'Nightmare in Gaza is now entering atrocious, abominable second year': UN chief

​​​​​​​By Merve Aydogan

HAMILTON, Canada (AA) - UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed concern Tuesday for the escalating humanitarian and political crises in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon as he condemned violations of international law.

"The nightmare in Gaza is now entering an atrocious, abominable second year. This has been a year of crises. Humanitarian crisis. Political crisis. Diplomatic crisis. And a moral crisis," Guterres said at a news conference at UN headquarters in New York.

The Gaza Strip "has become ground zero to a level of human suffering that is hard to fathom," he said and noted that more than 41,000 Palestinians have been killed, the vast majority of them women and children, with thousands more missing and believed to be trapped under the rubble.

"I strongly condemn all violations of international humanitarian law in Gaza," he said.

Guterres stressed the indispensable role of the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in Gaza, while warning about the potential consequences of an Israeli draft legislation to restrict the agency’s operations.

"Such a measure would suffocate efforts to ease human suffering and tensions in Gaza, and indeed, the entire Occupied Palestinian Territory. It would be a catastrophe in what is already an unmitigated disaster," he said.

Last week, the Knesset (Israel’s parliament) advanced a bill to revoke the immunity and privileges afforded to UNRWA, in a move seen by Palestinians and the UN as part of an Israeli campaign to dismantle the UN agency and resolve the refugee issue.

The Secretary-General also warned about an escalating conflict in Lebanon that threatens to engulf the region.

"We are on the verge of an all-out war in Lebanon --- with already devastating consequences," he said, citing large-scale Israeli strikes that have killed more than 2,000 victims in Lebanon, and displaced over 1 million.

Guterres also stressed that "the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries must be respected."