Honour Ramadan by ‘silencing guns’ in Gaza: UN chief

Guterres called for a truce in the war in the Gaza Strip as Ramadan begins.

“Yet even though Ramadan has begun – the killing, bombing and bloodshed continue in Gaza,” the UN secretary-general told reporters.

“The eyes of the world are watching. The eyes of history are watching. We must act to avoid more preventable deaths… Desperate civilians need action — immediate action.”

Guterres also called for the release of captives held by Hamas and the removal of “all obstacles to ensure the delivery of lifesaving aid at the speed and massive scale required” in Gaza, where the UN has warned that a quarter of the population is on the brink of famine.

“International humanitarian law lies in tatters,” he added, warning that the “threatened Israeli assault on Rafah could plummet the people of Gaza into an even deeper circle of hell”.

Rafah, the town along the Egyptian border, which was once deemed a “safe zone” by the Israeli military forces, has now become the last refuge for over half of Gaza’s entire population of more than 2.3 million, who have fled their homes in other parts of the territory to shelter from incessant Israeli attacks.

Israel war on Gaza, which began in early October, has driven around 80 percent of the territory’s population from their homes and pushed hundreds of thousands to the brink of famine.

The war has directly resulted in the death of more than 31,000 Palestinians.

Thousands more have also died from starvation, malnourishment, and inadequate medical care. Those people are considered indirect victims as they were not registered in hospitals.