Arab News

LONDON: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Sunday promised not to “give up” on urging the Security Council to press to avert a humanitarian catastrophe and reiterated his appeal for a cease-fire to be declared. 

“Regrettably, the Security Council failed to do it, but that does not make it less necessary. So, I can promise I will not give up,” Guterres said during remarks at the opening session of the Doha Forum in Qatar.

“The horrific attacks by Hamas on Oct. 7, followed by the relentless Israeli bombardment of Gaza, were met by a resounding silence from the council. 

“The council’s authority and credibility were severely undermined,” he said two days after the US blocked a resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire in the fighting between Israel and Hamas in the besieged Palestinian territory.

Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad said: “It is unfortunate that, despite the disclosure of the scale of the crime, and the outbreak of public protests that took to the streets all over the world, some official circles still see the Palestinian people as ineligible for demanding a cease-fire.”

He said it is “disgraceful for the international community to allow this heinous crime to go on for two months, during which a systematic and deliberate killing of innocent defenseless civilian, including women and children, continued, entire families were removed, an already fragile infrastructure was targeted, cutting off supplies of electricity, water, food, fuel and medicine, and destroying hospitals, worship places, schools and vital facilities.”

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh called for holding Israel accountable, imposing sanctions, and halting it from continuing to violate international laws, calling for an urgent investigation into its crimes against the Palestinian people.

He denounced Washington’s use of veto power against the draft resolution, saying that this allows Israel to kill more Palestinians, and also said that it is unacceptable for Israel to talk about eliminating the Hamas movement as it is part of the Palestinian political map and structure.

Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi warned that the continuation of the war will drag the region into an all-out conflict, and said what is happening in Gaza could be described as a systematic act to expel the population and Israeli calls to “wipe out” the Palestinians.

He called on the US to ramp up more pressure on Israel to halt its crimes in Gaza, adding that Israel defies the world, violates international law, and perpetrates war crimes and genocide.

Qatar’s emir and Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman held a number of bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the forum with senior UN officials, heads of states and ministers attending the two-day event to discuss the Gaza war and ways to continue efforts to provide aid, release hostages and end the fighting.