Full transcript of UN Secretary-General's press encounter on Gaza

Today, the world received the latest IPC report on food security in Gaza.

Famine has been pushed back.

Far more people are able to access the food they need to survive.

We are preparing more than 1.5 million hot meals every day and delivering general food assistance packages across Gaza.

Clean water is reaching more communities.

Some health facilities have reopened.

And in the wake of the brutal winter storms, we acted immediately to provide tents, blankets, clothing and other support.

This is a testament to the hard work of humanitarians and Member States, along with growing cooperation with the Civil-Military Coordination Center.

But gains are fragile — perilously so.

And 1.6 million people in Gaza — more than 75 percent of the population — are projected to face extreme levels of acute food insecurity and critical malnutrition risks.

It breaks my heart to see the ongoing scale of human suffering in Gaza.

Families are enduring the unendurable.

Children are forced to sleep in flooded tents.

Buildings — already battered by bombardment — are collapsing under the weight of rain and wind, claiming more civilian lives.

Water and sanitation services, hospitals, and bakeries are struggling to recover from destruction, supply shortages, and continued restrictions on what can enter.

And in more than half of Gaza, where Israeli troops remain deployed, farmland and entire neighbourhoods are out of reach.

Strikes and hostilities continue, pushing the civilian toll of this war even higher and exposing our teams to grave danger.

Since October, we have done everything possible to keep lifelines open.

Supporting bakeries. Delivering millions of meals. Reopening nutrition centres. Rehabilitating hospitals. Vaccinating children. Clearing rubble. Restoring water lines.

But needs are growing faster than aid can get in.

We need a truly durable ceasefire.

We need more crossings, the lifting of restrictions on critical items, the removal of red tape, safe routes inside Gaza, sustained funding, and unimpeded access – including for NGOs.

And we cannot lose sight of the rapidly deteriorating situation in the West Bank.

Palestinians there face escalating Israeli settler violence, land seizures, demolitions and intensified movement restrictions.

Tens of thousands have been displaced following operations by Israeli forces in the northern West Bank.

International law – including international humanitarian law and international human rights law -- must be upheld across the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem.

The International Court of Justice indicated provisional measures. These are binding and must be implemented.

The Court’s Advisory Opinion of 22 October 2025 was clear: Israel is under the obligation to allow and facilitate humanitarian aid, to cooperate with the United Nations in carrying out our mandates, and to respect the privileges and immunities of the United Nations and its personnel, including in times of armed conflict.

I reiterate my support for UNRWA, which plays an indispensable role in serving the Palestinian people — in Gaza and elsewhere in the region.

This is a crisis born of human decisions.

It can be resolved through human choices – if there is the political will to act.

The perverse and prolonged suffering must end.

Palestinians need a horizon of hope.

The ceasefire must be implemented in full.

The endless cycle of violence must be broken.

And the way must be cleared to an irreversible path to a two-state solution.

Thank you.

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Question: Mr. Secretary-General, good morning. Gabriel Elizondo from Al Jazeera English. Mr. Secretary-General, Israel indicated yesterday that they will not move to phase two of the ceasefire agreement until one final remains of one final person is returned to Israel. They're looking for those remains, but my question to you, sir, is, do you see any reason not to move to stage two of this deal, ceasefire agreement, right now?

Secretary-General: I think that it is essential to move to phase two, and I don't think that we should have any pretext to avoid it.

I believe, obviously, that it is very important that the [human remains] that are still missing are found and given back to their family. But at the same time, I think it's very important to move with the peace process as a whole.

And it’s not only phase two, it's to make sure that phase one, and namely the ceasefire, are fully implemented.

Question: Yes, Secretary-General, a question on Venezuela. A couple of days ago, you had a phone call with the Venezuelan president. How do you assess the current situation now, and what can the United Nations do to mitigate the situation?

Secretary-General: The situation is obviously very tense. That is why we have been consistently appealing for deescalation, for dialogue, and for international law to be fully respected.