(Photo credit: Gary Raynaldo ©Diplomatic Times) UN Secretary-General António Guterres
By Gary Raynaldo DIPLOMATIC TIMES
UNITED NATIONS – NEW YORK – UN Secretary-General António Guterres is “particularly appalled that children continue to be victims of violence” in the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict, UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said Wednesday. De-escalation of the Palestine-Israel conflict is “an absolute must” the UN Secretary-General said, declaring that the mounting death toll, including children, was totally unacceptable. Health authorities in Gaza said at least 35 Palestinians – including 10 children – were killed in Israeli air strikes on the Strip since late on Monday, after Hamas launched rockets from the coastal territory towards Israel. At least 233 others were injured. The UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Tor Wennesland, added his voice to calls for calm in the Occupied Palestinian Territory late on Tuesday, warning that the situation is “escalating towards a full-scale war”, amid continuing air strikes and rocket attacks.
“We are very concerned by the growing civilian casualties in both Gaza ad Israel and deeply saddened by reported deaths of children in Gaza”, said Mr. Dujarric, adding that both the Secretary-General and Mr. Wennesland have both reiterated that “Hamas and other militants’ indiscriminate launching of rockets and mortars from highly populated civilian neighbourhoods towards civilian population centres violates international humanitarian law, and it is unacceptable and has to stop immediately.”
-UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric
Yahya Arouri Israeli police gather in Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in East Jerusalem, where Palestinians are threatened with eviction (news.un.org)
“Stop the fire immediately. We’re escalating towards a full scale war”,
-Tor Wennesland said in a post on Twitter.
Stop the fire immediately. We’re escalating towards a full scale war. Leaders on all sides have to take the responsibility of deescalation. The cost of war in Gaza is devastating & is being paid by ordinary people. UN is working w/ all sides to restore calm. Stop the violence now
— Tor Wennesland (@TWennesland) May 11, 2021
