“Fighting must stop. It must stop immediately,” Guterres said as he opened a Security Council session delayed by Israel’s ally the United States, calling the violence that has killed nearly 200 people over the past week “utterly appalling.”
“It has the potential to unleash an uncontainable security and humanitarian crisis and to further foster extremism, not only in the occupied Palestinian territory and Israel, but in the region as a whole,” he added, according to AFP.
Guterres condemned the fresh violence on Sunday which killed 40 Palestinians, the worst death toll since the unrest broke out.
“This senseless cycle of bloodshed, terror and destruction must stop immediately,” Guterres said.
He also renewed criticism of an Israeli strike on Saturday that destroyed the Gaza offices of two major news outlets, Al-Jazeera and the Associated Press.
“Journalists must be allowed to work free of fear and harassment. The destruction of media offices in Gaza is extremely concerning,” Guterres said.
“Rockets and mortars on one side and aerial and artillery bombardments on the other must stop. I appeal to all parties to heed this call,” Guterres said.
He also voiced alarm at the rise of extremist Jewish movements whose push to expel Palestinians out of holy Quds helped trigger the crisis.
“In Israel, violence by vigilante-style groups and mobs has added a further horrendous dimension to an already deteriorating crisis,” Guterres said.
“Leaders on all sides have a responsibility to curb inflammatory rhetoric and calm the rising tensions,” the UN chief underscored.
KI/PR