UN chief calls for immediate ceasefire in besieged Gaza

UNITED NATIONS: As the Israeli military continues to pound Gaza, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has renewed his call for an immediate ceasefire in the besieged enclave “in the name of humanity”.

In a brief statement issued Tuesday after the collapse of several medical services in Gaza, the UN chief said he was “deeply concerned by the horrible situation in several hospitals” and by “the dramatic loss of life.”

Subsequently, and during the daily press conference of his spokesperson, Stephane Dujarric, confirmed that since Monday, all hospitals in the northern half of the Gaza Strip except one — al-Shifa — where 500 patients remain — have been out of service.

The spokesperson said those services had gotten disrupted by the disabling of electrical medical devices resulting from shortage of fuel.

On the other hand, the lack of fuel in Gaza – since Israel refuses to allow the entry of gasoline or diesel – has already caused a water distribution plant in the south of the enclave to be out of service on Monday, affecting 100,000 people.

Besides, If Israel does not lift its fuel ban, the trucks that now bring in humanitarian aid – 1,096 to date, 150 yesterday alone – will stop entering within 48 hours..

The Israeli Foreign Minister, Eli Cohen, on an official visit to Geneva to pressure international organizations in favor of the release of the hostages in Gaza, assured today that UN Secretary General Guterres “does not deserve to be head of the United Nations”.

“He has not promoted any peace process in the region,” claimed Cohen, accompanied by relatives of hostages kidnapped in Gaza, at a press conference at the European headquarters of the United Nations, shortly before meeting with the Director General of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.