Gaza turning into ‘children’s graveyard’: UN

Iqbal Khan: [২] BBC Live reporter Sam Hancock said the UN secretary-general said Gaza was “very quickly turning into a children’s graveyard”. In a speech on Monday, Antonio Guterres said the situation in the valley “has become more than a humanitarian crisis, it has now become a crisis of humanity.”

[৩] “Hundreds of girls and boys have been killed or injured,” he said at a news conference marking the one-month anniversary of the start of strikes between Hamas and Israel.

[৪] Guterres again called for an urgent ceasefire.

[৫] His comments were criticized by Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen. He tagged the UN chief in a post on his X (formerly Twitter) and wrote, “You should be ashamed.” “More than 30 minors – including nine-month-old babies – who saw their parents killed in cold blood before their eyes – have been forcibly detained in the Gaza Strip,” he said. He also said, “Gaza’s problem is Hamas.” Not an Israeli-directed attack to wipe out terrorist organizations.”

[৬] Earlier in a joint statement, UN agencies said the killing of civilians in Gaza and Israel was “appalling”.

[৭] Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told ABC News in the US that after the war ends, Israel will have “overall security responsibility” for Gaza. There he rejected the call for a ceasefire without the condition of releasing the hostages. Hamas held the hostages on October 7. However, humanitarian breaks may be possible, he said. “When it comes to strategic breaks – an hour here, an hour there – we’ve done it before. I think we will consider the situation so that goods, humanitarian goods are allowed in and our hostage or one of the hostages is released,” he said.

[৮] Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry said 10,220 Palestinians have been killed since the start of Israel’s attack. Among them there are 4 thousand 104 children.

IK/HA