Latest from Portugal’s Guterres on the worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza

As the conflict between Israel and Hamas militants continues to escalate, Antonio Guterres is condemning both sides for the deepening humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

In appealing for peace, the Secretary-General of the United Nations and former Portuguese prime minister has said both sides have violated international law. He described the initial attack by Hamas on October 7 that killed 1,400 people as “appalling.” He went on to say in an address to the UN Security Council that the Hamas attack did not justify the “collective punishment” of Gaza civilians with increasing bombardments by Israeli forces.

Israel has called for Guterres’s resignation because of comments he has made about Israel’s involvement in the Gaza crisis, but Portugal’s foreign minister, Joao Gomes Cravinho, and many other leaders firmly stand by the secretary-general’s neutral position.

Guterres is deeply concerned that only a trickle of humanitarian aid in the form of food, water and medical supplies is being allowed in to the more than two million citizens crammed into the Gaza Strip, most of them, including children and women, now homeless or hospitalised.

Many Gaza hospitals have had to close and United Nations aid workers in Gaza are finding it impossible to function because Israel continues to block all entry of fuel lest in gets in the hands of Hamas. Israel says Hamas has fuel and it should release it to those in need.

While the main front-page stories in most Portuguese national newspapers lately have been on the worsening conflict in the Middle East, the Portuguese foreign minister has stressed that the European Union must keep an eye on the war in Ukraine lest President Vladimir Putin becomes “a winner of the crisis in Gaza.”

This comes as United States President Joe Biden’s administration is whole-heartedly supporting Israel’s attempt to annihilate Hamas, which the U.S. and European nations have branded a “terrorist” organisation. Washington has vehemently criticised Russia for indiscriminate attacks on Ukraine, but critics say it has expressed little about similar suffering in Gaza. As a headline in the New York Times put it: “Developing World Sees Double Standard in West’s Actions in Gaza and Ukraine.”

The U.S. has reportedly advised Israel to delay a Gaza invasion, yet Israeli soldiers have already carried out limited ground incursions and there is no doubt that they are fully prepared and determined to carry out a full-scale invasion.

Israel is continuing to bomb and kill civilians in the south as well as the north of Gaza after telling the northern population to move south for safety. Nowhere is now safe and many citizens are returning to their homes in the north despite the relentless bombing there.

Nearly half of the population of Gaza are under the age of 18. The United Nations estimates that about 50,000 women are pregnant. The psychological as well as physical impact is truly dreadful.

Many countries on both side of the conflict are warning that without restraint the violence could quickly spiral and spread across the entire region.

Pro-Hamas Hezbollah militants in Lebanon have been increasingly exchanging rocket fire with Israel on Lebanon’s southern border. Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned that Israel will meet further attacks from Hezbollah with “unimaginable devastation” that will “cripple” Lebanon.

Iran has warned that more Israeli hostility will make wider Palestinian military assaults inevitable. Netanyahu seems to be well aware of this and has said the war could go on for months, not just weeks.

Russia entered the fray by proposing that the United Nations Security Council adopt a motion for a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza. The text did not include any mention of the Hamas. The proposal was vetoed by Western members of the council. Vladimir Putin met with China’s Xi Jinping, but neither condemned Hamas.

A few of the 222 hostages believed to have been taken from Israel to Gaza by Hamas during their October 7 attack have been released. One elderly Israeli woman said that while she was abducted on a motorbike, beaten and “I’ve been “been through hell,” she added that she had been treated well and given medical attention during her two weeks in captivity.

Guterres, who has appealed for the release of all the hostages, has noted that while the abhorrent October 7 raid into Israel was unexpected, it was but another example of the division that has long existed between Israelis and Palestinians.

“The most recent violence does not come in a vacuum, but grows out of a long-standing conflict, with a 50-year long occupation and no political end in sight,” he said.

 

Two devastating wars - in Gaza and Ukraine - and both could expand

While the lead stories in most Portuguese national newspapers lately have been on the worsening conflict in the Middle East, the Portuguese Foreign Minister Joao Gomes Cravinho has stressed that the European Union must keep an eye on the war in Ukraine lest President Vladimir Putin becomes “a winner of the crisis in Gaza.”

This comes as United States President Joe Biden’s administration is fully supporting Israel’s attempt to annihilate Hamas, which the U.S. and European nations have branded a “terrorist” organisation. Russia, however, is at least vocally siding with Hamas while continuing it’s killing of civilians in Ukraine.

Washington has vehemently criticised Russia for indiscriminate attacks on Ukraine, but critics say it has expressed little about similar suffering in Gaza. As a headline in the New York Times put it; “Developing World Sees Double Standard in West’s Actions in Gaza and Ukraine.”

The U.S. has reportedly advised Israel to delay a Gaza invasion, yet Israeli soldiers have already carried out limited ground incursions and there is no doubt that they are fully prepared and determined to carry out a full-scale invasion.

Israel has been bombing and killing civilians in the south as well as the north of Gaza after telling the northern population to go south for safety. Nowhere is now safe and many citizens are returning to their homes in the north despite the relentless bombing there.

Nearly half of the population of Gaza are under the age of 18. The United Nations estimates that about 50,000 women in Gaza’s total population of 2.3 million are pregnant. The psychological as well as physical impact must be truly dreadful.

Many countries on both side of the Israel – Gaza divide are warning that without restraint the conflict could quickly spiral out of control and spread across the region.

Pro-Hamas militants in Lebanon have started exchanging rocket attacks with Israel to the south.  Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned that it will meet further attacks from Lebanon with unimaginable devastation.

Iran has warned that more Israeli hostility will make wider Palestinian military assaults inevitable.

Russia entered the fray by proposing that the United Nations Security Council adopt a motion for a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza. The text did not include any mention of the Hamas extremists. It was vetoed by Western members of the council.

Vladimir Putin met with China’s Xi Jinping, but neither condemned Hamas. They said there was no justification for Israel’s blockade of essential supplies or planned invasion of Gaza.

During a visit to the border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, Antonio Guterres appealed for the delivery of as much humanitarian aid to the entrapped and homeless Gaza civilians as soon as possible.  Some truckloads have started entering the only possible route, but it is not nearly enough. The UN says more than 100 truckloads of the food, water, fuel and medicines Israel has been blocking are needed daily.        

Fuel is about to run out in Gaza as Israel continues to block it fearing it will get into the hands of Hamas who started this escalating conflict.

A few of the more than 200 hostages taken from Israel to Gaza by Hamas fighters during their October 7 attack have been released. One elderly Israeli woman said she was beaten while being abducted, but treated well and given medical treatment during her two weeks in captivity. 

The United Nations secretary-general and former Portuguese prime minister’s calls for peace are falling on deaf ears. He has noted that while the October 7 attack was unexpected, it was but another example of the division that has long existed between Israelis and Palestinians.

“The most recent violence does not come in a vacuum, but grows out of a long-standing conflict, with a 50-year long occupation and no political end in sight,” he said.

 

Guterres’ latest humanitarian efforts

 

During a visit to the border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, Antonio Guterres has appealed for the delivery of as much humanitarian aid to the 2.2 million entrapped Gaza civilians as soon as possible.

Israel has blocked all food, clean water, fuel, electricity and medicines from entering Gaza because of the shocking, surprise attack by Hamas militants on October 7.

The United Nations secretary-general and former Portuguese prime minister has again called on both sides for restraint in the conflict that could escalate into a wider Middle East war.

In appealing for peace, Guterres has noted that while the October 7 attack was unexpected, it was but another example of the division that has long existed between Israelis and Palestinians.

“The most recent violence does not come in a vacuum, but grows out of a long-standing conflict, with a 50-year long occupation and no political end in sight,” he said.

In expressing concern that the conflict could turn into a much wider war, he has warned: “We are on the verge of the abyss in the Middle East.”

Another devastating event – an explosion at a hospital in Gaza that reportedly killed about 500 people – has made Guterres’ warning all the more unnerving. Israel insists the blast was caused by a misfired Palestinian jihadist missile. Palestinian militants have blamed Israel for the explosion and sparked mass protests across all Arab countries.

President Joe Biden’s brief visit to Tel Aviv was essentially to express unwavering support for Israel’s efforts to eliminate Hamas. Britain’s Prime Minister Richie Sunak also went to Tel Aviv to express solidarity. 

Political leaders in the Western World have condemned Hamas militants as “terrorists” while standing firmly by their “ally”, Israel.

Palestinian militants on the border in Lebanon have been exchanging fire with Israel. Iran and Syria have become a veiled threat in support of Hamas, the group that rules Gaza.

Russia entered the fray by proposing that the UN Security Council adopt a motion for a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza. The text did not include any mention of  the Hamas extremists. It was out-voted.

Vladimir Putin met with China’s Xi Jinping and both are refusing to condemn Hamas. They have said there is no justification for Israel’s blockade of essential supplies or planned invasion of Gaza.

At the start of the conflict, Hamas militants deliberately killed hundreds of Israeli civilians, including young people attending a music festival. More than 200 Israeli hostages who were seized have not yet been released.

Israel responded with relentless bombing of crowded homes in Gaza, the most densely populated place in the world.

Within little more than a week of its initial strike, Hamas had killed about 1,400 Israelis. More than 2,700 Palestinians had been killed in retaliatory airstrikes. Many thousands more have been killed or severely injured.

The almost unimaginable brutality of this war has led a former Israeli prime minister, Ehud Olmert, to claim that peace between Israelis and Palestinians will only be brought about with a two-state solution.

Guterres and his senior UN colleagues agree and want Israel to now “reverse course,” otherwise the evacuation demands on Gaza citizens, who have nowhere safe to go, could “transform what is already a tragedy into a calamitous situation.”

 

 

Israel-Hamas conflict may widen in the Middle East – Updated Thurs. 19th

The strongest neutral voice appealing for restraint on both sides amidst the highly biased international clamour over the crisis in Israel and Gaza has been that of Antonio Guterres.

The United Nations secretary- general and former Portuguese prime minister was quick to call on the Hamas militants to immediately release the Israeli hostages they seized, and to ask the Israeli government to allow rapid and impeded access to humanitarian aid to Gaza’s 2.2 million civilian citizens. He warned that the conflict could turn into a much wider war. “We are on the verge of the abyss in the Middle East,” he said.

A horrific event on Tuesday this week – an explosion at a hospital in Gaza that reportedly killed about 500 people – has made Guterres’ warning all the more unnerving.  Israel insists the blast was caused by a misfired Palestinian jihadist missile. Palestinian militants have blamed Israel for the explosion and sparked mass protests across all Arab countries.

President Joe Biden’s barely one-day visit to Tel Aviv on Wednesday was essentially to show staunch support for the Israel’s efforts to eliminate Hamas. Britain’s Prime Minister Richie Sunak arrived in Tel Aviv on Thursday also to express solidarity.  

Political leaders in the Western World have condemned Hamas militants as “terrorists” while standing firmly by their “ally”, Israel, despite the killing of many hundreds of Gaza civilians, including babies, schoolchildren and women.

The United States has sent military equipment and massive naval aircraft carrier power to help the Israeli war effort.

Palestinian militants on the border in Lebanon have started exchanging fire with Israel. Iran and Syria have become a veiled threat in support of Hamas, the group that rules Gaza.

 Russia’s Vladimir Putin has met with China’s Xi Jinping and both are refusing to condemn Hamas. They say there is no justification for Israel’s blockade of essential supplies or planned incursion.

At the start of the conflict on October 7, Hamas militants deliberately killed hundreds of Israeli civilians, including young people. Israel responded with relentless bombing of crowded homes in Gaza, the most densely populated place in the world.

Within little more than a week of its initial strike, Hamas had killed about 1,400 Israelis. More than 2,700 Palestinians had been killed in retaliatory airstrikes. Many thousands more have been killed or severely injured.

Even some Western leaders were critical when the Israeli government demanded that everyone in northern Gaza move to the south and that patients and medical staff be evacuated from Gaza hospitals. 

The Israelis blocked all essential supplies – food, clean water, electricity, fuel and medicines – going into Gaza while they continued their bombing and prepared for a mass land invasion in an attempt to annihilate Hamas.

The only escape route for fleeing Palestinians was into neighbouring Egypt, but that has still not been fully opened.

The almost unimaginable brutality of this sudden, unexpected war has led a former Israeli prime minister, Ehud Olmert, to reiterate that peace between Israelis and Palestinians will only be brought about with a two-state solution.

Guterres agrees and he and his senior UN colleagues want Israel to now reverse course, otherwise the evacuation demands could “transform what is already a tragedy into a calamitous situation.”

In his latest statement Guterres has said:” The most recent violence does not come in a vacuum, but grows out of a long-standing conflict, with a 50-year long occupation and no political end in sight.”