UN chief says IDF operation in Rafah would be ‘final nail in coffin’ of its aid programs

A full-scale Israeli military operation in Rafah would deliver a death blow to aid programs in Gaza, where humanitarian assistance remains “completely insufficient,” the UN chief warns.

Speaking before the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Antonio Guterres says an all-out offensive in Gaza’s southernmost city “would not only be terrifying for more than a million Palestinian civilians sheltering there; it would put the final nail in the coffin of our aid programs.”

Guterres also deplores how the UN Security Council had failed to counter both Israel’s operation in Gaza and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which he says has “perhaps fatally” undermined its authority.

“The council’s lack of unity on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and on Israel’s military operations in Gaza following the horrific terror attacks by Hamas on 7 October, has severely – perhaps fatally – undermined its authority,” he says. “The council needs serious reform to its composition and working methods.”