News - Middle East: United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has warned that the “fragile” ceasefire in the besieged Gaza Strip is “repeatedly violated” but still “holding”, urging both sides to fully respect it and move toward renewed peace talks.

Speaking at UN headquarters in New York on Wednesday, Guterres said that “the ceasefire in Gaza is fragile, is repeatedly violated, but it is holding.”

He also strongly appealed for the ceasefire “to be fully respected and to pave the way for the negotiations of phase two, leading to the creation of the conditions for the self-determination of the Palestinian people and the creation of the two-state solution.”

Guterres also noted that humanitarian operations in Gaza are expanding despite restrictions, saying, “We are indeed, at the present moment, substantially increasing our humanitarian aid in Gaza,” adding that “the next steps for the UN will be, of course, defined by the Security Council.”

The ceasefire deal was reached between the Israeli regime and Gaza’s Hamas resistance movement in early October, brokered by US President Donald Trump.

Hamas has time and again condemned the repeated violations of the ceasefire by the Israeli military and also lambasted Tel Aviv’s continued closure of the Rafah crossing in southern Gaza, which is the territory’s lifeline, as another instance of the regime’s refusal to keep its end of the bargain.

Israel has so far killed nearly 70,000 Palestinians since launching the genocidal war on Gaza on October 7, 2023, before the ceasefire deal took effect on October 10. 

Human rights experts and observers have denounced the ongoing bloodshed as a clear indication of the continuation of the genocidal pattern.

The initial phase of Trump’s 20-point Gaza ceasefire plan saw a prisoner exchange, but further stages have not been negotiated yet.

Source: Press TV