UN chief warns of 'full resumption of conflict' as Middle East pulled 'deeper into crisis'

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Wednesday that escalating hostilities risk a "full resumption of conflict" across the Middle East, urging the Security Council to support an end to Israeli occupation and a two-state solution as the only path to lasting peace.

"The Middle East is being pulled deeper into crisis, and the consequences reach far beyond the region," Guterres said at the Council's high-level open debate on advancing political solutions in the Middle East.

"This week has brought wider attacks and further deterioration. I am profoundly concerned it could trigger a full resumption of conflict," he said.

"The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has gone unresolved for decades. It's time to get serious about the only credible way forward: An end to the occupation and a two-state solution," he said, "Delay and denial only perpetuate injustice, fueling extremism in the region and further afield."

In the Gaza Strip, Guterres said the situation "is rapidly deteriorating," warning that Israel is declaring its intent to seize 70% of the territory.

He urged full implementation of a plan facilitated by the US, Qatar, Egypt and Türkiye, stressing that "the provision of humanitarian aid must never be used as a bargaining chip."

Turning to the occupied West Bank, Guterres cited "alarming reports" of Israeli occupier violence averaging six attacks per day, warning that any attempted annexation "would, like the decades-long occupation, have no legal validity."

He said a ceasefire in the Persian Gulf is "more like a lesser fire," cautioning that restrictions on navigation near the Strait of Hormuz were generating global hardship.

Guterres also flagged risks to Syria's fragile peace, noting that consolidation "requires respect for its sovereignty and territorial integrity."

"I urge this Council to put its full weight behind the two-state solution, the key to a just and lasting peace in the region," he said.