The UN requests more than 1.1 billion euros to help the population of Gaza and the West Bank

Guterres says Gaza is becoming a 'children's graveyard'

MADRID, 6 Nov. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The Secretary General of the United Nations, António Guterres, made an appeal this Monday to raise 1.2 billion dollars (1.117 million euros) with the aim of helping the Palestinian population living in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, affected by the latest escalation of the conflict between Israel and Hamas.

"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," Guterres said at a press conference.

Guterres has said that we must act "to find a way out" of a "brutal, terrible and agonizing" situation, which resembles a "dead end" full of "destruction." "The escalation must stop. Cool heads and diplomatic efforts must prevail," he added.

Likewise, he stressed that "more United Nations workers have been murdered than in any other period in the history" of the organization. "IDF ground operations and continued shelling are affecting civilians, hospitals, refugee camps, mosques, churches and UN facilities, including shelters," she recalled.

Guterres added that "no one is safe" in the Palestinian enclave and that "the nightmare in Gaza is more than a humanitarian crisis", but is "a crisis of humanity." "Gaza is becoming a children's graveyard," he stressed.

Finally, Guterres has reiterated his condemnation of the "abhorrent acts of terrorism" perpetrated by Hamas on October 7" and has called for the "immediate, unconditional and safe release of the hostages" held in Gaza by the Palestinian Islamist movement.

The spokesman for the Secretary General of the United Nations, Stéphane Dujarric, already assured in a press conference on Friday that this appeal is necessary to obtain food and water, as well as resources for medical care, shelter and hygiene of the affected by the conflict.

For his part, the spokesperson for the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Jens Laerke, also previously noted that the needs of the population have changed since last October 12, when another appeal was made to raise 294 million dollars (about 280 million euros).