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New York: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for renewed international solidarity with the Palestinian people, saying they are entitled to dignity, justice and self-determination.
In a statement marking the upcoming International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People (November 29 annually), Guterres said this year's commemoration comes after two years of immense suffering and the start of a fragile ceasefire in Gaza.
He described a population mourning tens of thousands of friends and family members following Israel's offensive, adding that nearly a third of those killed were children. Survivors in Gaza, he said, continue to face severe hunger, disease and widespread trauma.
Turning to the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, Guterres said Palestinians there remain subjected to ongoing Israeli military operations, relentless violence, settlement expansion, evictions, demolitions and threats of annexation.
The UN chief also voiced deep concern over what he described as the greatest loss of humanitarian staff in the organisation's history, after hundreds of Palestinian aid workers - most of them UN employees - were killed during the conflict. He noted that more journalists have died in Gaza than in any conflict since the Second World War.
Guterres urged the world to draw inspiration from what he called the resilience of the Palestinian people and to support their legitimate rights, including self-determination.
Earlier on Wednesday, Gaza's health authorities reported that 69,513 people have been killed and 170,745 injured since October 7, 2023.
