UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip, which began a year ago, continues to wreak havoc on the lives of Palestinians and cause them severe human suffering.

The UN Secretary-General stressed in a video message today, Sunday, on the occasion of the first anniversary of the Israeli war of extermination in the Gaza Strip, the need for the international community to focus on the "horrific events" that occurred on October 7, 2023.

"It is time to release the prisoners, silence the guns and stop the suffering that the region needs. Now is the time for peace, international law and justice," he added.

He stressed the "need never to stop working to reach a permanent solution to the conflict that enables Israel, Palestine and all other countries in the region to live in peace, dignity and respect for one another."

He stated that the Lebanese people had also suffered from the war, stressing the need to silence the weapons and stop the pain surrounding the region.

With absolute American support, Israel has been committing genocide in the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023, leaving more than 138,000 Palestinian dead and wounded, most of them children and women, and more than 10,000 missing, amid massive destruction and famine that has claimed the lives of dozens of children, in one of the worst humanitarian disasters in the world.

In contempt of the international community, Israel continues its war of extermination in Gaza, ignoring the UN Security Council resolution to stop it immediately, and the International Court of Justice’s orders to take measures to prevent acts of genocide and to improve the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip.