UN chief says 7 October attack did not happen in a vaccuum

Antonio Guterres, secretary general of the United Nations.

At a meeting of the United Nations Security Council in New York, secretary general Antonio Guterres said that "the 7 October attack by Hamas on Israel "did not happen in a vacuum”.

Guterres added “The Palestinian people been subjected to 56 years of suffocating occupation. They have seen their lands steadily devolved by settlements and plagued by violence. Their economy stifled. Their people displaced and their homes demolished. Their hopes for a political solution to their plight have been vanishing."

But he also said: "the grievances of the Palestinian people cannot justify the appalling attacks by Hamas and those appalling attacks cannot justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people”.

Israeli ambassador to UN calls for Guterres to resign

Israel's ambassador to the United Nations, Gilad Erdan, has demanded UN chief Antonio Guterres resign after Guterres said the Hamas attacks did not happen in a "vacuum".

Erdan said: "There is no justification or point in talking to those who show understanding for the most terrible acts committed against the citizens of Israel — no less by a declared terrorist organisation".

On X, the ambassador said: "I call on [Guterres] to resign immediately." - BBC News

BBC Summary

The UN's agency looking after Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) says it could be forced to end operations in the Gaza Strip “as of tomorrow night” if more fuel doesn't arrive.

People in Gaza would face more misery if it was forced to wind up its work, a spokeswoman told the BBC.

Israel has laid siege to Gaza for more than two weeks. Some supplies reached the territory over the weekend, though no fuel - and Israel has accused Hamas of stockpiling it.

Earlier, one of two hostages freed by Hamas on Monday gave a press conference saying: "I went through hell, that I could not have known".

Speaking to the media with her daughter from a hospital in Tel Aviv, 85-year-old Yocheved Lifschitz described how she was kidnapped by Hamas gunmen on motorbikes. Her husband is still being held.

Israel continued its heavy bombing of Gaza overnight - the Hamas-run health ministry says almost 5,800 have been killed since 7 October.

More than 1,400 were killed in the attacks on Israel by Hamas gunmen who raided communities near the border, targeting civilians.