Kathmandu, Nepal — UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Sunday warned the situation in Hamas-ruled Gaza is declining rapidly as he repeated desperate appeals for a ceasefire to end the “nightmare” of bloodshed.
“The situation in Gaza is growing more desperate by the hour. I regret that instead of a critically needed humanitarian pause, supported by the international community, Israel has intensified its military operations,” Guterres said on a visit to Nepal’s capital Kathmandu.
“The number of civilians who have been killed and injured is totally unacceptable.”
Israel unleashed its massive retaliation after Hamas gunmen stormed across the border on October 7, killing 1,400 people.
After weeks of heavy bombardment of Gaza, which the Palestinian health ministry said has claimed over 8,000 lives, the Israeli army said “stage two” of the war started with ground incursions since late Friday.
Panic and fear have surged inside Gaza, where over one million people are displaced, and where communications went dark for days after Israel cut internet lines, although connectivity had gradually returned early Sunday.
“The world is witnessing a humanitarian catastrophe taking place before our eyes,” Guterres added.
“More than two million people, with nowhere safe to go, are being denied the essentials for life –- food, water, shelter and medical care –- while being subjected to relentless bombardment. I urge all those with responsibility to step back from the brink.”
The UN’s top diplomat arrived in Nepal on a four-day visit following talks in Qatar.
“I reiterate my appeal for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, the unconditional release of all hostages and the delivery of sustained humanitarian relief at a scale that meets the needs of the people of Gaza, he said.
“We must join forces to end this nightmare for the people of Gaza, Israel and all those affected around the world, including here in Nepal.”
Ten Nepali students were killed in Israel during the Hamas attack on October 7, and one Nepali citizen is missing.
‘Civil Order Starting to Collapse’
The United Nations warned that “civil order” was starting to collapse in Gaza after thousands of people ransacked its food warehouses in the war-torn Palestinian territory.
The UN relief agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) said wheat, flour and other supplies had been pillaged at several warehouses.
“This is a worrying sign that civil order is starting to break down after three weeks of war and a tight siege,” said UNRWA’s Gaza chief Thomas White.
One of the warehouses in the central town of Deir al-Balah had been used to store supplies from humanitarian convoys that began crossing into Gaza from Egypt on October 21, it said.
“Thousands of people broke into several UNRWA warehouses and distribution centers in the middle and southern areas of the Gaza Strip, taking wheat flour and other basic survival items like hygiene supplies,” UNRWA said.
Israel also imposed a total blockade on normal food, water, medicine and fuel deliveries into Gaza, with a first convoy of humanitarian aid entering only two weeks later.
Since then, UNRWA says 84 aid trucks have crossed into Gaza but aid agencies say the numbers are far too low. Before the conflict, UN figures showed an average of 500 trucks a day entering Gaza.
“Supplies on the market are running out while the humanitarian aid coming into the Gaza Strip on trucks from Egypt is insufficient,” said White.
“The needs of the communities are immense, if only for basic survival, while the aid we receive is meagre and inconsistent,” said the UN official.
Turkey marks centenary with muted celebrations
Turkey marked its centenary as a post-Ottoman republic on Sunday with somewhat muted celebrations held in the shadow of Israel’s escalating war with Hamas militants in Gaza.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was front and center of day-long events that both honor the secular republic’s founder and play up the achievement of the Islamic-rooted party that has run Turkey since 2002.
“Our country is in safe hands, you may rest in peace,” Erdogan said after laying a wreath at the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk — the Turkish military commander whose legacy the current president has vied with during his two-decade rule.
Ataturk is lionized across Turkish society for driving out invading forces and building a brand-new nation out of the fallen Ottoman Empire’s ruins in the wake of World War I.
Turkey was formed as a Westward-facing nation that stripped religion from its state institutions and tried to forge a modern new identity out its myriad ethnic groups.
It eventually became a proud member of the US-led NATO defense alliance and a beacon of democratic hopes in the Middle East.
But Ataturk’s social and geopolitical transformation of the overwhelmingly Muslim nation created divisions that weigh on Turkish politics to this day.
Erdogan tapped into these as he led his conservative Justice and Development Party (AKP) to power over the leftist Republican People’s Party (CHP) formed by Ataturk.
He has spent much of the past decade testing the limits of Turkey’s secular traditions as well as its ties with the West.
These competing forces were on full display as Erdogan moved from honouring Turkey’s past to celebrating his own government’s achievement while he was prime minister and president
Palestinian cause
Sunday’s celebrations have been partially eclipsed by Erdogan’s increasingly fierce attacks against Israel over its response to the October 7 Hamas attacks.
Turkish state television has also scrapped the broadcast of concerts and other festivities because of the “alarming human tragedy in Gaza”.
Erdogan’s lifelong defense of Palestinian rights has turned him into a hero across swathes of the Muslim world.
He announced that 1.5 million people had come out for a pro-Palestinian rally in Istanbul on Saturday that ended up drowning out national television coverage of the centenary.
Erdogan accused the Israeli government of behaving like a “war criminal” and trying to “eradicate” Palestinians.
“Israel, you are an occupier,” Erdogan declared.
His remarks prompted Israel to announce the withdrawal of all diplomatic staff for a “re-evaluation” of relations.