UN warns Middle East at ‘most dangerous juncture’ in decades
Palestinian residents, carrying their personal belongings with them, are on their way to migrate for safer areas following the Israeli army's orders evacuation of the area called D5 in Gaza City, Gaza on October 12, 2024. (AA Photo)
The United Nations’ special coordinator for Middle East peace warned Tuesday that the region is at its “most dangerous juncture” in decades, as the war between Israel and Iran-backed groups risks spiraling into a broader conflict.
Tor Wennesland told the U.N. Security Council that “we have now entered the second year of this horrific conflict, and the region is on the verge of yet another serious escalation.”
His remarks come days after Israel carried out airstrikes on military sites in Iran in response to Tehran’s missile attack on Oct. 1. That attack was retaliation for the killing of Iran-backed militant leaders and a Revolutionary Guards commander.
“Every effort — by all of us — must be made to de-escalate the situation and establish a different trajectory toward greater peace and stability in the region,” Wennesland said.
More than a year after Hamas’s unprecedented attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2022, which triggered the devastating war in Gaza, deadly violence “shows no signs of abating,” Wennesland said. The conflict has now extended to Lebanon.
“We are witnessing not only a horrific humanitarian nightmare, but a rapidly accelerated unraveling of the prospects for a sustainable resolution to this conflict,” he said.
‘Devastation inflicts on population’
Wennesland visited Gaza last week and saw “the sheer magnitude of the devastation this war has inflicted on the population.”
He noted the immense destruction of residential buildings, roads, hospitals, and schools, stating that thousands are living in makeshift tents with nowhere else to go as winter approaches.
According to the Palestinian health ministry, Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed at least 43,020 Palestinians in Gaza, most of them civilians, triggering warnings of a humanitarian catastrophe.
During the Oct. 7 attack, Palestinian militants seized 251 hostages, including soldiers and civilians, of whom 97 remain in Gaza. The Israeli military says 34 of them are dead.
The attack resulted in the deaths of 1,206 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.
In Lebanon, at least 1,700 people have been killed since Sept. 23, when fighting escalated as Israel launched an air and ground offensive against Hezbollah, which had been conducting rocket attacks in support of Hamas, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.
