51 Palestinians killed as Israel continues to bombard Gaza

UN chief says world should not be intimidated by Israel

GAZA: At least 51 people killed, including 43 in Gaza City, as Israeli forces continue to bombard Gaza.
The Palestinian Civil Defence says nearly half of Gaza City’s population, or about 450,000 people, have fled the area since Israel launched its major operation there in August.
UN chief Antonio Guterres says Gaza is experiencing the “worst level of death and destruction” he has seen in his lifetime and calls on the international community not to be “intimidated” by Israel.
Israel’s war on Gaza has killed at least 65,208 people and wounded 166,271 since October 2023. Thousands more are believed to be buried under the rubble.

Meanwhile, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said that the world should not be “intimidated” by Israel and its creeping annexation of the occupied West Bank.
In an interview at UN headquarters in New York, he also called for more ambitious climate action saying that efforts to limit global warming to 1.5 Celsius above pre-industrial levels were at risk of “collapsing.”
Guterres spoke ahead of the UN’s signature high-level week at which 10 countries will recognize a Palestinian state, according to France — over fierce Israeli objections.
The meeting of more than 140 heads of state and government, which paralyzes a corner of Manhattan for a week each year, will likely be dominated by the future of the Palestinians and the war in Gaza.
Israel has reportedly threatened to annex the West Bank if Western nations press ahead with the recognition plan at the UN gathering.
But Guterres said, “We should not feel intimidated by the risk of retaliation.”
“With or without doing what we are doing, these actions would go on and at least there is a chance to mobilize international community to put pressure for them not to happen,” he said.
“What we are witnessing in Gaza is horrendous,” Guterres said as Israel threatened “unprecedented force” in its ongoing assault on Gaza City.
“It is the worst level of death and destruction that I’ve seen my time as Secretary-General, probably my life and the suffering of the Palestinian people cannot be described — famine, total lack of effective health care, people living without adequate shelters in huge concentration areas,” he said.
Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has called for annexation of swaths of the West Bank with an aim to “bury the idea of a Palestinian state” after several countries joined the French push on statehood.
But Israel’s staunch ally the United States has held back from any criticism of the war in Gaza or vows to annex the West Bank — and excoriated its allies who have vowed to recognize a Palestinian state.
Also on the agenda will be efforts to combat climate change which Guterres warned are floundering.
Guterres said efforts to cap climate warming at 1.5 Celsius above pre-industrial levels were in trouble.
The climate goals for 2035 of the countries that signed the Paris Agreement, also known as Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), were initially expected to be submitted several months ago.
However, uncertainties related to geopolitical tensions and trade rivalries have slowed the process.
“We are on the verge of this objective collapsing,” he said. “We absolutely need countries to come… with climate action plans that are fully aligned with 1.5 degrees (Celsius), that cover the whole of their economies and the whole of their greenhouse gas emissions,” he said. Monitoring Desk