United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres expressed grave concern following a strike by Israeli forces on Al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City on Sunday, which rendered the facility inoperable and delivered a devastating blow to an already overwhelmed healthcare system in the Gaza Strip.
In a statement issued late Sunday by UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric, Guterres underscored that international humanitarian law mandates the protection and respect of the wounded and sick, as well as medical personnel and facilities, including hospitals. He warned that mass casualties continue to overwhelm the few remaining operational hospitals, while medical supplies are dwindling fast.
The Secretary-General also pointed to the increasing severity of the humanitarian crisis, noting that nearly 70 percent of Gaza is now under Israeli-issued displacement orders or classified as “no-go” zones. “Palestinians in Gaza have no safe place to go and little to survive on,” the statement read.
Guterres expressed alarm that humanitarian access remains blocked. For over seven weeks, Israel has not permitted humanitarian aid or essential supplies into Gaza, he noted, exacerbating conditions on the ground. The resulting shortages are dire: food stocks are near depletion, water production has plummeted, and materials needed for shelter are almost entirely exhausted.
He reminded all parties that international humanitarian law obligates occupying powers to facilitate relief efforts when the local population is inadequately supplied. “The occupying Power shall agree to relief schemes on behalf of the said population and shall facilitate them by all the means at its disposal,” the statement recalled.
Guterres also referenced Security Council Resolutions 2730 (2024) and 2417 (2018), both of which condemn the unlawful denial of humanitarian access and the deprivation of civilians of essentials needed for survival.
The UN chief’s statement adds to growing international calls for an immediate ceasefire and the unimpeded delivery of humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza.
