2023-10-13 23:31:40
António Guterres: “Even wars have rules. “Civilians must be protected and not used as shields”
The Secretary General of the UN, António Guterres, shared with the press this Friday in New York the statement that he will take to the Security Council, convened this afternoon for the second time this week, and also behind closed doors. “Even wars have rules. International humanitarian law and human rights legislation must be respected and defended; Civilians must be protected and never used as shields,” Guterres declared before addressing the Council.
“And all the hostages in Gaza must be released immediately,” he added, “it is imperative that all parties – and those who have influence over them – do everything possible to achieve these steps,” he said, stressing that he remains in contact with the leaders of the area to “prevent a dangerous escalation in the West Bank or any other part of the region, especially southern Lebanon. Exchanges of fire across the Blue Line [línea de demarcación entre el Líbano e Israel] They are very worrying. “They must stop.”
The secretary general has made a detailed assessment of victims and damage in Israel and Gaza, where the organization he presides “mourns the death of four colleagues, a number that grows day after day.” Regarding the evacuation order from Gaza given by the Israeli Army on Thursday night, Guterres reiterated: “Moving more than a million people through a densely populated war zone to a place without food, water or shelter, “When the entire territory is under siege, it is extremely dangerous and, in some cases, simply impossible.”
Guterres recalled that hospitals in the south of the Strip “are already at the limit of their capacity and will not be able to accept thousands of new patients from the north.” The water crisis, “due to damage to infrastructure”, and the lack of electricity “to power the pumps and desalination plants” complete, according to the UN Secretary General, an unsustainable scenario from a humanitarian point of view.
No conclusion is expected from the closed-door meeting of the Security Council to analyze the situation in Gaza, after it did not even attempt to adopt a resolution on Monday. The meeting then ended with a condemnation of the Hamas offensive.
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