UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres visited the Rafah crossing on Saturday despite Israeli opposition and said it is “moral outrage” that there is a long line of blocked relief trucks on Egypt’s side of the border and people in the Gaza Strip are facing starvation.
Guterres, who also called for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire and the release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza, said it is time for Israel to give an “ironclad commitment” for unfettered access to humanitarian goods throughout Gaza.
He told reporters in front of the gate of the Rafah crossing, an entry point for aid, the UN will continue to work with Egypt to “streamline” the flow of aid into Gaza.
He said, “Here from this crossing, we see the heartbreak and heartlessness of it all. A long line of blocked relief trucks on one side of the gates, the long shadow of starvation on the other,” he said.
“That is more than tragic. It is a moral outrage.”
Earlier, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres arrived at El Arish Airport in North Sinai in Egypt.
Reacting to the UN chief’s visit to the Rafah crossing, the Israeli foreign minister said the United Nations has become an “anti-Israeli body” under Antonio Guterres.
The Israeli minister’s statement came hours after the UN chief called for a ceasefire to visit the Rafah crossing. “Under his leadership, the UN has become an anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli body that shelters and emboldens terror,” Foreign Minister Israel Katz said on X.
Gaza death toll tops 32,000
The Gaza health ministry has said that at least 32,142 Palestinians have been killed and 74,412 injured in Israel’s military offensive on the besieged enclave since October 7. Some 72 Palestinians were killed and 144 injured in the past 24 hours, the ministry added in a statement.
