By Merve Aydogan

HAMILTON, Canada (AA) - UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday warned that the crisis in the Gaza Strip has escalated beyond humanitarian dimensions, calling it "a moral crisis that challenges the global conscience."

"Powerful forces are ranged against human rights—and against the international system built to protect and uphold them," Guterres said in a virtual address to Amnesty International's Global Assembly.

He denounced ongoing violations of international law, including "the relentless Israeli onslaught on Gaza," and stressed that "nothing can justify the explosion of death and destruction" since Oct. 7.

"The scale and scope are beyond anything we have seen in recent times," he said, adding: "I cannot explain the level of indifference and inaction we see by too many in the international community. The lack of compassion. The lack of truth. The lack of humanity."

Guterres also described the suffering of UN staff on the ground, saying: "Many are so numb and depleted that they say they feel neither dead nor alive," while children "speak of wanting to go to heaven because, at least, they say, there is food there."

"This is not just a humanitarian crisis. It is a moral crisis that challenges the global conscience," he said.

He urged an immediate and permanent ceasefire, the unconditional release of all hostages, and unimpeded humanitarian access.

"Since May 27, the United Nations has recorded over 1,000 Palestinians killed trying to access food," he said.

Calling for an action, Guterres said: "Let me repeat: 1,000 people—killed not in combat, but in desperation—while the entire population starves."

"Words don’t feed hungry children," Guterres said, reiterating the UN's readiness to "dramatically scale up humanitarian operations across the Gaza Strip."

Over the past 24 hours, an additional nine Palestinians died of starvation, raising the total to 122, according to data from Gaza's Health Ministry. The UN separately reported that at least 294 Palestinians have been killed by Israel since June 30 while seeking humanitarian aid.

‏Israel has killed more than 59,700 Palestinians, most of them women and children, in Gaza since a Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, cross-border raid that killed roughly 1,200 people. Israel's military campaign has devastated the enclave, collapsed the health system, and led to severe food shortages.

‏Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

‏Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.