UN chief: ‘Unforgiveable’ to not apply Security Council Gaza ceasefire resolution
Guterres says fighting must end ‘now,’ asserts there’s growing consensus an operation in Rafah would be a humanitarian disaster
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday called for the immediate implementation of a UN Security Council resolution demanding a ceasefire in the war between Israel and Palestinian terror group Hamas, warning failure to do so would be “unforgivable.”
His remarks came after the UNSC for the first time since the war started passed a resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in the conflict that began with Hamas’s massive attack on Israel on October 7.
“The Security Council just approved a long-awaited resolution on Gaza, demanding an immediate ceasefire, and the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages,” Guterres wrote on social media platform X. “This resolution must be implemented. Failure would be unforgivable.”
Resolution 2728 is understood to be non-binding and is not expected to have an immediate impact on the ongoing fighting in Gaza, as has been the case with previous Security Council resolutions that have been adopted in other conflicts that were subsequently ignored.
War erupted with Hamas’s October 7 onslaught, which saw some 3,000 terrorists burst across the border into Israel by land, air, and sea, killing 1,200 people. Terrorists also seized 253 hostages, mostly civilians and of all ages. Israel responded with a military campaign to topple Hamas’s Gaza regime and free the hostages, some 130 of whom are still in captivity.
“The fighting in Gaza must end now,” Guterres said. “The hostages must be released now. And we must not lose sight of the big picture. A lasting end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict can only come through a two-state solution.”
The resolution “demands an immediate ceasefire for the month of Ramadan respected by all parties leading to a lasting sustainable ceasefire, and also demands the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages.”
The Security Council resolution also “emphasizes the urgent need to expand the flow of humanitarian assistance to and reinforce the protection of civilians in the entire Gaza Strip and reiterates its demand for the lifting of all barriers to the provision of humanitarian assistance at scale.”
It passed 14-0, with the US abstaining rather than using its veto power, as it had done for previous proposed UNSC resolutions that called for a ceasefire.
Speaking on a visit to Jordan, Guterres said Israel should lift all obstacles to aid into Gaza and allow convoys of the UN Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA into northern Gaza, where starvation is looming. He called for a massive supply of aid to Gaza to fight the threat of famine, saying there was a growing international consensus to tell Israel a ceasefire is needed in its war on Hamas.
His remarks came after UNRWA head Philippe Lazzarini said on Sunday Israel had informed the UN that going forward, it would not be approving the agency’s food convoys to northern Gaza, as it seeks to work with other organizations.
“It is absolutely essential to have a massive supply of humanitarian aid now. This means opening more entry points, this means a concentration of efforts of all entities and without obstacles and limitations from the Israeli side,” Guterres said.
During a tour of a center in Jordan’s Wihdat camp where UNRWA provides health and education services, the top UN official said that the agency was a lifeline of hope and dignity for millions of refugees across the region.
“The decision not to allow UNRWA’s convoys to go to northern Gaza where we have a dramatic starvation situation is totally unacceptable and those that took that decision must assume the responsibility facing history of the consequences of the decision,” Guterres added.
The UN has repeatedly warned of looming famine in the war-torn Palestinian enclave, particularly in the north, which has been largely cut off from aid deliveries, due to the combat.
Israel denies accusations by Egypt and UN aid agencies that it has delayed deliveries of humanitarian relief, saying that there is no limit to the amount of aid that can enter the Strip.
It blames the ailing humanitarian situation on aid agencies’ failure to distribute supplies, and on Hamas and armed groups who have looted trucks entering the Gaza.
Its reported decision to end cooperation with UNRWA on delivering food to the north comes amid efforts by the Israel Defense Forces to shut out and find alternatives to the UN agency after Jerusalem said that a dozen of its staff were involved in the devastating October 7 onslaught, and alleged that around 1,500 had ties to terror groups.
Israel has started working with other groups in Gaza, such as the UN World Food Programme, to deliver humanitarian aid to Palestinians instead of UNRWA.
Also on Monday, Guterres said he saw a growing consensus for telling Israel that any ground operation in Rafah could mean a humanitarian disaster.
Rafah has become the last refuge for more than one million people, or half of Gaza’s uprooted population, swollen by displaced Palestinians escaping fighting elsewhere in Gaza after more than five months of war between Israel and Hamas.
Israel has said Rafah, where four Hamas battalions are deployed, remains the terror group’s last major stronghold in the Strip after the IDF operated in the north and center of the Palestinian enclave. It has said an offensive is necessary to achieve the war’s goals of eliminating Hamas and returning the hostages, and is not a question of if, but when.
