UN chief 'concerned', Security Council to meet on Gaza
The United Nations Security Council is due to meet on Sunday after Palestinian Islamist group Hamas launched the biggest attack on Israel in years on Saturday, diplomats said. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the attack by Hamas and urged "all diplomatic efforts to avoid a wider conflagration, UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said in a statement. "The Secretary-General is deeply concerned for the civilian population and urges maximum restraint. Civilians must be respected and protected in accordance with international humanitarian law at all times," Dujarric said. Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said his country called for the emergency meeting to address the crisis. Brazil, which assumed the Security Council's rotating presidency this month, condemned the surprise Hamas attack. A statement from the South American country's foreign ministry also reaffirmed a commitment to a "two-state solution," with Palestinians and Israelis coexisting within mutually agreed and internationally recognised borders. "Brazil will spare no efforts to prevent an escalation of the conflict, including during its tenure as President of the UN Security Council," Lula wrote on the social media platform X. The coordinated Hamas operation, which included gunmen crossing into Israel as well as the firing of a barrage of rockets from Gaza, was the biggest attack on Israel in years. Israel said the Iran-backed group's militants had attacked several Israeli towns and military bases near Gaza. (Reuters)