Secretary-General Calls for Restraint amid Spiralling Escalation, High Casualties in Occupied Palestinian Territory

The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for UN Secretary-General António Guterres:

The Secretary-General is gravely concerned by the serious escalations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel, including the latest escalation in Gaza, which add to the heightened tensions and violence in occupied East Jerusalem.

He is deeply saddened to learn of increasingly large numbers of casualties, including children, from Israeli airstrikes in Gaza, and of Israeli fatalities from rockets launched from Gaza.

The Secretary-General’s thoughts are with the families of the victims.

Israeli security forces must exercise maximum restraint and calibrate their use of force.  The indiscriminate launching of rockets and mortars towards Israeli population centres is unacceptable.

This spiralling escalation must cease immediately.

The United Nations is working with all relevant parties to de-escalate the situation urgently.