Guterres calls for immediate ceasefire in Gaza

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, after Israel announced the first steps of an operation to seize control of Gaza city. “It is vital to reach immediately a ceasefire in Gaza” to avoid the death and destruction a military operation against Gaza city would cause, Mr Guterres said in Japan, where he is attending a conference on African development. He also called on Israel to reverse a decision to expand settlement construction in the occupied West Bank.