UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, in an interview with the Japanese television channel NHK, called the level of destruction in Gaza unprecedented and called on Israel to respect the decisions of the International Court of Justice.
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“The problem is that the military operation was carried out in such a way that the number of civilian casualties and the destruction of civilian infrastructure and housing are unprecedented. The level of destruction is absolutely unacceptable,” Guterres said.
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He called on Israel to respect the decisions of the International Court of Justice, which ordered it to stop the military operation in Rafah.
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“It is necessary to ensure the primacy of international law, international humanitarian law and law and respect the decision of the International Court of Justice. This is not an opinion, it is a binding decision. Israel must comply with this decision,” Guterres emphasized.
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Last Friday, the International Court of Justice ordered Israel to stop its military operation in Rafah on the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt.
On October 7, 2023, Israel was subjected to an unprecedented rocket attack from the Gaza Strip.
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After this, fighters from the Palestinian Hamas movement entered the border areas, opened fire on military and civilians, and took more than 200 hostages. According to authorities, about 1.2 thousand people died.
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The Israel Defense Forces launched Operation Iron Swords in the Gaza Strip, which included attacks on civilian targets. Israel announced a complete blockade of the enclave: supplies of water, electricity, fuel, food and medicine were stopped. According to the Gaza Ministry of Health, more than 36 thousand people were killed and over 81 thousand were injured.
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The Gaza Strip was actually divided into southern and northern parts. On the night of May 7, IDF ground forces entered Rafah, located on the border with Egypt. The city itself is considered the last stronghold of Hamas.
