UN Secretary condemns Gaza ceasefire violation as over 1,000 Palestinians killed

• UN General Secretary described conditions in Gaza as horrific due to displacement, disease, and unexploded ordnance.
• Guterres warned that West Bank annexation would violate international law.
• He also condemned the seizure of the UNRWA headquarters in East Jerusalem.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres issued a sharp rebuke of ongoing military and political actions in the Palestinian territories on Tuesday, revealing that 'Israeli' attacks have killed more than 1,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip since a ceasefire was officially declared.

Speaking on the worsening humanitarian and geopolitical landscape, Guterres described the baseline survival conditions inside the enclave as completely catastrophic.

"Horrific" living conditions in Gaza

The UN chief noted that despite the announced cessation of hostilities, localized 'Israeli' strikes have continued to yield a high death toll.

He emphasized that the population in Gaza is currently enduring "horrific" living conditions.

According to Guterres, the ongoing crisis is being compounded by three overlapping humanitarian threats:

• Extensive contamination from unexploded ordnance and military remnants.
• Ramping outbreaks of infectious diseases due to collapsed infrastructure.
• Large-scale, repeated mass displacement of civilian populations.

West Bank annexation, UNRWA seizure condemned

Turning his attention to the West Bank and East Jerusalem, Guterres stated that Palestinians outside of Gaza are facing an increasingly volatile environment marked by continuous settler violence and aggressive settlement expansion.

Guterres issued a direct warning regarding the rising political rhetoric surrounding the formal absorption of Palestinian land, stating that any move toward the annexation of parts of the West Bank would represent a "blatant violation of international law."

Additionally, the Secretary-General strongly condemned the recent seizure of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) headquarters in occupied East Jerusalem, labeling the takeover an "illegal and unacceptable violation" of international frameworks governing diplomatic and humanitarian assets.