UN Secretary-General António Guterres has urged the international community to continue pushing for a full ceasefire in Gaza and the immediate release of all hostages, warning that the humanitarian crisis is worsening by the day. Speaking on Friday, February 7, at a meeting of the UN Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, Guterres responded to controversial remarks made earlier in the week by U.S. President Donald Trump.
During a White House event, Trump suggested that the U.S. could “take over” the Gaza Strip and called on Palestinians living there to leave. Addressing the Committee, Guterres reaffirmed the fundamental rights of the Palestinian people, saying, “At its essence, the exercise of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people is about their right to live as human beings in their land simply.”
However, he lamented that these rights are becoming increasingly unattainable, pointing to what he described as “a chilling, systematic dehumanization and demonization of an entire people.” While condemning the Hamas attacks of October 7, Guterres also highlighted the immense suffering in Gaza, where nearly 50,000 people—mostly women and children—have reportedly been killed.
He described “a catalogue of destruction and unspeakable horrors,” with civilian infrastructure decimated and most of the population facing repeated displacement, hunger, and disease.
“A generation has been left homeless and traumatized,” he said, noting that children have been out of school for over a year.
Guterres welcomed the ceasefire and hostage release agreement brokered in January by Egypt, Qatar, and the United States, but stressed that more must be done to ensure its success.
“Now it is time to be crystal clear about objectives going forward,” he declared.
“First, we must keep pushing for a permanent ceasefire and the release of all hostages without delay. We cannot go back to more death and destruction.”
