UN chief warns of war spreading beyond Gaza

United Nations, 24 January. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has warned of the dangers of the Gaza war spreading to other areas. The war and plight in Gaza is spreading unrest far and wide, he told a high-level Security Council open debate on the Middle East, including the issue of Palestine. We are seeing alarming developments in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, where tensions are at their peak and casualties have increased dramatically.

He said that dozens of Palestinians are being arrested every day. More than six thousand Palestinians have been detained since October 7 last year, many of whom were later released. The settlements continue to demolish and confiscate Palestinian-owned homes and other structures. He said that the Palestinian economy is in crisis. Israel's withholding of a significant portion of Palestinian tax revenues, continued restrictions on almost all Palestinian workers entering Israel since October 7, and severe movement and access restrictions in the West Bank are all contributing to rising unemployment and poverty. Guterres warned that the risks of wider regional tensions were now becoming a reality.

Six Israelis and 25 Lebanese civilians have been killed in daily shelling along the Israeli-Lebanese border, including attacks on civilian areas, and thousands of people on both sides have been driven from their homes, he said. The risk of miscalculation is dangerously high, the UN chief said. I urge all parties to refrain from aggressive rhetoric, and immediately end activities that could further escalate tensions. He said, the situation in the Red Sea is also very worrying. Houthi attacks are disrupting global trade. He said that after this, air strikes have been carried out by America and Britain on Houthi targets in Yemen. It is essential to de-escalate tensions, he said, and all attacks on merchant and commercial vessels in the Red Sea must stop immediately.

In addition, there are almost daily attacks on facilities hosting U.S. and international coalition forces in Iraq and Syria, he said. In response, the US has launched airstrikes targeting individuals and groups suspected of these actions. And airstrikes in Syria, which Iran and Syria have blamed on Israel, have targeted officials from Hamas and Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. “I urge all parties to step back from the brink and consider the terrible human cost of regional conflict,” he said. He said that apart from the need to immediately de-escalate tensions, each situation demands the implementation of a clear political roadmap that will contribute to long-term regional stability.