• Source:JND
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UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday warned the security council that Israeli aggression in Gaza was causing a “humanitarian catastrophe” demanding an immediate humanitarian cease-fire.

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Using his rarely-exercise power, Guterres wrote a letter to the council's 15 members asserting that the humanitarian system in Gaza was on the brink of collapse as the two-month war had created “appalling human suffering, physical destruction and collective trauma”, as per news agency AP.   

"We are facing a severe risk of collapse of the humanitarian system. The situation is fast deteriorating into a catastrophe with potentially irreversible implications for Palestinians as a whole and for peace and security in the region," Guterres wrote in a letter to the 15-member council.

Guterres invoked Article 99 of the UN Charter, which says the secretary-general may inform the council about matters he believes could threaten international peace and security. “The international community has a responsibility to use all its influence to prevent further escalation and end this crisis," he said.

Notably, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday chided international human rights organisations, women's groups and the UN for not addressing the issues of rapes and other atrocities committed by Hamas against Israeli women.

An unprecedented war erupted between Israel and Hamas after the latter on October 7 showered as many as 5,000 missiles in Israeli territory. Over 1,500 people lost their lives in the attack. Moreover, Hamas militants rampaged across Israeli cities and abducted nearly 245 civilians.

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Responding to the misadventure, Israel launched a massive counteroffensive in Gaza, turning the Palestinian territory into rubble. Hamas’ health ministry said over 15,000 people, bulk of them women and children, have been killed since Israel launched its attacks in Gaza.