ISTANBUL

Slovenia's Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon said Monday that Gaza is experiencing "what international law defines as genocide," pointing to images of children dying in the enclave, which has been under an assault by Israel and humanitarian crisis marked by starvation.

"The horrifying images of starving children in Gaza are the outcome of deliberate choices; this is a manmade catastrophe," said Fajon, stressing the need for action at a high-level conference on Palestine at the UN in New York.

She underscored that a mutually agreed-upon and sustainable two-state solution remains the only viable path to peace in the region.

"When brute force replaces law, it will not bring security; it will bring instability and radicalization for generations. We insist that law must apply equally — to the powerful as to the weak," she added in her address.

Noting that the world is now at "a turning point," she warned that "history will not be kind to hesitation."

"It will not remember speeches that avoided difficult truths. It will unapologetically remember those who stood silent when genocide unfolded," she added.

Welcoming the recent recognition of the state of Palestine by other UN member countries, she called for a lasting ceasefire, the release of all hostages and the protection of all civilians.