UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Sunday warned the situation in Hamas-ruled Gaza is declining rapidly as he repeated desperate appeals for a ceasefire to end the “nightmare” of bloodshed.

“The situation in Gaza is growing more desperate by the hour. I regret that instead of a critically needed humanitarian pause, supported by the international community, Israel has intensified its military operations,” Guterres said on a visit to Nepal’s capital Kathmandu.

US says burden on Israel to distinguish between Hamas, Gaza civilians

Israel must do all it can to protect innocent people in Gaza by distinguishing between Hamas militants and the civilians in the embattled Palestinian territory, the White House warned Sunday.

“There is a burden, as I said before and as the president has said, on Israel to take the necessary steps to distinguish between Hamas, who does not represent the Palestinian people, and innocent Palestinian civilians,” US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said on CNN talk show State of the Union.

Sullivan added that President Joe Biden will call Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later Sunday to reiterate the US position that civilians must be protected.

Sunak and Macron stress need for urgent aid in Gaza

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday underlined the importance of shipping urgent humanitarian support into war-torn Gaza, the UK government said.

They spoke by telephone following the expansion of Israel’s military operation against Hamas and expressed “their shared concern at the risk of escalation in the wider region”, said a Downing Street spokesperson.

Hamas militants launched a surprise attack on Israel on October 7, killing at least 1,400 people, mostly civilians, according to Israeli officials.

Since the attack, the health ministry in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip says more than 8,000 Palestinians have been killed – half of them children – by Israel’s relentless retaliatory bombardments.

“The leaders stressed the importance of getting urgent humanitarian support into Gaza,” said the readout of the conversation between Sunak and Macron.

“They agreed to work together on efforts both to get crucial food, fuel, water and medicine to those who need it, and to get foreign nationals out.”

The pair updated each other on the conversations they have had with leaders in the region “to stress the importance of working to ensure regional stability.”

“They expressed their shared concern at the risk of escalation in the wider region, in particular in the West Bank,” the readout added.

Sunak and Macron also “agreed that it was important not to lose sight of the long-term future of the region and, in particular, the need for a two-state solution”.

“They underscored that Hamas does not represent ordinary Palestinians and that their barbarism should not undermine the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people,” Number 10 said.

According to France’s presidential office, the pair also reaffirmed Israel’s right to defend itself within the limits of international law.