UN Secretary-General António Guterres renewed his call to stand with the Palestinian people and support their legitimate right to self-determination and the establishment of their independent state, affirming that recent years have brought Palestinians unprecedented levels of pain and loss.
In a statement published on the UN’s official website on Wednesday, marking the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People on 29 November, Guterres noted that this occasion comes after “two heavy years of profound suffering,” followed by the beginnings of a desperately needed ceasefire in Gaza — in the context of what he clearly described as a genocide committed by “Israel” against civilians there.
He said that Palestinians who survived in Gaza now live a devastating reality: tens of thousands have been killed — a large proportion of them is children — while those who remain face hunger, disease, and psychological collapse after their homes, schools, and healthcare facilities were reduced to rubble.
The Secretary-General did not overlook the daily violence faced by Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, including Al-Quds: military raids, settler attacks, settlement expansion, forced displacement, and home demolitions, in addition to the ongoing threat of annexation.
Guterres also highlighted the tremendous loss among humanitarian workers, reminding that hundreds of those killed during the assault were relief personnel, most of them UN staff, in what he described as “the gravest tragedy in the organization’s history.”
He further pointed out that the number of journalists killed during the usurping entity’s assault surpassed any previous toll since World War II, with 255 media workers documented as martyred while covering events in Gaza.
Guterres concluded his message by saying: “Let us learn from the Palestinian people the meaning of resilience and hope, and let us raise our voices in support of their rights to dignity, justice, and self-determination.”
