Guterres: West Asia Being Reshaped, Unclear What Will Emerge

Date: 21 January 2025 - 22:19

News ID: ۱۳۶۰۶۷

NEW YORK CITY (Dispatches) – West Asia is undergoing a “profound transformation” marked by both uncertainty and potential, the UN secretary-general told a high-level meeting of the Security Council.
Antonio Guterres praised the mediators for their efforts to secure a ceasefire and an agreement between Hamas and the Zionist regime. The deal reached last week came into effect on Sunday, when the first phase of captives releases by both sides took place and the number of trucks entering Gaza to deliver humanitarian aid to the starving population began to ramp up.
Guterres urged all parties to honor their commitments, fully implement the agreement, and ensure it leads to the release of all captives and a permanent ceasefire in the territory.
He called for the wider effects of the deal to include an assurance that all UN agencies are able to perform their duties “without hindrance,” including the Relief and Works Agency, the largest aid agency for Palestinians, which is under threat from an imminent Knesset ban on operating in the occupied territories.
“The UN must have rapid, safe and unimpeded access through all available channels and crossings to deliver food, water, medicine, fuel, shelter, and materials to repair infrastructure across Gaza, including the north,” said Guterres.
The UN’s humanitarian chief, Tom Fletcher, said that after 15 months of “relentless war, the humanitarian needs in Gaza are staggering and there is no time to lose.”
UN spokesperson Farhan Haq said on Monday that the entire population of Gaza, more than 2 million people, depends on aid basics to survive.
“Children account for about half of the Strip’s population, with many surviving on just one meal a day,” he added. “Our partners working on children’s welfare say the provision of food, water and medical supplies are being prioritized.”
The World Health Organization has a 60-day plan to increase bed capacity at some hospitals in northern and southern Gaza, Haq said, and to send in additional health workers from abroad to staff them. He noted that about 30,000 people in the territory sustained life-changing injuries during the conflict and need specialized care.
Enabling a surge in the amount of desperately needed relief supplies entering the territory requires that visas and permits for humanitarian workers be granted quickly, and that steps are taken to ensure safe conditions and conducive operating environments are in place, Guterres told members of the Security Council.
This includes the provision of necessary technical and protective gear, coordination between all parties and UN operatives on the ground, and the restoration of public order and safety to prevent the looting of humanitarian aid, he added. Commercial supplies must also be allowed to enter Gaza to help meet the “overwhelming needs of the population.”