Senior UN Officials: The War in Gaza Must Stop

As the number of Palestinian casualties in the Gaza Strip rises, several senior officials from the United Nations stated on Monday, November 6, that "enough is enough" and called for a humanitarian ceasefire. Israel has rejected increasing international pressure for a ceasefire, stating that hostages taken by Hamas militants during the October 7 attack on southern Israel must be released first. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated on Sunday, November 5, during a visit to an air force base that Israel will not agree to a ceasefire in Gaza unless Hamas releases the hostages it has taken. He said, "Remove this [word 'ceasefire'] from the vocabulary. We tell both our enemies and our friends this. We will continue until we defeat them. We have no other option." Hamas killed at least 1,400 Israelis, mostly civilians, in the October 7 attack and kidnapped around 240 Israelis and foreign nationals, including children, women, and the elderly. The United States, Canada, the European Union, Japan, Israel, and several other countries have classified Hamas as a terrorist organization. Eighteen signatories of the UN statement, including Volker Turk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Tedros Adhanom, Director-General of the World Health Organization, and Martin Griffiths, UN Humanitarian Coordinator, stated: "The entire population of Gaza is besieged and under attack, deprived of access to essential necessities for survival, and being bombed in their homes, shelters, hospitals, and places of worship. This is unacceptable." They added: "We need an immediate humanitarian ceasefire. It has been thirty days. Enough is enough." Meanwhile, Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Cornicus, a spokesperson for the Israeli army, showed aerial images of Hamas tunnels and missile sites in two hospitals in northern Gaza to reporters, stating that this clarifies that Israel is not responsible for "what is currently happening in northern Gaza." According to the Israeli army, the regime's attacks target "tunnels, military complexes, observation posts, and anti-tank missile launch sites." Although the Biden administration has called for a temporary halt to the war to advance negotiations in Qatar with Hamas and Israel for the release of hostages, it opposes a ceasefire. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated on Saturday in Amman, the capital of Jordan, during a press conference with the foreign ministers of Jordan and Egypt and the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Qatar, that "a ceasefire right now would only allow Hamas to survive, regroup, and repeat what it did on October 7." He added: "No nation, none of us will accept such a thing... Therefore, it is important to reaffirm Israel's right and duty to defend itself." The U.S. Central Command, which covers the Middle East, announced on social media that a nuclear-armed submarine has arrived in the region. According to Reuters, some analysts view this as a message to Iran, Israel's enemy. The Times of Israel, citing an Associated Press report, noted that the U.S. acknowledgment of the location of an Ohio-class submarine is very rare; as they represent part of the so-called American nuclear "triad," which also includes land-based ballistic missiles and nuclear bombs from strategic bombers. Israel announced that in response to a missile attack on its tanks that resulted in the death of an Israeli citizen, it targeted "positions of the terrorist group Hezbollah in southern Lebanon." Hezbollah also stated that it responded by firing missiles at the city of Kiryat Shmona in northern Israel. The Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah targeted an Israeli military vehicle across the border with guided missiles on Sunday, November 5, claiming that its crew was killed and wounded. The Israeli army confirmed in a statement the launch of an anti-tank missile from Lebanon towards the settlement of Yaftah in northern Israel, stating that it targeted the launch site but did not confirm casualties from this attack. Hezbollah also claimed to have launched several other missiles and destroyed Israeli equipment along the border. According to the Israeli army, the Iron Dome defense system intercepted a drone flying from Lebanon towards Israel. Earlier, Yoav Gallant, Israel's Defense Minister, warned Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah, during a visit to northern Israel amidst missile and rocket attacks from this Iran-backed group, not to "make a mistake." Gallant emphasized that "we have no desire to enter a war in the north, but we are ready for anything."