The meeting brings together foreign ministers and world representatives in the midst of the worsening situation of civilians in Gaza, the hostilities in the Red Sea or the West Bank and the rise in tensions between Iraq and Iran.

António Guterres will be among the speakers following his recent calls to redouble efforts to prevent the conflict from spreading further at the summits of the Non-Aligned Movement and the G77 and China.

Guterres assured that he will not relent in his call for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire and the unconditional release of all hostages in the Strip, and described as unacceptable the refusal to accept the two-state solution between Israel and Palestine and the lack of the right to a state for the people of the illegally occupied territories.

“Israel’s military operations have spread massive destruction and killed civilians on an unprecedented scale during my tenure as secretary general,” he stressed, adding that denying the right to statehood to the Palestinian people would indefinitely prolong a conflict that has become a major threat to global peace and security; it would exacerbate polarization; and would embolden extremists everywhere.

Other speakers will be the Foreign Minister of Russia, Sergei Lavrov; from Türkiye, Hakan Fidan; and from France, Stéphane Séjourné.

United Nations figures estimate that at least 1.7 million people have been displaced within the Gaza Strip, while 335 died and 1,161 were injured in the facilities of the UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees. The health authorities of the Gaza Strip estimate the total number of deaths due to the intense attacks at more than 25,000, while almost 63,000 were injured.

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