U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday urged an immediate cease-fire in Gaza after Israel announced the first steps of an operation to seize Gaza City.
"It is vital to reach immediately a cease-fire in Gaza," that was necessary "to avoid the death and destruction that a military operation against Gaza City would inevitably cause," Guterres said in Japan, where he is attending the Tokyo International Conference on African Development.
Israel, which has called up tens of thousands of army reservists, is pressing ahead with its plan to seize Gaza's biggest urban center despite international criticism of an operation likely to force the displacement of many more Palestinians. Israel currently holds about 75% of the Gaza Strip.
The war on Gaza was triggered by the Oct. 7 Hamas incursion, which caused around 1,200 deaths and took over 200 hostages, according to Israeli figures.
Israel's genocidal war, in comparison, has killed at least 61,000 Palestinians, according to the enclave's Health Ministry.
Guterres called for the unconditional release of hostages held by Hamas. He also urged Israel to reverse a decision to expand "illegal" settlement construction in the West Bank.
The Israeli settlement plan, which would bisect the occupied West Bank and cut it off from East Jerusalem, was announced last week and received the final go-ahead from a Defense Ministry planning commission Wednesday.
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry said the construction would isolate Palestinian communities living in the area and undermine the possibility of a two-state solution.
