UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday called for a permanent ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, two days before the third anniversary of the October 7, 2023, Al-Aqsa Flood operation.
“It is time for the ceasefire to become permanent. It is time to allow humanitarian aid to enter at scale. It is time to respect international law,” Guterres said in a statement.
“We must build the political pathway toward lasting peace throughout the region. The United Nations remains firmly committed to these imperatives,” he added.
Guterres called for “building a different future” in which Israelis and Palestinians can live alongside one another in peace and security, with their rights upheld, dignity protected and aspirations fulfilled.
“Three years on, the pain of October 7 remains for families who lost loved ones, for survivors and for all those whose lives were changed forever,” Guterres said.
“I mourn those who were killed in the attacks and those who died in captivity. Their suffering must not be forgotten, nor the continuing grief endured by their families,” he added.
The war launched by Israel in response to the Hamas attack has resulted in the martyrdom of more than 74,200 people in Gaza, according to the territory’s Health Ministry. The United Nations considers the figures credible.
Guterres said the devastating hostilities that followed had inflicted “unspeakable suffering” on Palestinians in Gaza, including heavy loss of life, displacement and widespread destruction.
“Civilians continue to endure intolerable conditions. Their suffering, too, must come to an end, now,” he said.
Since U.S. President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire in October 2025, the political future of the region has remained uncertain.
Israel, which continues to control most of the Gaza Strip, has refused to withdraw its forces unless Hamas’s disarmament is verified.
Hamas, meanwhile, has called for a gradual disarmament process rather than the immediate and unilateral surrender of its arsenal.
Source: AFP
