The UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres called today Monday for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in the Gaza Strip after more than 100 days of war between Israel and Hamas.

“We continue to call for rapid, safe, unimpeded, expanded and continued humanitarian access to the Gaza Strip,” Antonio Guterres told reporters, adding that “nothing can justify the collective punishment inflicted on the Palestinian people “.

The war erupted after an unprecedented October 7 attack by Hamas from the Gaza Strip that killed nearly 1,140 people on the Israeli side, mostly civilians killed that day, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli data.

Since then 24,100 Palestinians – mostly women, young children and teenagers – have been killed in the Gaza Strip by Israeli shelling and military operations, according to the latest tally from the Hamas Health Ministry.

The 2.4 million Palestinians crowded into this small enclave, nearly 2 million of whom have been forced to flee their homes, are deprived of everything. The cold prevailing in the region makes their survival even more difficult. “The specter of hunger looms over the population of Gaza,” the UN secretary-general said today.

The immediate humanitarian ceasefire is necessary, he said, “to ensure the provision of adequate assistance to those in need” but also “to facilitate the release of hostages”.

Almost 250 people were taken hostage on October 7, and 132 remain hostages in Gaza, of whom at least 25 have been killed, according to Israeli authorities. More than 100 were released during the ceasefire in late November.

Guterres also expressed concern about the conflict spilling over into neighboring Lebanon, or beyond, calling for a ceasefire “to dampen the flames of an expanded conflict”.

“The longer the conflict in Gaza continues, the more it grows the risk of escalation and miscalculations”warned the general secretary.