Guterres urges support for the Middle East amid current ‘turbulent period’

This article is published in association with United Nations.

With the Middle East undergoing “a period of profound transformation”, the international community must support efforts towards more justice, dignity, human rights and peace in the region, the UN Secretary-General told the Security Council on Monday. 

António Guterres addressed the Council’s first quarterly debate on the Middle East for the year, held against the backdrop of Sunday’s temporary ceasefire in Gaza, the end of hostilities in Lebanon sparked by the war, and the fall of the Assad regime in Syria.

“We have a responsibility to help make sure the people of the Middle East come out of this turbulent period with peace, dignity and a horizon of hope grounded in action,” he said, speaking fresh from a visit to Lebanon.

‘Ray of hope’

Mr. Guterres said that the Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal “offer a ray of hope.”  

The first phase of the agreement went into effect on Sunday, with Hamas releasing three women hostages and Israel releasing 90 Palestinian prisoners.

“While many challenges lie ahead, we should appreciate the long-overdue relief this moment provides for Palestinians in Gaza and the hostages reunited with their loved ones,” he said.

Meanwhile, the UN is doing its part to ensure the rapid scale-up of humanitarian deliveries. More than 630 trucks of aid entered Gaza on Sunday, with at least 300 headed to the north.

Fully implement the deal

He said the parties now must make good on their commitments and fully implement the deal and ensure that it leads to the release of all hostages and a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.

The Secretary-General pledged that the UN “will do all we can to advance these efforts – in particular, to scale up humanitarian aid across Gaza, fully aware of the significant obstacles, challenges and constraints that we still face.”

Action on the ground

The ceasefire “must translate into at least four simultaneous actions on the ground”, he said.

The first must be that UN entities – including UN Palestine refugee agency, UNRWA, which he called “the backbone of our humanitarian response” – must be able to perform their functions without hindrance.

“The UN must have rapid, safe and unimpeded access through all available channels and crossings to deliver food, water, medicine, fuel, shelter, and materials to repair infrastructure across Gaza, including the north,” he said.

 Other humanitarian organizations, including local and international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) as well as the private sector, must also have unimpeded safe passage. 

Safe operating environment

His second point underscored that scaling up the delivery of aid and essential services demands safe conditions and a conducive operating environment. Humanitarians also require the necessary technical, protective and communications equipment.

“To do our work, the parties must coordinate with the UN system in a timely and effective manner. This also includes the restoration of public order and safety to prevent the looting of humanitarian supplies,” he said.

© UNRWA

A man carries food aid distributed by the UN in Gaza.

Aid access, civilian protection

Mr. Guterres stressed that people must be able to access life-saving aid, his third point. This includes medical evacuations for those who need it, and he urged countries to take in these patients.

 Sufficient commercial supplies must also be allowed to enter Gaza to meet the overwhelming needs of the population, he added.

His final point highlighted that civilians must be protected, and those seeking to return to their communities must have safe passage.

“Explosive ordnance must be removed. The recovery of human remains must be conducted with dignity and respect,” he said.

‘Seize the opportunity’

The Secretary-General urged the Security Council and all UN Member States to support all efforts to implement the ceasefire, bring about a permanent cessation of hostilities, ensure accountability, and create the conditions for recovery and reconstruction.

Furthermore, the international media “must also be allowed into Gaza to report on this crucial story on the ground.”

Mr. Guterres called for the international community to “seize the opportunity” of the ceasefire deal to intensify efforts toward addressing governance and security frameworks in Gaza.

He noted that the Palestinian Authority has said it stands ready to assume its role and responsibilities in the enclave

“I urge collective support for the creation of security and governance arrangements that will enable Gaza to be re-unified politically, economically, socially, and administratively with the West Bank,” he said.

Two-State solution requires ‘irreversible action’

He reported that, regrettably, the situation in the West Bank continues to worsen, with clashes, airstrikes, and unabated illegal settlement expansion and demolitions.

“I am deeply concerned about an existential threat to the integrity and contiguity of the Occupied Palestinian Territory of Gaza and the West Bank,” Mr. Guterres said.

He noted that senior Israeli officials openly speak of formally annexing all or part of the West Bank in the coming months, which would constitute a most serious violation of international law.

He said “it is clear that greater stability in the Middle East requires irreversible action toward a two-State solution” between Israelis and Palestinians.

UNIFIL/Pasqual Gorriz

UN Secretary-General António Guterres (right) meets UN peacekeepers from Sri Lanka in Naqoura in southern Lebanon.

‘New dawn’ in Lebanon

On Lebanon, the Secretary-General reported that “a new dawn is rising” in the country, “with a government hopefully soon in place where all Lebanese will feel represented, and a State that will be able to guarantee security to all its citizens.”

During his recent visit, Mr. Guterres travelled to the south where he saw firsthand “the dramatic human impact and destruction” caused by 13 months of hostilities between Hamas militants and Israeli forces.

The Governments of Lebanon and Israel signed a ceasefire agreement last November, which he said is fragile but still holding.

“It is vital that the Israeli presence in the south ends as defined in the agreement, and that the Lebanese Armed Forces are present in the totality of Lebanon,” he said

‘Flame of hope’ in Syria

Mr. Guterres also addressed the situation in Syria.

“Following the fall of the brutal previous regime and years of bloodshed, there is a possibility of promise for the people of Syria,” he said. “We cannot let the flame of hope turn into an inferno of chaos.”

He said the UN is committed to working with Syrians and the international community to support a Syrian-led process towards a credible and inclusive political transition.

“As Syria travels a new path and seeks to rebuild its institutions and political systems, we will support an inclusive process in which the rights of all are fully respected, and that paves the way towards a united and sovereign Syria with its territorial integrity fully reestablished,” he said.

Gaza: Return to a semblance of normality

Thousands of people in war-torn Gaza have begun returning to what remains of their homes as life slowly starts to regain a semblance of normality following the ceasefire and hostage release deal that took effect on Sunday.

“People are out and about, children are playing, and the sound of bombs and drones has stopped,” said Sam Rose, Senior Deputy Director of UNRWA Affairs in Gaza, speaking to UN News’s correspondent in the enclave.

Listen to his take on the humanitarian response following the ceasefire, below.