Hundreds of deaths, increasingly serious attacks: In his speech at the UN General Debate, Secretary-General Guterres warns of a wildfire. And draws a clear comparison.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres warns of further escalation in the Middle East. “The Lebanese people, the Israeli people and people around the world cannot afford for Lebanon to become a second Gaza,” said Guterres at the start of the general debate of the UN General Assembly in New York. Lebanon is on the brink. The Gaza war is a “perpetual nightmare” that threatens to drag the entire region down with it.
For days, the violence between Israel and the Shiite organization Hezbollah in Lebanon has been escalating. According to the Lebanese Ministry of Health, more than 550 people have died in Israeli air strikes since Monday – including dozens of women and children. The conflict between Israel and the Hezbollah militia has thus expanded massively. Fears of a full-scale war are growing, and not only in Lebanon.
Guterres, who has repeatedly criticized the Israeli military’s conduct of the war in the Gaza Strip, now clearly fears a similar approach in Lebanon. “The speed and scale of the killing and destruction in Gaza are unparalleled in my years as Secretary-General,” Guterres continued.
Guterres: “World of impunity”
According to Hamas-controlled authorities, there have been more than 40,000 deaths since the war began in October, with no distinction being made between civilians and fighters. Guterres stressed that nothing could justify Hamas’s terrorist attack on Israel on October 7, 2023 – just as nothing could justify the collective punishment of the Palestinians afterwards. This statement was followed by rare applause in the General Assembly.
In an earlier part of his speech, Guterres denounced the fact that many governments can do whatever they want without being held accountable. “They can invade another country, devastate entire societies or show total disregard for the well-being of their own people,” said Guterres. In a “world of impunity,” the foundations of international law and the UN Charter are under threat. This is politically indefensible and morally intolerable.
Source: Stern
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