UN Secretary-General António Guterres reiterated his call for sustained humanitarian aid to be delivered to Gaza in remarks to the Cairo Summit for Peace on Saturday.
The Summit, convened by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, took place one day after the UN chief travelled to the Rafah border crossing in north Sinai, the sole border crossing open with Gaza.
"There I saw a paradox -- a humanitarian catastrophe playing out in real time," he said, noting that hundreds of trucks "teeming with food and other essential supplies" were on the Egyptian side while across the border, two million people were going without water, food, fuel, electricity and medicine.
UN working nonstop
"Those trucks need to move as quickly as possible in a massive, sustained and safe way from Egypt into Gaza," he said, adding that the UN is working nonstop with all parties towards a continuous delivery of aid at the scale that is needed.
The Secretary-General stressed that the near-term goals must be clear, repeating his call for immediate, unrestricted and sustained humanitarian aid to Gaza, the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages by Hamas, and a humanitarian ceasefire now.
He said that the grievances of the Palestinian people are legitimate and long, but nothing can justify the reprehensible assault by Hamas that terrorized Israeli civilians. At the same time, these abhorrent attacks can never justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people.
Time for action
He stressed the need to uphold international humanitarian law, which includes protecting civilians and not attacking hospitals, schools and UN premises that are currently sheltering half a million people.
He also emphasized the need not to lose sight of "the only realistic foundation for a true peace and stability", namely a two-State solution for Israelis and Palestinians.
"The time has come for action," he said. "Action to end this godawful nightmare.
Action to build a future worthy of the dreams of the children of Palestine, Israel, the region and our world."
