End Gaza violence, UN chief urges
UNITED NATIONS—The UN secretary general denounced Hamas and called for an immediate end to the “shocking violence and bloodshed” in Gaza and Lebanon in a statement on Saturday, ahead of the anniversary of the Palestinian group’s Oct. 7 attack.
Monday marks one year since the devastating assault on Israel that sparked the ongoing war in Gaza, with Lebanon now also pulled into the fray and world leaders warning of a potential all-out regional crisis.
“This is a day for the global community to repeat in the loudest voice our utter condemnation of the abhorrent acts of Hamas, including the taking of hostages,” UN chief Antonio Guterres said in an anniversary message released on Saturday evening.
While demanding the hostages’ “immediate and unconditional release,” Guterres also implored Hamas to allow the hostages to be visited by Red Cross personnel.
Hamas militants abducted 251 people on Oct. 7, 97 of whom are still captive in Gaza, including 33 the Israeli military has said are dead.
Guterres additionally voiced concern over the conflict spreading to Lebanon, where Israel in recent days has pounded the Hamas-allied group Hezbollah, killing over a thousand people and forcing more than a million to flee their homes.
“The war that has followed the terrible attacks of one year ago continues to shatter lives and inflict profound human suffering for Palestinians in Gaza, and now the people of Lebanon,” Guterres said.
Deadly retaliation
The Oct. 7 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,205 people, mostly civilians, according to an Agence France-Presse (AFP) tally based on Israeli official figures that include hostages killed in captivity.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive on Gaza has so far killed at least 41,825 people, a majority of them civilians, according to the Hamas-controlled health ministry. The UN has said those figures are reliable.
“Since October 7th, a wave of shocking violence and bloodshed has erupted,” said Guterres.
“It is time for the release of the hostages,” he said. “Time to silence the guns. Time to stop the suffering that has engulfed the region. Time for peace, international law and justice.”
Also on Saturday, French President Emmanuel Macron urged a halt to arms deliveries to Israel for use in Gaza as part of an effort to find a political solution.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lashed out at Macron for his suggestion.
“Shame on them,” Netanyahu said of Macron and other Western leaders, who have called for what he described as an arms embargo on Israel.
A ‘disgrace’
“Israel will win with or without their support,” he said in a prerecorded video released by his office, adding that calling for an arms embargo was a disgrace.
“I think that today, the priority is that we return to a political solution, that we stop delivering weapons to fight in Gaza,” Macron told broadcaster France Inter.
“France is not delivering any,” he added during the interview recorded early this week.
The United States provides about $3 billion in weapons to Israel each year.
In May, the State Department said it did not have enough evidence to block shipments of weapons but that it was “reasonable to assess” that Israel has used arms in ways inconsistent with standards of humanitarian law.
In September, Britain said it was suspending some arms exports to Israel, citing a “clear risk” that they could be used in a serious breach of international humanitarian law.
Macron reiterated his concern over the conflict in Gaza that is continuing despite repeated calls for a ceasefire.
“I think we are not being heard,” he said. “I think it is a mistake, including for the security of Israel,” he said, adding that the conflict was leading to “hatred.”
Macron also said avoiding an escalation in Lebanon was a “priority.”
“Lebanon cannot become a new Gaza,” he added.
