in Gaza to deliver humanitarian assistance.
“This situation must be reversed. I reiterate my strong appeal for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, together with the unconditional release of hostages and a delivery of humanitarian relief at the level that corresponds to the dramatic needs of the people in Gaza, where a humanitarian catastrophe is unfolding in front of our eyes.
“I want to repeat what I said yesterday. This is the moment of truth. Everyone must assume their responsibilities. History will judge us all.”
The UN chief sparked a backlash this week from Israel when he said the deadly Hamas attack “did not happen in a vacuum”.
Israel’s foreign minister Eli Cohen immediately cancelled a meeting with Mr Guterres, while Israel’s envoy to the UN, Gilad Erdan, called for Mr Guterres’ resignation, saying Israel must rethink its relations with the world body.
On Tuesday, Mr Guterres addressed a special Security Council meeting on the Israel-Hamas conflict which was sparked by the militant group’s October 7 attack, which left at least 1,400 Israelis dead, and saw more than 220 taken hostage.
The UN chief told the council that he “condemned unequivocally the horrifying and unprecedented 7 October acts of terror by Hamas in Israel”.
“Nothing can justify the deliberate killing, injuring and kidnapping of civilians – or the launching of rockets against civilian targets,” he said.
But his contextualisation of the attack created an uproar in Israel.
It was important, Mr Guterres said, to acknowledge that “the attacks by Hamas did not happen in a vacuum”.
“The Palestinian people have been subjected to 56 years of suffocating occupation. They have seen their land steadily devoured by settlements and plagued by violence, their economy stifled, their people displaced and their homes demolished. Their hopes for a political solution to their plight have been vanishing,” he said.
On Wednesday, Mr Guterres tried to row back on the remarks, tweeting: “The grievances of the Palestinian people cannot justify the horrific attacks by Hamas. Those horrendous attacks cannot justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people.”
Israel launched an expanded ground operation on Saturday after knocking out communications and creating a near-blackout of information in the Gaza Strip with increased bombardment and artillery fire overnight.
Additional reporting by Associated Press and Reuters
