The world community must not lose hope and work to end the suffering that has engulfed the Middle East, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in an address timed to coincide with the anniversary of the attack by Palestinian Hamas militants on Israel on October 7, 2023, Report informs via TASS.
"It is time for the release of the hostages. Time to silence the guns. Time to stop the suffering that has engulfed the region. Time for peace, international law and justice. The United Nations is fully committed to achieving those goals. In the midst of so much bloodshed and division, we must hold on to hope. Let us honor the memory of the victims, reunite families and end the suffering and violence in the whole Middle East. And let us never stop working for a lasting solution to the conflict where Israel, Palestine and all other countries of the region can finally live in peace and dignity and with respect for one another," he said.
The UN Secretary general said that Hamas "must allow the International Committee of the Red Cross to visit those hostages." He pointed to the fact that "the war that has followed the terrible attacks of one year ago continues to shatter lives and inflict profound human suffering for Palestinians in Gaza, and now the people of Lebanon."
Tensions flared up again in the Middle East on October 7, 2023, when Hamas militants staged a surprise attack on Israeli territory from Gaza, killing residents of Israeli border settlements and taking over 250 hostages, including women, children and the elderly. In response, Israel declared a total blockade of the Gaza Strip, home to 2.3 million Palestinians before the crisis, launching air strikes on Gaza as well as some parts of Lebanon and Syria before starting a ground operation in the Palestinian enclave with the aim of destroying Hamas military and political structures and freeing all those abducted.
At the end of November 2023, a humanitarian truce was established for a week with the mediation of Egypt and Qatar. During this time, according to Israel, 110 hostages were freed. On December 1, 2023, the ceasefire was violated by radicals, hostilities resumed and continue to this day. According to the latest data from the Israeli side, radicals are still holding 101 people hostage in Gaza.