Guterres Urges Gaza Ceasefire as UN Warns of Aid Crisis

A young boy walks through the rubble of his home in Al Nusirat, Gaza.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres has welcomed Monday’s Gaza peace deal proposal from US President Donald Trump, urging “all parties” to commit to it.

Hamas has yet to respond to Washington’s 20-point peace plan, which is backed by Israel and the wider international community. Although not consulted beforehand, Hamas leadership was briefed later on Monday by Qatari and Egyptian mediators, according to news reports.

In a statement released by his spokesperson, Mr. Guterres praised the role of Arab and Muslim States in pursuing a sustainable peace deal. “It is now crucial that all parties commit to an agreement and its implementation,” he said.

The UN chief stressed that the priority must be to “ease the tremendous suffering” caused by the devastating conflict since the 7 October attacks. He reiterated his call for an immediate and permanent ceasefire, unrestricted humanitarian access across Gaza, and the immediate, unconditional release of all hostages. He expressed hope this would create conditions for achieving a two-State solution.

With winter approaching, heavy Israeli military operations in Gaza City continue to drive mass displacement.

“It’s important that we get that ceasefire and then we get aid flowing in not only to prevent the famine that continues to move south, but also to make sure that children and families are sheltered,” UNICEF spokesperson Ricardo Pires told reporters in Geneva.

Mr. Pires warned that falling temperatures in the devastated enclave will bring “a whole different range of issues”, including severe health challenges for children and their families.

He described the “massive” displacement from north to south, noting dire conditions in the overcrowded tented settlement at Al-Mawasi, which “simply cannot absorb the number of people moving in”.

“We’re talking about hundreds of thousands of people, an estimated 400,000 displaced,” he said.

According to the UN aid coordination office (OCHA), only about 18 per cent of the Gaza Strip is not under displacement orders or within militarized zones.

Mr. Pires said people who lost their homes are in desperate need of shelter. UNICEF has 11,000 tents and tarpaulin sheets “waiting to get in” to Gaza, but access remains blocked. “We’re not able to get those supplies in… conditions in terms of logistics and facilitation of aid continue to be very, very poor,” he added.

Echoing his remarks, OCHA spokesperson Jens Laerke stressed that humanitarian distribution inside Gaza remains compromised. Some aid has entered, with community kitchens resupplied to some extent — about 660,000 meals prepared and delivered through 137 kitchens last Sunday.

But delivering aid to people depends on obtaining permission to collect and distribute it.

“Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t,” Mr. Laerke said, citing lack of facilitation by the Israeli side or other obstacles.

The UN noted that on Sunday more than 40 per cent of humanitarian missions requiring Israeli military coordination were denied.

“A lot of the aid that has come in recently has been taken off the trucks by desperate people and, in some cases, by armed groups,” Mr. Laerke added.

Calling the situation “chaotic”, he underlined the “absolute” need for a ceasefire so that humanitarians can resume “a proper and well-coordinated, well-supplied aid operation”.