NEW YORK, (PIC)
The UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that Lebanon is on the verge of all-out war due to the Israeli escalation, stressing the need to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries.
This came in statements to reporters at the UN headquarters in New York on Tuesday evening, during which he addressed the general situation in the Gaza Strip and the region.
Speaking about the Israeli genocide in Gaza and the war on Lebanon, Guterres said the past year “has been a year of crises: a humanitarian crisis, political crisis, diplomatic crisis, and a moral crisis,” and “the nightmare in Gaza is now entering an atrocious, abominable second year.”
Guterres stated that Gaza has become the center of unimaginable suffering after October 7, 2023, referring to the killing of civilians, journalists, humanitarian aid workers and UN employees.
He added that Israel attacked residential areas in northern Gaza, evacuated hospitals and cut off electricity, warning of the enforcement of an Israeli bill that would prevent the UNRWA from operating in the occupied Palestinian territories, stressing that the Israeli move would be disastrous.
Guterres pointed out that he has been warning for months about the risk of the conflict spreading in the region, saying that the Middle East has become a powder keg with many parties holding the match.
He pointed out that the occupied West Bank has reached a boiling point, and that the attacks on Lebanon threaten the entire region, noting that more than 2,000 people were killed in Israeli attacks on Lebanon.
Guterres stressed the need for implementing the two-state solution, and that all peoples of the region live in peace.
