Photo: Collected
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres called the destruction level in the Gaza Strip unprecedented and urged Israel to respect the decisions of the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
"The problem is that the military operation has been conducted in such a way that the number of civilian casualties and the destruction of civilian infrastructure and housing are unprecedented with levels of destruction that are absolutely unacceptable," Guterres told Japanese news broadcaster NHK in an interview, published on Wednesday (29 May).
The UN chief called on Israel to respect the recent rulings of the ICJ which ordered Israel to stop the offensive.
"We are in a world where we must make sure that international law prevails, international humanitarian law prevails, the rule of law prevails and decisions of courts, universal courts are respected because they are binding. This is not an opinion. This is a decision that is binding, Israel must abide by the decision," Guterres added.
Guterres urged the international community to intervene in the conflict in order to release hostages and put an end to the civilian casualties, stressing importance of the two-states solution.
On Friday, the ICJ ordered Israel to halt its military operation in Rafah. ICJ President Nawaf Salam said that Israel must ensure unimpeded access to the enclave for the missions that are investigating the allegations of genocide, as well as humanitarian aid.
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