UN chief demands end to Gaza hostilities, immediate release of hostages

GENEVA: The United Nations (UN) chief, Antonio Guterres, on Tuesday demanded the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages held in Gaza, and an end to hostilities in the war-ravaged Palestinian territory, Israel and the region.

Speaking on the second anniversary of the Hamas October 7, 2023 attack on Israel that sparked the war in the Gaza Strip, Antonio Guterres decried a “humanitarian catastrophe on a scale that defies comprehension”.

“I have said it time and again, and I am repeating it today with even greater urgency: Release the hostages, unconditionally and immediately,” the UN chief said in a statement.

“End the suffering for all… Put an end to the hostilities in Gaza, Israel and the region now. Stop making civilians pay with their lives and their futures.

“After two years of trauma, we must choose hope. Now.”

Palestinian resistance members breached the Gaza-Israel border, storming southern Israeli communities and a music festival with gunfire, rockets, and grenades.

The raid killed 1,219 Israelis, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.

Hamas took 251 people hostage in Gaza, of whom 47 remain captive, including 25 the Israeli military says are dead.

Israel’s retaliatory military campaign in Gaza by air, land and sea has killed at least 67,160 people, according to the health ministry of Gaza, figures the United Nations considers credible.

With global pressure mounting to end the war in Gaza, US President Donald Trump unveiled a 20-point plan calling for a ceasefire, a release of all the hostages, Hamas’s disarmament and a gradual Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.

The UN secretary-general hailed the proposal as “an opportunity that must be seized to bring this tragic conflict to an end”.

“A permanent ceasefire and a credible political process are essential to prevent further bloodshed and pave the way for peace,” Guterres said.

“International law must be respected.”