Guyana urges UN to act against Israeli plan to take control of Gaza City

Guyana has joined calls for the United Nations to press Israel to reverse a cabinet decision to take control of Gaza City by October 7, 2025 — a move that would displace thousands of Palestinians and, according to critics, end prospects for a two-state solution.

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Guyana’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, told the Security Council on Sunday that the planned occupation could threaten both regional and global stability.

“We, the Security Council, must respond to the fact that over 61,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since October 7, and this number increases every single day,” Rodrigues-Birkett said.

While reiterating Guyana’s condemnation of the October 7 attacks against Israel by Hamas, she stressed that no attack can justify “collective punishment” of Gaza’s civilian population.

Guyana’s demands include reversing the occupation plan, agreeing to an immediate and permanent ceasefire, withdrawing to pre-1967 borders as set out in UN resolutions and the International Court of Justice advisory opinion, and ensuring unrestricted humanitarian access so aid can flow “rapidly and safely” to civilians in need.

Rodrigues-Birkett also warned that existing relief delivery plans were inadequate and could endanger both civilians and humanitarian workers, and she urged the release of all hostages.

Two senior UN officials also sounded the alarm over the Israeli cabinet’s approval of a fresh offensive aimed at full military control of Gaza City — home to about one million Palestinians. They warned the move would risk “another horrific chapter” of mass displacement, death, and destruction.

Miroslav Jenča, UN Assistant Secretary-General for Europe, Central Asia and the Americas, said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s proposed plan to “defeat Hamas” and establish a civilian administration neither tied to Hamas nor the Palestinian Authority risked “yet another dangerous escalation” destabilising the entire region.

“If these plans are implemented, they will likely trigger another calamity in Gaza, reverberating across the region and causing further forced displacement, killings, and destruction – compounding the unbearable suffering of the population,” Jenča said, calling for an immediate, unconditional ceasefire, the release of all hostages, and full compliance with international humanitarian law.

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Ramesh Rajasingham, a senior UN humanitarian affairs official, warned that hunger-related deaths in Gaza are already on the rise, even before any new mass displacement.

“Whatever lifelines remain are collapsing under the weight of sustained hostilities, forced displacement, and insufficient levels of life-saving aid,” he said.

Rajasingham, who heads the UN humanitarian affairs coordination office in Geneva, said he was deeply concerned about the “prolonged conflict and further human toll that is likely to unfold” if Israel proceeds with expanding its military operations in Gaza.