Rafah Crossing, Egypt, March 23 (Reuters/GNA) – A long line of blocked relief trucks on Egypt’s side of the border with the Gaza Strip where people face starvation is a moral outrage, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said during a visit to the Rafah crossing on Saturday.
It was time for Israel to give an “ironclad commitment” for unfettered access to humanitarian goods throughout Gaza, said Guterres, who also called for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire and the release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza.
The U.N. would continue to work with Egypt to “streamline” the flow of aid into Gaza, he told reporters in front of the gate of the Rafah crossing, an entry point for aid.
“Here from this crossing, we see the heartbreak and heartlessness of it all. A long line of blocked relief trucks on one side of the gates, the long shadow of starvation on the other,” he said.
“That is more than tragic. It is a moral outrage.”
The visit by Guterres comes as Israel faces global pressure to allow more humanitarian aid into Gaza, which has been devastated by more than five months of war between Israel and Hamas.
GNA/Credit: Reuters