UN chief describes death and destruction in Gaza as the worst he has ever seen

UNITED NATIONS — The UN chief said on Monday the United Nations had offered to monitor any ceasefire in Gaza and called for an end to the worst death and destruction he has seen in his more than seven years in office.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in an interview with the Associated Press that it was “unrealistic” to assume that the UN could play a role in Gaza in the future, either by administering the area or providing a peacekeeping force, because Israel would probably not accept such a role for the UN.

However, he said that “the UN is ready to support any ceasefire.” The United Nations has had a military observation mission in the Middle East since 1948, known as UNTSO, and he said: “From our side, this was one of the hypotheses we put on the table.”

“Of course we are ready to do whatever the international community asks of us,” Guterres said. “The question is whether the parties would accept it, and in particular whether Israel would accept it.”

Israel's military assault on Gaza, sparked by Hamas attacks in southern Israel on October 7, has now lasted 11 months. Recent ceasefire talks have failed to produce a breakthrough and violence in the West Bank has reached a new high.

Guterres stressed the urgency of a ceasefire now, saying: “The scale of suffering we are witnessing in Gaza is unprecedented in my tenure as Secretary-General of the United Nations. I have never seen such a level of death and destruction as in Gaza in recent months.”

According to the Gaza Health Ministry, over 40,900 Palestinians have been killed in the war, although the count does not distinguish between combatants and civilians. The war has caused enormous destruction and around 90 percent of Gaza's 2.3 million inhabitants have been forced to flee their homes, often multiple times.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government have accused the UN of being anti-Israel and have been highly critical of the UN's humanitarian operations in Gaza. Faced with protests at home and increasing pressure from allies, Netanyahu has resisted pressure for a ceasefire agreement, saying: “Nobody will tell me what to do.”

With regard to a ceasefire, Guterres stressed that a two-state solution to the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict is not only feasible, but “the only solution”.

The United States and others support a Palestinian state, but Netanyahu, who leads the most conservative government in Israel's history, opposes calls for a two-state solution.

Guterres asked rhetorically whether the alternative was feasible.

“This means that there are five million Palestinians living there who have no rights in a state,” he said. “Is this possible? Can we accept a similar idea to what we had in South Africa in the past?”

He was referring to South Africa's apartheid system from 1948 to the early 1990s, when the white minority population marginalized and segregated people of color, especially black people.

“I don't think two peoples can live together unless they live on a basis of equality and unless they live on a basis of mutual respect – mutual respect for their rights,” Guterres said. “The two-state solution is, in my opinion, a must if we want peace in the Middle East.”