UNITED NATIONS — UN Secretary-General António Guterres has formally urged the Security Council to act immediately to prevent what he calls a “severe risk of humanitarian collapse” in Gaza. His appeal comes under Article 99 of the UN Charter, a rarely used provision granting the secretary-general the authority to warn of threats to international peace and security.
This is the first time Guterres has invoked Article 99 since taking office in 2017. His written request to the Security Council president on December 6 described Gaza’s situation as rapidly deteriorating, with dire consequences for civilians and broader regional stability.
“I urge the members of the Security Council to press to avert a humanitarian catastrophe,” Guterres wrote. He warned that continuing Israeli airstrikes, combined with the near-total breakdown of essential services, could lead to public disorder, outbreaks of disease, and mass displacement across borders.
Only nine previous UN secretaries-general have used Article 99 since the Charter was adopted in 1945. The last known invocation occurred decades ago, underscoring the urgency of Guterres’s message.
Israel’s ambassador to the UN, Gilad Erdan, strongly condemned the appeal. “Today, the secretary-general has reached a new moral low,” Erdan said. He accused Guterres of siding with Hamas and argued that calls for a ceasefire would enable the group to regroup.
“The distorted positions of the secretary-general only prolong the fighting in Gaza,” Erdan said. “They give hope to the Hamas terrorists that the war will be stopped and they will be able to survive.”
Israel’s Security Cabinet has authorized a limited supply of fuel into Gaza to address what it acknowledged was a mounting humanitarian crisis. The Prime Minister’s office said the goal is to “prevent a humanitarian collapse and the outbreak of epidemics,” though it added that the fuel quota would be reviewed continually by the Cabinet based on conditions on the ground.
The crisis follows Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel, which killed 1,200 people and resulted in the capture of 240 hostages. Some hostages were released during a short truce in November.
In response, Israel launched an extensive military campaign across Gaza. The Hamas-run Health Ministry claims the death toll in Gaza has now exceeded 16,200, including around 7,000 children. These figures have not been independently verified, but the scale of destruction and civilian deaths has drawn global concern.
Meanwhile, a U.S. Senate bill that included new security aid for Israel failed to pass after Republican lawmakers blocked the measure. The stalled funding comes as international agencies, including the UN, continue to report acute shortages of food, water, fuel, and medical supplies in Gaza.
Guterres’s move signals growing pressure on the Security Council to act, though divisions remain over a unified response. The situation remains fluid, with both humanitarian conditions and military operations shifting by the hour.
