UN News Today 18 March 2025 |

Gaza: UN chief leads condemnation of deadly Israeli strikes

The UGaza: UN chief leads condemnation of deadly Israeli strikes

The UN Secretary-General has led widespread condemnation of renewed Israeli airstrikes and the shelling of multiple targets in Gaza overnight into Tuesday that have killed hundreds of Palestinians.

Speaking in Geneva, António Guterres said that Gazans’ suffering was “intolerable”, after bombardment resumed across the devastated enclave.

In the southern city of Rafah, one strike reportedly killed 17 members of a single family, including 12 women and children.

In recent weeks, talks between Hamas and Israel have broken down over Israeli calls to extend the first phase of the ceasefire and release all remaining hostages held in Gaza. Hamas rejected the move on the grounds that all Israeli forces should fully withdraw from the enclave first.

Here’s the UN chief now:

“Unfortunately we are witnessing a situation in which we have an intolerable level of suffering for the Palestinian people…we have humanitarian aid still blocked. The role of the UN is to do everything possible for three essential aspects: for the ceasefire to be fully respected. For unimpeded humanitarian aid to reach Gaza and for the unconditional release of hostages. We will not give up on these objectives.”

Echoing that message, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, expressed his horror at the killing of hundreds more Palestinians.

“The last 18 months of violence have made abundantly clear that there is no military path out of this crisis,” he said, before insisting that the only way forward is a political settlement, in line with international law.

Human Rights Council focuses on Iran, Syria crises

To the Human Rights Council, where top independent experts have pointed to grave violations of fundamental rights in Iran, linked to popular protests following the death of Mahsa Amini in 2022.

Sara Hossein, chair of the Fact-Finding mission on Iran, said that during peaceful protests, “children were killed and severely injured after being fired at with ammunition containing metal pellets”.

The youngsters then faced extremely violent treatment in detention – including torture and rape, according to the investigators’ latest report.

Today in Iran, State-led repression of basic freedoms continues, Ms. Hossain maintained, with victims, survivors and their families “harassed, intimidated and threatened”.

The Iranian delegation strongly opposed the probe’s findings.

The Syria crisis also featured at the Human Rights Council, where head of the Commission of Inquiry on Syria, Paulo Pinheiro urged greater efforts to uncover the truth about the fate of tens of thousands of disappeared people, victims of the Assad regime.

Mr. Pinheiro welcomed the new caretaker government’s willingness to work with his investigators on a number of human rights issues, while warning that Syria’s economic and humanitarian situation “remains catastrophic”.

At the same time, humanitarian funding is dwindling, the veteran rights investigator said, warning that economic despair is known to fuel violence, as he called for an end to all sanctions “and the removal of other barriers to recovery and reconstruction”.

Cyprus talks result in trust-building measures, show ‘new atmosphere’ among divided island’s leaders, says UN’s Guterres

UN-led efforts to kick-start talks on the divided Mediterranean island of Cyprus have resulted in agreements on new trust-building measures.

There’s a positive “new atmosphere” surrounding the discussions, Secretary-General António Guterres said on Tuesday.

Speaking in Geneva after a second day of informal talks, the UN chief underscored his commitment to ensuring the security and well-being of the Cypriots – the Greek Cypriots and the Turkish Cypriots.

He said, “today was another attempt to find a way forward”.

Greek Cypriot leader Nikos Christodoulides and Ersin Tatar, the Turkish Cypriot leader, had gathered at UN Geneva along with guarantors Greece, Türkiye and the United Kingdom at the request of Mr. Guterres.

He said that the Greek Cypriot leader and Turkish Cypriot leader had agreed to initiatives to build trust, including opening crossing points, demining and solar energy in the buffer zone and the restoration of cemeteries.

The UN has pushed for negotiations towards a settlement of the issues which led to the division of the island, with the Security Council authorising a peacekeeping force in 1964. In the absence of a lasting agreement, the force remains on the island to supervise ceasefire lines, a buffer zone and to support humanitarian activities.

Daniel Johnson, UN News

Music composed and produced by Joachim Harris. All rights reserved.