UN chief ‘horrified’ by Gaza hospital blast that killed hundreds
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
BEIJING - United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Wednesday that he was “horrified” by a blast at a Gaza hospital that killed hundreds of people, strongly condemning the action.
Palestinian officials said an Israeli air strike hit the hospital, with the Palestinian Authority’s Health Minister accusing Israel of causing a “massacre”.
Israel blamed the blast at Al Ahli Arab Hospital on a failed rocket launch by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group, which denied responsibility.
Mr Guterres, speaking at the opening ceremony of the Belt and Road Forum in Beijing, condemned the Hamas attacks against civilians in Israel on Oct 7.
“But those attacks cannot justify the collective punishment of Palestinian people,” he added.
Before flying to the Chinese capital to attend the forum, he said he had appealed to Hamas for the immediate and unconditional release of hostages, and to Israel to allow immediate unrestricted access to humanitarian aid for the most basic needs of the people of Gaza.
He also called for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire and made appeals to “ease the epic human suffering”.
China’s Foreign Ministry echoed the UN chief’s call for an immediate ceasefire and an end to the fighting.
“China is shocked and strongly condemns the heavy casualties caused by the attack on the Gaza hospital,” a ministry spokesperson said.
Mr Guterres was in Beijing to attend President Xi Jinping’s ambitious global infrastructure initiative, with more than 20 world leaders in attendance.
The UN chief emphasised the need for the promotion of effective debt relief mechanisms to ensure that countries involved in the Belt and Road programme were not locked into unsustainable debt. Several partner nations have complained about the high cost of projects of the initiative, which was launched in 2013.
Some countries like the United States view the initiative as another move by China to expand its economic influence in certain parts of the world. REUTERS
