UN chief calls for Gaza truce, massive lifesaving aid deliveries
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United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday called for a truce in the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip and the conflict in Sudan as the holy Muslim fasting month of Ramadan begins.
He also called for the release of hostages held by Hamas and the removal of “all obstacles to ensure the delivery of lifesaving aid at the speed and massive scale required” to Gaza, where the U.N. has warned that a quarter of the population are on the brink of famine.
“International humanitarian law lies in tatters,” he told reporters. “And a threatened Israeli assault on Rafah could plummet the people of Gaza into an even deeper circle of hell.”
Meanwhile, the Israeli military is checking whether senior Hamas militant Marwan Issa was killed in an air strike in Gaza this week, Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported on Monday.
The Israeli military did not immediately confirm the report, which said a site in central Gaza’s Nusseirat was struck two days ago, based on intelligence that Issa, believed to be the second-in-command of Hamas’ armed wing, was there.
Hamas did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the Israeli newspaper report.
Issa is at the top of Israel’s most-wanted list, together with Mohammed Deif, the head of Hamas’ military wing the Izz el-Deen al-Qassam Brigades, and Hamas’ leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, who are believed to have masterminded the group’s Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel that triggered the Gaza war.
