UN chief seeks to 'set the record straight' after speech sparks uproar in Israel
The chief of the United Nations (UN) has said he is “shocked” at the “misinterpretations” of a statement he made on Tuesday where he said Hamas' attacks against Israel "did not happen in a vacuum".
António Guterres sought to “set the record straight” by re-reading his words from the day prior at an impromptu appearance at the UN Security Council stakeout in New York on Wednesday.
He said his words were "not justifying acts of terror by Hamas" and that he had condemned the "horrifying acts of terror" by Hamas in Israel.
On Tuesday, he had expressed deep concern at “the clear violations of international humanitarian law,” calling Israel’s constant bombardment of Gaza and the level of destruction and civilian casualties “alarming”.
He re-iterated his statement on Wednesday, saying the grievances of the Palestinian people cannot justify “the horrifying and unprecedented October 7 acts of terror” by Hamas in Israel and demanded the immediate release of all hostages.
In response to his speech on Tuesday night, Israel's ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan accused the secretary-general of having lost “all morality and impartiality” and called for his resignation.
Mr Erdan wrote on X, formerly Twitter: "There is no justification or point in talking to those who show compassion for the most terrible atrocities committed against the citizens of Israel and the Jewish people... (He) is not fit to lead the UN."
Some of the food aid allowed into Gaza has been described as “not very usable,” by the UN as fuel and water needed to prepare it is in scarce supply.
'Let me be clear, no party is above international law,' Antonio Guterres said while speaking at the UN Security Council on Tuesday
Across three convoys, 54 vehicles carrying humanitarian assistance - including food, water and medical supplies - have been transported into the besieged territory since Saturday.
Mr Guterres also called for an immediate humanitarian cease-fire to deliver desperately needed food, water, medicine and fuel to civilians in Gaza.
The secretary general also criticised Israel without naming it, saying “protecting civilians does not mean ordering more than one million people to evacuate to the south, where there is no shelter, no food, no water, no medicine and no fuel, and then continuing to bomb the south itself.”
The Palestinian Red Crescent said on Tuesday night that another eight aid trucks have entered Gaza from Egypt, and the Israeli embassy to the US have posted photos on X of medical aid arriving in the region.
Fuel is not among the convoys sent so far and the UN aid agency for Palestinians, UNRWA, warned humanitarian assistance will have to stop as soon as Wednesday as without it there will be no water and no functioning hospitals.
The Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) have since confirmed that efforts will be made to provide access to fuel in Gaza where needed to alleviate the humanitarian crisis, but that it would "not allow" the fuel to reach Hamas.
UNRWA also described the three convoys as a “trickle” compared to the estimated 500 trucks a day - carrying both aid and commercial goods - they say were driven into Gaza prior to Israel's blockade.
Beyond the low supply levels, Tamira Alrifai, a spokesperson for the organisation, warned shipments over the last few days contain rice and lentils, which can't be cooked without water and gas.
In a video call to a UN briefing in Geneva, she said: “Therefore, these kinds of supplies - while very generous and well-intended - are not very usable.”
Alrifai praised the “very spontaneous giving and donations” flown into Egypt for delivery to Gaza through the Rafah crossing, from various countries, “especially Arab countries.”
She called for co-ordination with the Egyptian Red Crescent and “very, very clear guidance from the humanitarian groups that are on the ground.”
“Of course, everything is being closely coordinated with my UN colleagues and with UN agencies. But we will need to get better as a consortium of humanitarians in sending very explicit lists of what is most needed,” Alrifai said.
She said UN negotiators were “very, very far away” from getting the full ability to provide needed aid to Gaza.
Is there a fuel shortage in Gaza?
Since the siege began, concerns have mounted over citizens access to basic needs resulting in an international cry for the Rafah border to allow aid into the strip.
But while Israel folded to the request last week, fuel imports are still banned due to concerns over misuse if it were to fall in the hands of Hamas militants.
Fuel is fundamental to the electrical power supplies in Gaza, and as a result buildings, including hospitals, have been suffering blackouts.
As the bombing campaign continues and the number injured rises, health centres are overrun with reports of doctors performing surgeries in corridors, using their phone torches for light.
The Hamas-led Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip has warned that the electric generators in hospitals will collapse soon due to the fuel shortage.
In a brief statement posted on Telegram on Tuesday, the ministry spokesperson said that the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza is “slow and cannot change the reality” for citizens.
“The healthcare system has reached its worst stage in its history,” he added.
A British-Palestinian doctor working at Gaza’s largest hospital has warned it will become a “mass grave” if it runs out of fuel.
“The real question is, is there anything left of a hospital when there’s no electricity? And my answer is no," Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah told CNN.
"Effectively, Shifa Hospital will become a mass grave if it runs out of electricity,” adding there are currently 150 patients on ventilators with doctors unable to run operating theatres and anesthetic machines due to the shortages.
The hospital currently has "around 1,700 wounded patients, three times its capacity," he said.
With longer and more frequent power cuts, Abu-Sittah said Shifa Hospital “effectively... will cease to exist as a hospital.”
This would also impact the maternity and neonatal units, as over 15 incubators will be out of use. Currently, there are 150 newborn patients on the ward.
In response to a question on whether this is a “countdown” to children dying, Abu-Sittah stated, “Absolutely.”
The shortages are also impacting ambulance services, which require petrol to reach and bring in the wounded.
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