WASHINGTON

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Tuesday the destruction the people in Gaza have been enduring is on a scale not known in “recent history." 

Guterres said at a UN Security Council session on the situation in Gaza that the last 100 days have been "heartbreaking and catastrophic" for civilians in Gaza.

"The entire population of Gaza is enduring destruction at a scale and speed without parallel in recent history. Nothing can justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people," said Guterres.

The UN chief called the humanitarian situation in Gaza "appalling."

"Everyone in Gaza is hungry, with a quarter of Gaza’s population, more than half a million people, grappling with catastrophic levels of food insecurity," he said.

Diseases

Guterres said nearly 1.5 million people are crammed inside the Rafah governorate.

"Disease is spreading as the health system collapses. Only 16 of Gaza’s 36 hospitals are even partly functional," said Guterres. "That means the people of Gaza not only risk being killed or injured by relentless bombardments; they also run a growing chance of contracting infectious diseases like hepatitis A, dysentery, cholera."

He also said more crossing points into Gaza are needed to reduce congestion and avoid chokepoints.

"I call for rapid, safe, unhindered, expanded and sustained humanitarian access throughout Gaza," he said.

Israel has mounted a deadly offensive on the Gaza Strip since a cross-border attack by the Palestinian resistance group, Hamas, which Tel Aviv said killed 1,200 people.

At least 25,490 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and 63,354 injured, according to Palestinian health authorities.