UN Chief Guterres Slams Israel: Gaza Death and Destruction ‘Unprecedented’

UN Secretary-General António Guterres addressed world leaders at the UN General Assembly today (Tuesday), devoting a major portion of his speech to the war in the Gaza Strip and the situation in Judea and Samaria. During his remarks, he said: “We must not lose sight of the devastating situation in the occupied Palestinian territory.”

Guterres referred to Hamas’s October 7 attack and the war that followed: “Nearly three years have passed since Hamas’s abhorrent terrorist attacks on October 7. What followed was an assault on Palestinians in Gaza, on a scale of killing and destruction that I have not seen in all my years as secretary-general.”

He later sharply criticized Israeli policy in Judea and Samaria as well: “Meanwhile, violence, displacement, and settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank are destroying the path to peace and raising the specter of ethnic cleansing. We cannot allow the two-state solution to disappear before our eyes.” In his speech, Guterres called for an immediate ceasefire, the delivery of humanitarian aid, and ensuring freedom of navigation in accordance with international law.

Following Guterres and General Assembly President Khalilur Rahman, the leaders’ speeches began. Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is the first among the national leaders to speak, followed by U.S. President Donald Trump. Later, Jordan’s King Abdullah II, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, and French President Emmanuel Macron are expected to take the podium. British Prime Minister Andrew Burnham is expected to speak later in the day.