UN Chief Calls for Humanitarian Cease-Fire in Gaza 100 Days into Conflict

UNITED NATIONS, (Xinhua): UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday again called for an immediate humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza as the conflict turns 100 days.

There is one solution to help address all the issues of the unprecedented level of civilian casualties and catastrophic humanitarian conditions in Gaza, the fate of the hostages, and the tensions that are spilling over across the region, he told reporters. “We need an immediate humanitarian cease-fire.”

Apart from the atrocities in Gaza, the cauldron of tensions in the occupied West Bank is boiling over with heightened violence compounding an already dire fiscal crisis for the Palestinian Authority. Tensions are also sky-high in the Red Sea and beyond and may soon be impossible to contain, he warned.

“I have serious concerns about daily exchanges of fire across the Blue Line. This risks triggering a broader escalation between Israel and Lebanon and profoundly affecting regional stability,” said Guterres. “I am profoundly worried by what is unfolding. It is my duty to convey this simple and direct message to all sides: stop playing with fire across the Blue Line, de-escalate, and bring hostilities to an end in accordance with Security Council Resolution 1701.”

One hundred days into the conflict, the humanitarian situation in Gaza is beyond words. Nowhere and no one is safe.

Traumatized people are being pushed into increasingly limited areas in the south that are becoming intolerably and dangerously congested, said the UN chief.