UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on Monday for an “immediate humanitarian ceasefire” in the Gaza Strip as fighting between Israel and Hamas passed the 100-day milestone.
“We need an urgent humanitarian ceasefire. To ensure that sufficient aid reaches where it is needed. To facilitate the release of the hostages. To put out the flames of a wider war, because the longer the conflict in Gaza lasts, the greater the risk of escalation and wrong assessments,” said Guterres at a press conference in New York.
Meanwhile, Hamas broadcast a new video purportedly showing the dead bodies of two Israeli hostages, AFP reported.
In the absence of confirmation from Israeli authorities, AFP is not naming the hostages it claims are in the videos.
The video also allegedly shows a third Israeli hostage saying that the two hostages were “killed in IDF strikes,” referring to Israeli airstrikes. That information also could not be confirmed.
About half of the 240 hostages taken by Hamas in its incursion into southern Israel on October 7, 2023, were released during a brief truce in November, but Israel says 132 hostages remain in Gaza and 25 have died in captivity.
