For the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, the end of the conflict between Israel and Palestine can only come with “a two-State solution: Israelis must see their legitimate needs for security materialized, and Palestinians must see their legitimate aspirations for an independent State realized”.
On Saturday, Guterres is in Cairo to attend the international conference hosted by Egypt to discuss the escalating war between Israel and Hamas, the Palestinian group that two weeks ago attacked Israel. Together with Guterres, several heads of State are attending the Cairo Peace Summit, including Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov, China’s envoy for Middle East issues Zhai Jun, European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell.
“We meet in the heart of a region that is reeling in pain and one step from the precipice, where it is impossible not to be rocked to the core by heart-wrenching, soul-searing images of suffering”, Guterres opened his speech.
Yesterday the UN Secretary-General went to the Rafah border crossing that has just opened this morning to let a small amount of more than desperately needed aid flow to Palestinians, who are running out of food, medicine and water. It has been almost ten days since the Israeli siege started. Twenty aid trucks of the Egyptian Red Crescent finally entered the Gaza Strip. “There I saw the paradox–a humanitarian catastrophe playing out in real time”, commented Guterres. “On the one hand, I saw hundreds of trucks teeming with food and other essential supplies. On the other, we know that just across the border, there are two million people–without water, food, fuel, electricity and medicine. Full trucks on one side, empty stomachs on the other.”
To conclude Guterres underlined once again the UN’s–as well as everyone else’s- short term goals: “Immediate, unrestricted and sustained humanitarian aid for besieged civilians in Gaza, immediate and unconditional release of all hostages, and immediate and dedicated efforts to prevent the spread of violence which is increasing the risk of spillover”.
