New York, 13 October 2023 (dpa/MIA) - UN Secretary-General António Guterres has called for immediate humanitarian access to Gaza.

"Even wars have rules," Guterres told reporters in New York on Friday before attending a UN Security Council meeting on the conflict behind closed doors.

"We need immediate humanitarian access throughout Gaza, so that we can get fuel, food and water to everyone in need," he said, of the Israeli blockade of the coastal enclave.

Guterres also spoke out explicitly against the Israeli military's call for a mass evacuation of the northern Gaza Strip. Such a move, which would affect some 1.1 million people in the densely populated Palestinian territory, would be "extremely dangerous - and in some cases simply not possible," Guterres said.

He also called for the immediate release of all hostages taken into Gaza by the Islamist Hamas.

In addition, Guterres called for people to speak out against anti-Semitism, anti-Muslim bigotry and hatred of all kinds that is being fuelled by the conflict.

"This is a time for the international community to come together around protecting civilians and finding a lasting solution to this unending cycle of death and destruction."

Photo: MIA Archive