Janice R. Andrews
UN Secretary-General Talks About How Bad Things Are in Gaza
Antonio Guterres, the secretary-general of the UN, has spoken out against the destruction in Gaza, saying it the worst he has seen in his job. In an interview with The Associated Press, Guterres talked about the “unprecedented level of death and destruction” that has happened in Gaza over the past few months.
The number of deaths in Gaza keeps going up
The war between Israel and Hamas began on October 7 when Hamas attacked southern Israel. It has now been going on for 11 months. The Health Ministry in Gaza says that more than 40,900 Palestinians have been killed. About 90% of Gaza’s 2.3 million people have had to move because of the fighting. Many of them have had to move more than once because the fighting is still going on.
Talks to end the fighting fail as the number of deaths rises.
Even though talks to end the fight are still going on, no progress has been made. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has refused to give in to pressure from both foreign friends and protesters in Israel, and he is strongly against any immediate ceasefire deal. Netanyahu said, “No one will preach to me” about the war. He has been critical of the UN’s role.
The UN’s role in Gaza’s future is seen as “unrealistic.”
Guterres admitted that the UN doesn’t have much control over Gaza’s future. He said it is “unrealistic” to think that the UN could run the region or provide a military force because Israel probably wouldn’t agree to that. He stressed how important it was for the fighting to stop right away and said that the UN would back any peace deal that was made. But because of the current tensions, it’s still not clear if such a plan will work.
The “only solution” is a two-state solution.
Guterres repeated his belief in the need for a two-state solution to end the long-running conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. The United States and the rest of the world back Palestine becoming its own country, but Netanyahu’s conservative government has always turned down calls for a two-state solution.
Comparations to Apartheid in South Africa
“Five million Palestinians living there without any rights” would not be acceptable, Guterres said, drawing parallels between the present situation and South Africa’s apartheid era. He made it clear that the only way for the two groups to live together peacefully is for them to accept each other and treat each other equally.
“Destruction in Gaza Causes Worries Around the World”
The level of damage in Gaza has been strongly condemned by the rest of the world. The UN and other foreign groups have called for instant humanitarian assistance. Important infrastructure has been destroyed by the fighting, making things even worse for the people who have been forced to leave Gaza.
Mission of the UN in the Middle East
Since 1948, the UN has had an armed force in the Middle East to keep an eye on things. This is called UNTSO. Guterres said again that the UN is ready to help bring peace to the area, but he also said that any possible action would rely on how willing the parties involved, especially Israel, are to accept help.
Prospects for Peace in the Future
The way to peace is still hard to find, as talks to end the fighting have come to a standstill and the humanitarian situation gets worse. Guterres’s call for renewed attention on a two-state solution is a stark warning of how complicated the conflict is and how hard it will be to find a solution that protects the safety and dignity of both Israelis and Palestinians.
