Guterres called for an end to the fighting in Gaza and Sudan (French)
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres called for a truce in the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip at the beginning of the month of Ramadan.
"Today marks the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan, a time when Muslims around the world celebrate and spread the values of peace, reconciliation and solidarity, but even with the beginning of Ramadan, killing, bombing and massacre continue in Gaza," Guterres said.
He added, "My strong call today is to adhere to the spirit of the month of Ramadan by silencing the weapons and removing all obstacles so that the introduction of life-saving humanitarian aid becomes possible at the necessary pace and scale."
He added, "At the same time, and in the spirit of mercy of the month of Ramadan, I call for the immediate release of all hostages."
Israel estimates that 130 Israelis are still prisoners of the resistance in Gaza, that 99 of them are still alive, and that 31 died as a result of Israeli bombing or bullets from the occupation army.
The resistance was able to arrest many occupation soldiers and some civilians in the Battle of Al-Aqsa Flood on October 7th.
A week-long truce in late November allowed for the release of more than 100 Israeli and foreign male and female prisoners in exchange for the release of 240 Palestinian prisoners.
The Secretary-General confirmed that Israel says that its war is against the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) and not against the Palestinians, adding, "But the truth is that the war has turned into collective punishment for the Palestinians."
He also called for removing "all obstacles that prevent ensuring the delivery of life-saving aid with the speed and scale required" to Gaza, where the United Nations warns that a quarter of the Strip's population is on the brink of famine.
As a result of the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip, the war, and the restrictions that the occupation rejects on the entry of humanitarian aid into the Strip, the Palestinians there, especially the Gaza and North governorates, are in the grips of a famine that has already claimed the lives of children and the elderly, in light of a severe scarcity of supplies of food, water, medicine, and fuel, with the displacement of about two million Palestinians. Of the approximately 2.2 million residents of the Gaza Strip, which has been besieged by Israel for 17 years.
Guterres explained that "international humanitarian law has fallen into disrepair," adding that "the threat of an Israeli attack on Rafah could push the people of Gaza into an even deeper circle of hell."
He repeated a call he made last week for a ceasefire in Sudan during the month of Ramadan "for the benefit of the population suffering from hunger, atrocities and unspeakable distress."
"In Gaza, Sudan and beyond, the time has come for peace," he said. "I call on political and religious leaders everywhere to do everything in their power to ensure that this is a time of compassion, action and peace."
Since last October 7, Israel has been waging a devastating war on the Gaza Strip, leaving more than 31,000 martyrs, most of them children and women, a humanitarian catastrophe, massive infrastructure destruction, and famine in a number of areas.
Source: Agencies