Gaza ceasefire discussed at UN Security Council

The UN Security Council met on Friday after its Secretary General António Guterres invoked article 99 of its charter – a step no one in his post has taken for decades.

The article allows the secretary general to bring to the council’s attention “any matter which in his opinion may threaten the maintenance of international peace and security”.

Guterres is seeking a “humanitarian ceasefire” to prevent “a catastrophe with potentially irreversible implications for Palestinians” and the entire Middle East.

“The people of Gaza are looking into the abyss. The international community must do everything possible to end their ordeal. I urge the council to spare no effort to push for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire for the protection of civilians and for the urgent delivery of life-saving aid”, he said.