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Ramadan a 'good opportunity' for Gaza ceasefire: Guterres

UN chief Antonio Guterres highlights the disproportionate impact on Palestinian civilians and infrastructure, and reiterates the urgent need to stop the conflict using Ramadan as an 'opportunity.'

AFP

More than 31,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have since been killed by Israel in Gaza. / Photo: AFP

The Muslim holy month of Ramadan could be a “good opportunity” for a ceasefire to take place in Gaza, the UN secretary-general has said.

"The way the war has been waged in Gaza shows that civilians are paying the highest price," Antonio Guterres said in an interview with Italian broadcaster Nove on Sunday.

"Israel said this was not a war on Palestinians but on Hamas, but the truth is, it became a collective punishment of Palestinians," Guterres added.

Antonio Guterres reiterated the need for a ceasefire and said that Ramadan could be a "good opportunity" for that.

Israel has waged a deadly military offensive on Gaza since the Oct. 7, 2023 cross-border attack led by the Palestinian resistance group Hamas in which some 1,200 people were killed, according to Israeli officials.

More than 31,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have since been killed by Israel in Gaza, and over 72,700 others injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

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The Israeli war has pushed 85 percent of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid a crippling blockade of most food, clean water, and medicine, while 60 percent of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

Guterres also commented on the war in Ukraine and stressed the importance of respecting the country's territorial integrity. "I do not think that there is a will to launch negotiations between Russia and Ukraine," he said.

The UN secretary-general also announced that he will have important suggestions to prepare a UN reform.

"There is not a single African state in the Security Council. The composition must be revised. Although it is not possible to give the right to veto, a broader composition could represent the modern world," Guterres said.