UNITED NATIONS, Oct 04 (APP): UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres welcomed the statement issued by Hamas in response to US President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan to end the Israeli war in Gaza, his Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said in a statement issued Friday.
Dujarric said that the UN chief urges “all parties to seize the opportunity to bring the tragic conflict in Gaza to an end.”
The statement came after senior Hamas official Mousa Abu Marzouk said Friday that the Palestine resistance group had agreed to Trump’s plan on a ceasefire in the besieged Strip “in principle,” endorsing its main outlines, while stressing that implementation would require negotiations on some key details.
The UN chief thanked Qatar and Egypt for their “invaluable” mediation work, Dujarric said.
“The Secretary-General reiterates his consistent call for an immediate and permanent ceasefire, the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages, and unfettered humanitarian access,” he added.
The UN will support all efforts toward these objectives to prevent even more suffering, he stressed.
Earlier in the day before the response from Hamas, UN humanitarian relief chief Tom Fletcher said the world body was ready and eager to act on the window of opportunity provided by the US initiative on Gaza.
Around 170,000 metric tonnes of food, medicine, shelter and other desperately needed supplies are on standby, poised to enter the decimated Strip from across the region.
Fletcher said that the Israeli-controlled crossings would need to open and there must be safe movement for civilians and aid workers; unrestricted entry of goods; visas for staff; the space for humanitarians to operate; and the private sector to be revived.
UN aid teams warn that the situation in northern Gaza continues to rapidly deteriorate, as Israel continues its military offensive to seize full control of Gaza City, with tens of thousands of Palestinian civilians unable to leave.
“Military operations and heavy strikes, hitting residential areas and buildings, are driving up the death toll and continue to wreak havoc on the area,” said Spokesperson Dujarric at the daily news briefing in New York.