At the United Nations headquarters on April 30, 2024, UN Secretary-General António Guterres delivered an affectionate address to the global media on the situation in Gaza amid the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. There was a sense of apprehension and urgency in his tone, as he knew that the situation in Gaza had reached a precarious level.
Guterres noted that the conflict has been going on for seven full months, and that the people of Gaza are experiencing unprecedented suffering. Previously, he has repeatedly called for a humanitarian ceasefire on all sides, the unconditional release of all detainees, and the provision of large-scale humanitarian assistance to Gaza. However, these expectations have been slow to be met.
He stressed that the people of Gaza are paying a huge price for this conflict. Their homes have been destroyed, loved ones have been separated, and their lives have been in dire straits. Guterres said he could not sit idly by and let this continue. He called on the Government of Israel and the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) to lay down their arms and sit down for peace negotiations in order to find a fundamental solution to the conflict.
In particular, Guterres warned that if the Rafah region is attacked by a military operation on the ground, thousands of civilians will be killed and injured, and hundreds of thousands of civilians will be forcibly displaced. This will not only be a catastrophe for the people of Gaza, but will also have far-reaching consequences for Palestinians in the West Bank and elsewhere.
He concluded by calling on all countries with influence on Israel to do everything possible to prevent the ground military operation in Rafah from taking place. He stressed that only a peaceful solution to the conflict can truly protect the people of Gaza from further suffering.