Gaza becoming a 'graveyard for children': UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said the nightmare in Gaza is more than a humanitarian crisis and called it a crisis of humanity. He added that the need for a ceasefire is becoming "more urgent with every passing hour." The UN chief said 89 staff members of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) have been killed in the Israel-Hamas war that began on October 7.

New York [US] : The UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said Gaza is "becoming a graveyard for children", CNN reported. Guterres told reporters in New York: "The nightmare in Gaza is more than a humanitarian crisis. It is a crisis of humanity." He added that the need for a ceasefire is becoming "more urgent with every passing hour."

"The parties to the conflict - and, indeed, the international community - face an immediate and fundamental responsibility: to stop this inhuman collective suffering and dramatically expand humanitarian aid to Gaza," he said. The UN chief said 89 staff members of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) have been killed since the Israel-Hamas war began a month ago.

More UN aid workers "have been killed in recent weeks than in any comparable period in the history of our organisation," he wrote on X on Monday night. I join in the mourning of 89 of our @UNRWA colleagues who have been killed in Gaza--many of them with members of their family, he added.

UNRWA on Tuesday said that at least 26 members had been injured. "We are beyond devastated. Our colleagues will be greatly missed, and they will not be forgotten. We share this grief with each other and with the families," the agency said on X. The UN Secretary-General's comments come four weeks after Israel declared war on Hamas, following the terrorist organisation's October 7 attack that killed 1,400 people in Israel and saw about 240 others kidnapped.

Israel retaliated by launching an air and ground offensive on Gaza, vowing to eliminate the militant group. Meanwhile, Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant has declared that Israel will retain "complete freedom of action to respond to any situation in the Gaza Strip" once the ongoing war ends, CNN reported on Tuesday.