NEW YORK, November 19, 2025 (WAFA) — UN Secretary-General António Guterres issued a message on the occasion of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, observed annually on November 29, emphasizing the urgent need for justice, humanitarian aid, and an end to the occupation.
Guterres said this year’s commemoration comes after two years of devastating suffering in Gaza, compounded by the recent onset of a ceasefire. Tens of thousands of people have been killed, nearly a third of them children, with thousands more injured.
The UN Secretary-General also condemned continuing injustices in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, citing Israeli military attacks, settler violence, settlement expansion, evictions, demolitions, and threats of annexation. He explained that hundreds of humanitarian workers, mostly Palestinian UN staff, have been killed, marking the largest loss of personnel in UN history, while journalist casualties have surpassed those in any conflict since World War II.
“The killing of so many civilians, the repeated displacement of an entire population, and the obstruction of humanitarian aid should never be acceptable under any circumstances,” Guterres said.
The recent ceasefire offers a “glimmer of hope,” he added, calling on all parties to respect it fully and work toward solutions that uphold international law.
Guterres stressed the urgent need for life-saving humanitarian aid to enter Gaza and reaffirmed support for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), describing it as an irreplaceable lifeline for millions of Palestinians.
He reiterated his call for an end to the “unlawful occupation of Palestinian territory,” in line with International Court of Justice and UN General Assembly rulings, and urged irreversible progress toward a two-State solution, with Israel and Palestine living side by side in peace within secure and recognized borders based on pre-1967 lines, and Jerusalem serving as the capital of both states.
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