Cairo : UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres visited a hospital in Al Arish, Egypt, on Saturday and expressed grief over the situation of Palestinian people being treated there.
He said that it is "impossible not to feel heartbroken" and reiterated the demand for a ceasefire in Gaza amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.
"Today I met with Palestinian civilians at the General Hospital in Al Arish, Egypt. It's impossible not to feel heartbroken by the accounts of those injured or separated from their families. It's time for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire. It's time to silence the guns," the UN chief posted on X.
Hamas launched a massive terror attack on Israel on October 7, killing over 1200 people and holding more than 250 as hostages, out of which around 130 are still in captivity.
In response, Israel launched a strong counteroffensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. However, the operation has resulted in massive casualties. According to the Gaza health ministry, more than 32,000 people have been killed in the attack.
Despite repeated calls for ceasefire, Israel has continued with its vow to "completely destroy" Hamas and has also affirmed its plan of a ground operation in Rafah, which many including the US have warned can have catastrophic consequences in the region.
A recent UN-backed report warned that famine looms large over northern Gaza, where more than 1 million people are on the brink of starvation, CNN reported.
The dire situation, exacerbated by acute hunger affecting 70 per cent of the population, paints a grim picture of imminent catastrophe. With half of Gaza's 2.2 million inhabitants facing severe food shortages, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) projects famine could strike the north between mid-March and May 2024.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed grave concern, labelling the situation as the "worst-ever" recorded in terms of catastrophic hunger.