UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned on Monday that an Israeli attack on Rafah would deal a fatal blow to aid programs in Gaza, where humanitarian assistance remains “wholly insufficient.”
Speaking at the Human Rights Council in Geneva, Guterres emphasized that a comprehensive assault on the city, located in the southern part of the Gaza Strip near the Egyptian border, would not only be horrific for the over one million Palestinian civilians who have sought refuge there but would also serve as “the final nail in the coffin for our aid programs.”
According to the Agence France-Presse, Guterres cautioned that the failure of the UN Security Council to address the conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine threatens to undermine its authority “in a devastating manner,” underscoring the need for “serious reform.”
Guterres explained to diplomats in Geneva that “the Security Council’s lack of unity in the face of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and Israeli military operations in Gaza, following the dreadful attacks by Hamas on October 7th, has severely undermined its authority, potentially in a destructive way.”
