Prime ministers, presidents, and other world leaders from around the world gathered in New York City this month for the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly.War in Gaza was one of the issues that topped the agenda of speeches – here are some snippets.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres
The speed and scale of the killing and destruction in Gaza are unlike anything in my years as secretary-general. More than 200 of our own staff have been killed, many with their families.
Gaza is a nonstop nightmare that threatens to take the entire region with it.
The international community must mobilise for an immediate ceasefire, the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages, and the beginning of an irreversible process towards a two-state solution.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva
In Gaza and the West Bank, we are witnessing one of the greatest humanitarian crises in recent history, now spreading dangerously to Lebanon.
[Israel’s response in the wake of the Hamas attacks on October 7] has become a collective punishment for the entire Palestinian people.
There are more than 40,000 fatal victims, most of them women and children.
The right to defence has become the right to revenge, which prevents an agreement to release hostages and postpones the ceasefire.
US President Joe Biden
Innocent civilians in Gaza are also going thro …