‘Nothing can justify’ the atrocities of 7 October: Guterres
Three years after the 7 October Hamas-led terror attacks on Israel, UN Secretary-General António Guterres stressed that “nothing can justify these atrocities.”
The UN chief called for an end to the suffering of Israelis and Palestinians alike.
More than 1,200 Israelis and foreign nationals were killed in what he described as “an abhorrent, large-scale terror attack on Israel”, recalling that civilians were deliberately targeted in their homes, communities and at a music festival.
Another 251 people were abducted and taken into Gaza as hostages where they suffered horrific abuse in captivity. Some were killed, either by their captors or during the hostilities.
The Secretary-General also recalled the “untold suffering” inflicted on Palestinians in Gaza resulting from the “devastating hostilities” that followed, including massive loss of life, displacement, and destruction.
He said that “civilians continue to endure intolerable conditions” and their suffering must end immediately.
From Islamabad, Guterres calls for end to US-Iran conflict
The Secretary-General is on an official visit to Pakistan where he appealed on Tuesday for an end to the US-Iran war and the toll it has taken on global shipping.
Speaking from the capital, Islamabad, Mr. Guterres sent “a loud and clear message to all parties” calling for a return to diplomacy and the full restoration of “navigational rights and freedoms in accordance with international law.”
The military escalation began in late February following joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran.
Tehran launched counter strikes on Gulf countries and Jordan and blocked transit through the Strait of Hormuz – the critical maritime corridor.
The Secretary-General saluted Pakistan for its leadership in helping to create the conditions for dialogue between the US and Iran.
He said the country’s efforts “helped deliver the 17 June Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding, the subsequent ceasefire, and the framework for further negotiations.
DR Congo: Ebola is robbing children of the people they depend on: UNICEF
More than 1,900 children have lost one or both parents or caregivers to the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), or have been separated from these loved ones, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Tuesday.
Most of these boys and girls – 1,581 in total – are in Ituri province, the epicentre of the crisis, while 322 are in neighbouring North Kivu.
However, these are only the children UNICEF knows about as the figures cover only the areas where the agency works with social affairs teams.
Here’s Halimatou Amadou, UNICEF communications chief in the DRC, speaking to journalists in Geneva:
“Ebola takes the people children depend on and unravels their lives. A parent falls ill, and a child may be exposed. The parent is taken for treatment or dies. And at the very moment a child most needs someone, fear and stigma can keep relatives and neighbours away.”
She said children are not only losing their parents to Ebola, they are also succumbing to the disease.
Ms. Amadou reported that at as of 29 September, at least 2,076 children had been confirmed with Ebola and at least 1,162 had died.
UNICEF needs just over $113 million for its Ebola response in DRC and has received just over a third to date.
Dianne Penn, UN News, Nairobi
Source of original article: United Nations (news.un.org). Photo credit: UN. The content of this article does not necessarily reflect the views or opinion of Global Diaspora News (www.globaldiasporanews.com).
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