The UN, ready to oversee a possible cease-fire in Gaza

2024-09-10 14:00:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Monday that the United Nations has expressed its willingness to help oversee a possible ceasefire to stop the Israel-Hamas fighting in Gaza, but that it is "unrealistic" to think that the world agency will directly administer territory or provide a peacekeeping force.

In an interview with the Associated Press news agency, he said that "the UN will be ready to support any ceasefire" but that he did not believe Israel would accept a wider role for the UN.

As the fighting continues for 11 months, Israel has accused a small number of UN staff of joining Hamas militants in the October 7 attack on Israel that triggered the conflict.

The United Nations has had a military observer mission in the Middle East, known as UNTSO, since 1948. Mr Guterres said the offer to oversee the ceasefire " was one of the options that has been put on the table".

But months of ceasefire talks have stalled.

"Of course, we will be ready to do whatever the international community asks of us," said Mr. Guterres. "The question is whether the parties would accept it, and in particular whether Israel would accept it."

Meanwhile, in another statement, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), Volker Türk, said that " ending the conflict in Gaza and preventing its escalation into a regional conflict is an absolute priority."

The Israeli military announced on Monday that it had carried out overnight strikes against buildings used by Hezbollah militants in southern Lebanon, the latest attack in cross-border clashes between the two sides that have fueled fears of a wider regional conflict.

In neighboring Syria, state media said Monday that airstrikes allegedly carried out by Israel killed at least 18 people and wounded about 40 others.

The war in Gaza was sparked by a Hamas attack on Israel on October 7 last year, which Israeli authorities say left 1,200 dead and 250 hostages.

Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed more than 40,900 Palestinians, mostly women and children, although the Israeli military says the death toll includes several thousand militants.

The United States, Qatar and Egypt have been trying for months to mediate a ceasefire and the release of hostages, but negotiations have repeatedly stalled./ VOA