Six months into war, UN chief demands 'quantum leap' in Gaza aid
UNITED NATIONS — The United Nations secretary-general warned Friday that children are dying in the Gaza Strip from hunger and dehydration and that a “quantum leap” in the delivery of lifesaving aid is urgently needed.
“When the gates to aid are closed, the doors to starvation are opened,” Antonio Guterres told reporters.
He said that as the six-month mark in the war between Israel and Hamas approaches Sunday, the “speed, scale and inhumane ferocity” of the war mark it as one of the deadliest conflicts for civilians, aid workers, journalists and medical personnel.
“Six months on, we are at the brink of mass starvation, of regional conflagration, of a total loss of faith in global standards and norms,” he said. “It’s time to step back from that brink — to silence the guns, to ease the horrible suffering and stop a potential famine before it is too late.”
He said in the aftermath of Monday’s deadly Israeli strike on a World Central Kitchen aid convoy, the Israelis have pledged to allow a “substantial increase” in humanitarian aid distributed in Gaza.
“I sincerely hope that these announced intentions are effectively and quickly materialized because the situation in Gaza is absolutely desperate,” he said.
Israel said Friday that it will temporarily open the Erez crossing into Gaza and allow aid shipments to be processed at Ashdod Port — requests humanitarians have been making for months.
The U.N. chief also expressed concern about Israel’s reported use of artificial intelligence to identify targets, resulting in high civilian casualties.
“No part of life-and-death decisions which impact entire families should be delegated to the cold calculation of algorithms,” he said.
The secretary-general reiterated his condemnation of Hamas’ October 7 terror attack on Israel and his calls for the unconditional release of all the hostages still held by Hamas and other armed groups.
The U.N. Security Council is meeting Friday in an emergency session called by members Algeria, Guyana, Slovenia and Switzerland to discuss the risk of famine and attacks against aid workers in Gaza. They will be briefed by officials from the U.N. office on humanitarian affairs and the CEO of Save the Children, Janti Soeripto.