UN chief invokes Article 99, warns war in Gaza 'may aggravate threats to international peace'

United Nations Secretary General Antonio Gutteres (left) speaks at a UN Security Council meeting in the file picture. - (Photo by Andrea RENAULT / AFP)

WASHINGTON: United Nations (UN) secretary-general Antonio Guterres warned the Security Council on Wednesday (Dec 6) that the war in the Gaza Strip "may aggravate existing threats to international peace and security".

Invoking Article 99 of the UN Charter for the first time since he became the organisation's top official in 2017, Guterres said in a letter to the Council: "More than eight weeks of hostilities in Gaza and Israel have created appalling human suffering, physical destruction and collective trauma across Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory".