Moroccan Diplomacy magazine publishes the remarks contained in the press briefing given by UN Secretary-General Ant\u00f3nio Guterres yesterday, Thursday (August 28), to the media at the UN headquarters in New York. The magazine’s office in Egypt obtained a copy of the briefing, which was distributed by the United Nations Information Centre in Cairo.<\/p>\n
It should be noted that this briefing addressed the humanitarian situation in Haiti, as well as the situation in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.<\/p>\n
The following are the Secretary-General’s remarks from the briefing:<\/p>\n
Dear Members of the media,<\/p>\n
I am about to brief the Security Council on Haiti.<\/p>\n
The humanitarian situation is appalling, but there are faint glimmers of hope.<\/p>\n
I will urge the Security Council and the international community to step up for the people of Haiti at this pivotal time.<\/p>\n
I also want to say a word about the unfolding tragedy that is Gaza.<\/p>\n
Unbelievably, civilians are facing yet another deadly escalation.<\/p>\n
Israel\u2019s initial steps to militarily take over Gaza City signals a new and dangerous phase.<\/p>\n
Expanded military operations in Gaza City will have devastating consequences.<\/p>\n
Hundreds of thousands of civilians — already exhausted and traumatized — would be forced to flee yet again, plunging families into even deeper peril.<\/p>\n
This must stop.<\/p>\n
At the same time, we have seen yet more unconscionable Israeli strikes \u2013 including earlier this week at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis.<\/p>\n
One attack was followed by another \u2013 killing civilians, including medical personnel and journalists who were carrying out their essential work.<\/p>\n
All with the world watching.<\/p>\n
I know so many of the reporters here \u2013 along with us \u2013 have lost dear colleagues.<\/p>\n
These attacks are part of an endless catalogue of horrors.<\/p>\n
There must be accountability.<\/p>\n
Gaza is piled with rubble, piled with bodies, and piled with examples of what may be serious violations of international law.<\/p>\n
Hostages taken by Hamas and other groups must be released and the atrocious treatment they have been forced to endure must stop.<\/p>\n
Civilians must be protected.<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s be clear:\u00a0 The levels of death and destruction in Gaza are without parallel in recent times.<\/p>\n
Famine is no longer a looming possibility — it is a present-day catastrophe.<\/p>\n
People are dying from hunger. Families are being torn apart by displacement and despair. Pregnant women are facing unimaginable risks.<\/p>\n
And the systems that sustain life — food, water, healthcare \u2013 have been systematically dismantled.<\/p>\n
These are the facts on the ground.<\/p>\n
And they are the result of deliberate decisions that defy basic humanity.<\/p>\n
Israel, as the occupying Power, has clear obligations.<\/p>\n
It must ensure the provision of food, water, medicine, and other essentials.<\/p>\n
It must agree to and facilitate far greater humanitarian access.<\/p>\n
It must protect civilians and civilian infrastructure.<\/p>\n
And it must end the destruction of that which is indispensable for the survival of the civilian population.<\/p>\n
The International Court of Justice has given binding provisional measures.<\/p>\n
These include the obligation to take all steps to ensure unfettered humanitarian and medical assistance to Palestinians throughout Gaza — without delay and in full cooperation with the United Nations.<\/p>\n
These measures must be implemented — fully and immediately.<\/p>\n
The UN and our partners are doing all we can, often at great personal risk.\u00a0 Indeed, 366 UN personnel have tragically been killed.<\/p>\n
Day after day, our efforts are being blocked, delayed, and denied.<\/p>\n
This is unacceptable.<\/p>\n
In the West Bank, the situation is also profoundly alarming.<\/p>\n
Military operations, settler violence, demolitions, and discriminatory policies are driving displacement and deepening vulnerability.<\/p>\n
The relentless expansion of settlements is fracturing communities and cutting off access to vital resources.<\/p>\n
The recent approval of a plan for the construction of thousands of settlements in the E1 area would effectively separate the northern and southern West Bank \u2013 an existential threat to the two-state solution.<\/p>\n
I repeat:\u00a0 the Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, have been established \u2013 and are being maintained — in violation of international law.<\/p>\n
Israel must cease such actions and comply with its obligations.<\/p>\n
There is no military solution to the conflict.<\/p>\n
I appeal once again for an immediate and permanent ceasefire, unfettered humanitarian access across Gaza, and the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages.<\/p>\n
Starvation of the civilian population must never be used as a method of warfare.<\/p>\n
Civilians must be protected.<\/p>\n
Humanitarian access must be unimpeded.<\/p>\n
No more excuses.\u00a0 No more obstacles.\u00a0 No more lies.<\/p>\n
Thank you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Moroccan Diplomacy magazine publishes the remarks contained in the press briefing given by UN Secretary-General Ant\u00f3nio Guterres yesterday, Thursday (August 28), to the media at the UN headquarters in New York. The magazine’s office in Egypt obtained a copy of the briefing, which was distributed by the United Nations Information Centre in Cairo. It should […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2955,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[71],"tags":[89,101,99],"class_list":{"0":"post-3182","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news","8":"tag-antonio-guterres","9":"tag-moroccan-diplomacy-magazine-office-in-cairo","10":"tag-mostafa-elkordy-egyptian-journalist"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3182","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3182"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3182\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3183,"href":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3182\/revisions\/3183"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2955"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3182"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3182"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3182"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}