In a press appearance, Guterres and Von der Leyen called for more aid to enter the enclave and stated that the civilians’ conditions are unacceptable.

More than half of the population -over one million people- face catastrophic hunger, according to the recently published scientific classification, the UN chief recalled after calling for “action now

before it is too late¨.

Guterres called on the Israeli authorities to ensure complete and unrestricted access to humanitarian goods and urged the international community to fully support the agency’s efforts.

“We must continue to do everything possible to stop killing, achieve an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, and secure the unconditional release of the hostages,” he stressed.

Von der Leyen, in turn, deemed it essential to achieve a cessation of hostilities after describing the situation in the Strip as unacceptable.

The two officials met in Brussels on the eve of the two-day summit of the European Council.

The meeting will focus on the ongoing conflicts in Ukraine, the crisis in the Middle East, and regional security and defense issues.

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