UN chief calls death and destruction in Gaza worst he has ever seen

“Of course, we will be ready to do whatever the international community asks us to do,” Guterres said. “The question is whether the parties will accept it, and in particular whether Israel will accept it.”

The Israeli military assault on Gaza, sparked by Hamas attacks on southern Israel on October 7, has now been ongoing for 11 months. Recent ceasefire talks have failed to produce a breakthrough, and violence in the West Bank has reached new levels.

Stressing the urgent need for a ceasefire now, Guterres said: “The level of suffering we are witnessing in Gaza is unprecedented in my mandate as UN Secretary-General. I have never seen the level of death and destruction we are seeing in Gaza over the last few months.”

The war has killed more than 40,900 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. The ministry, part of the Hamas government in Gaza, does not distinguish between fighters and civilians in its statistics, although it says about half of those killed are women and children. Israel says at least 17,000 fighters are among the dead.

The war has caused massive destruction and displaced some 90 percent of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million, often multiple times.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government have accused the UN of an anti-Israel stance and have been highly critical of UN humanitarian operations in the Gaza Strip, including accusing UN staff of collaborating with Hamas. He has also expressed skepticism about peacekeeping missions, saying only Israel can defend itself.

Facing protests at home and growing urgency from allies, Netanyahu has rejected pressure for a ceasefire deal and declared that “no one will lecture me.”

A spokesman for Israel’s UN mission did not immediately respond to calls and text messages seeking comment.

Looking beyond the agreement, Guterres stressed that a two-state solution to the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict is not only feasible, but “the only solution.”

The United States and others support the creation of a Palestinian state on lands Israel captured in the 1967 Mideast war, but Netanyahu, who heads the most conservative government in Israel’s history, opposes calls for a two-state solution.

Guterres asked rhetorically whether the alternative was feasible.

“This means that 5 million Palestinians live there without any rights in the state,” he said. “Is that possible? Can we accept an idea similar to what we had in South Africa in the past?”

He was referring to the apartheid system in South Africa, which was in force from 1948 until the early 1990s, when the white minority marginalized and segregated people of color, especially black people.

“I don’t think two nations can live together unless they are based on equality and respect — mutual respect for each other’s rights,” Guterres said. “So the two-state solution is, in my opinion, a necessity if we want to have peace in the Middle East.”

The Palestinians have circulated a draft UN resolution demanding that Israel end its “illegal presence” in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank within six months. The proposed General Assembly resolution follows a ruling by the UN’s highest court in July that Israel’s presence in the Palestinian territories is illegal and must end.

In a wide-ranging interview, the UN chief painted a grim picture of the global situation, saying: “Our world is in total disarray – I would say total chaos.”

Conflicts are spreading, and the most dramatic ones, such as Ukraine and Gaza, are unending, he said. Climate change is having devastating effects, and artificial intelligence is developing without serious safeguards.

At the same time, Guterres said, “we see dramatic inequalities” and developing countries are struggling, many drowning in debt and lacking the resources to educate their children or provide basic infrastructure.

The Secretary-General invited world leaders to the summit, days before their annual high-level meeting at the UN General Assembly later this month, to recommit to working together to address these challenges and reform the multilateral institutions created after World War II, including the UN.

Guterres said the recent Ukrainian invasion of Russia’s Kursk region shows the war, now in its third year, will not end quickly or easily.

“The situation in Ukraine is at an impasse and I don’t see a ceasefire in the near future,” he said.

The secretary-general also said that UN humanitarian operations are in crisis because needs have increased dramatically “with the spread of conflicts, the spread of natural disasters, and the rapid progression of climate change.” But funding has not.

Unfortunately, the priorities of world leaders “do not meet the real needs of humanity today,” he said.