António Guterres, secretary-general of the United Nations, stated ahead of the third anniversary of Oct. 7 that the pain “endures for the families who lost loved ones, for survivors and for all those whose lives were forever changed.”
“Captors subjected the hostages to horrific abuse in captivity, including torture and other forms of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment and sexual violence,” Guterres stated. “These horrors must never be repeated.”
The outgoing U.N. head mentioned stories from former hostages “about the unthinkable torment they and other captives endured as they were held in Gaza in deplorable conditions and the anguish and uncertainty suffered by their families throughout their captivity.”
He also mentioned Israeli families, “whose worlds were shattered that day” and survivors, “who continue to carry deep physical and emotional scars.”
Tension has broken out between the U.N. chief and the Jewish state over Guterres’s harsh criticism of Israel and, in a message shortly after Oct. 7, appearing to justify the Hamas-led terror attacks.
In his new message, he noted what he said have been “the devastating hostilities that followed” the Oct. 7 attacks that have “inflicted untold suffering on Palestinians in Gaza, including massive loss of life, displacement and destruction.”
His second term, which is his last, ends on Dec. 31.
