U.N. Chief Demands Immediate Cease-Fire in Gaza

Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at a rare U.N. demand for a cease-fire in Gaza, Italy’s withdrawal from China’s Belt and Road Initiative, and a new friendship between Turkey and Greece.

Calls for a Truce

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres urged the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday to declare an immediate, binding cease-fire in Gaza. He invoked Article 99 of the U.N. Charter, a rare diplomatic tool that allows the body’s chief to bring to the Security Council’s attention “any issue that may aggravate existing threats to the maintenance of international peace and security.” This is the first time that Guterres has used this authority since taking office in 2017.

“The international community has a responsibility to use all its influence to prevent further escalation and end this crisis,” Guterres said in a letter to the 15-nation council.

Guterres warned of “appalling human suffering, physical destruction and collective trauma” in Gaza that could have irreversible consequences for Palestinians. He condemned Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack on Israel and demanded an end to all violence against civilians. Without a cease-fire, he wrote, Gaza’s humanitarian system is at risk of collapse.

In response to Guterres’s letter, the United Arab Emirates circulated a short draft resolution in support of the U.N. chief’s request. “The situation in the Gaza Strip is catastrophic and close to irreversible,” the UAE’s U.N. mission wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “We cannot wait. The Council needs to act decisively to demand a humanitarian ceasefire.” The 22-nation Arab Group at the U.N. backed its call.

Israeli officials, however, were quick to condemn Guterres’s actions. Gilad Erdan, Israel’s ambassador to the U.N., accused Guterres of bias against Israel and said his actions represented a “new moral low” for the United Nations—adding to the growing list of criticisms Israel has had for the international body since war first broke out.

The U.S. deputy ambassador to the U.N. also warned against the Security Council’s involvement, saying it could inhibit on-the-ground diplomacy efforts. Regional leaders worry that this suggests the United States will veto any proposed cease-fire. Washington is one of five council members with veto authority and has remained Israel’s staunchest ally throughout the two-month conflict. However, Guterres’s rare invocation of Article 99 alone sends a strong message to the United States and Israel that the international community is serious about pushing for a cease-fire and puts more pressure on the Biden administration to urge Israel toward such an outcome.

In the meantime, Israel continued its heavy bombardment of Gaza’s largest cities. The Israel Defense Forces said it struck around 250 targets in a 24-hour period on Thursday, and it accused Hamas of firing a barrage of rockets from al-Mawasi along Gaza’s southern coast and surrounding areas. Israel instructed Palestinian civilians to evacuate to safe zones, but locals report strikes hitting these areas. According to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry, more than 17,100 Palestinians have been killed and 46,000 others wounded since the war began.

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What We’re Following

Quitting the BRI. Italy announced on Thursday that it would be leaving China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) after becoming the first and only major Western country to join the trade program in 2019. Upon taking office last year, far-right Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni vowed to withdraw from the deal after saying it had not produced the results that Rome had hoped. Still, Meloni said she wished to improve Italy’s economic cooperation with China.

Beijing did not single out Rome for its withdrawal but said China firmly opposes any “smearing and undermining” of BRI cooperation. More than 100 countries have signed on to the trade deal since it was launched in 2013, many of which are developing nations in the global south. Beijing has used the BRI as one of its primary tools to compete with Western economic dominance and become an indispensable partner for global development.

A new NATO friendship. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in Athens on Thursday to improve bilateral relations. Despite both countries being NATO allies, the two have long been rivals, and their disputes over territorial and maritime claims have brought them to the brink of war three times in the last 50 years. The two leaders agreed to double trade investment, keep lines of communication open, and improve military trust, among other areas of cooperation. “There is no issue between us that is unsolvable,” Erdogan said. “We want to turn the Aegean into a sea of peace” and serve as an example for the rest of the world.

The move coincides with Turkey’s efforts to improve its relations with Western partners as part of its bid for European Union membership. Greece, on the other hand, hopes warmer ties will improve its economy after a devastating debt crisis and strengthen its reputation as a stable power in the Mediterranean.

Destruction in East Africa. Seychelles declared a state of emergency on Thursday following a blast at an explosives warehouse. Nearly 200 people were injured, and numerous commercial buildings and homes were destroyed in the explosion, which took place on the main island of Mahé. State officials are investigating the cause of the blast.

The explosion followed heavy rains late Wednesday that sparked deadly mass flooding, which Seychelles’s president said also led to his decision to declare a state of emergency. At least three people died from the overnight floods. The government closed all schools on Thursday and ordered residents to remain home, as climate experts worry that the El Niño weather phenomenon will continue to have devastating effects on East Africa.

Odds and Ends

Snapping that perfect vacation picture to post on social media isn’t always worth it—especially when it means falling into the cold waters of a Venetian canal. At least, that’s what a group of tourists in Italy learned recently when their gondola capsized after they ignored calls to sit down and stop taking selfies. All passengers made it to dry land safely, but the mishap sparked renewed criticism of overburdened boats, which gondoliers say are struggling to hold “overweight” tourists.