Humanitarian organisations express cautious hope truce deal will allow to scale up aid from 18 to 500 truckloads a day
The UN secretary general, António Guterres, has said the Middle East is undergoing a “profound transformation” and has urged all countries to ensure the region emerges from the turbulence with peace and “a horizon of hope grounded in action.”
Speaking at a meeting of the UN security council on Monday, he said that “a new dawn is rising in Lebanon,” which he just visited. He said it was vital that Israeli troops withdraw from southern Lebanon and the Lebanese army deploy there as required in the ceasefire agreement.
In Gaza, he urged Israel and Hamas to ensure that their newly agreed deal leads to a permanent ceasefire and the release of all hostages taken during the Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 250 taken hostage.
Guterres said the ceasefire must allow scaled-up aid deliveries, Palestinians’ access to aid, and protection of civilians. He stressed that the agreement must also allow Unrwa, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, access to deliver aid to the devastated territory.
