HAMILTON, Canada
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday warned against the growing humanitarian catastrophe in the Gaza Strip, stressing that the "search for food" should not be a "death sentence."
"The conflict between Israel and Iran has dominated headlines. But we cannot allow the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza to be pushed into the shadows," Guterres said at a press conference at UN headquarters in New York. "The ceasefire achieved between Iran and Israel offers hope. And hope is more needed than ever."
The UN chief emphasized the "horrific" outcome of the Israeli army's operations in the enclave, saying that "Families have been displaced again and again and are now confined to less than 1/5 of Gaza's land. And even these shrinking spaces are under threat."
"Bombs are falling on tents, on families, on those with nowhere left to run. People are being killed simply trying to feed themselves and their families," he said.
Calling for immediate action to facilitate humanitarian relief, he said: "The search for food must never be a death sentence. Let me be clear: Israel, as the occupying power, is required to agree to and facilitate humanitarian relief."
Noting that aid efforts "continue to be strangled," Guterres recalled the Israeli blockade on "shelter materials and fuel for critical services."
"Aid workers themselves are starving. This cannot be normalized," he said, noting that "a trickle of aid is not enough."
Guterres stressed the need for urgent and practical solutions to ensure aid reaches those in need. "We need concrete actions so aid can reach all people -- swiftly, at scale, wherever they are. Any operation that channels desperate civilians into militarized zones is inherently unsafe. It is killing people," he said.
"The problem of the distribution of humanitarian aid must be solved. There is no need to reinvent the wheel with dangerous schemes," the UN chief added.
Guterres said the UN has "the solution – a detailed plan grounded in the humanitarian principles of humanity, impartiality, neutrality, and independence," adding: "We have the supplies. We have the experience."
"To those in power, I say: enable our operations as international humanitarian law demands. To those with influence, I say: use it," he said.
Urging all UN member states to "uphold the UN Charter you recommitted to just yesterday for the 80th anniversary," Guterres urged all countries to "recognize that the solution to this problem is ultimately political. The only sustainable path to re-establishing hope is by paving the way to the two-state solution."
"Diplomacy and human dignity for all must prevail," the UN chief added.
Asked about a report by Haaretz that revealed Israeli soldiers deployed in Gaza have been ordered to open fire on unarmed Palestinian civilians waiting for humanitarian aid, even when no threat was present, Guterres said: "Well, we don't need the report of that nature to acknowledge that there have been massive violations of international law."
"And indeed, when there is a violation of international law, there must be accountability," he affirmed.
Responding to the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) accusing the UN of a campaign of misinformation about killings near their food distribution sites, Guterres said: "We didn't invent the images everybody has seen."