UN chief on US-backed Gaza aid operation: "The search for food must never be a death sentence"

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Friday that a U.S.-backed aid operation in Gaza is "inherently unsafe," giving a blunt assessment: "It is killing people."

He also said U.N.-led humanitarian efforts are being "strangled," aid workers themselves are starving and Israel – as the occupying power - is required to agree to and facilitate aid deliveries into and throughout the Palestinian enclave.

'Search for food must never be a death sentence' for Palestinians in Gaza

"People are being killed simply trying to feed themselves and their families. The search for food must never be a death sentence," Guterres told reporters.

"The conflict between Israel and Iran has dominated headlines. But we cannot allow the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza to be pushed into the shadows," Guterres said at a press conference at UN headquarters in New York. "The ceasefire achieved between Iran and Israel offers hope. And hope is more needed than ever."

Calling for immediate action to facilitate humanitarian relief, he said: "The search for food must never be a death sentence. Let me be clear: Israel, as the occupying power, is required to agree to and facilitate humanitarian relief."

Guterres stressed the need for urgent and practical solutions to ensure aid reaches those in need. "We need concrete actions so aid can reach all people -- swiftly, at scale, wherever they are. Any operation that channels desperate civilians into militarized zones is inherently unsafe. It is killing people," he said.

"The problem of the distribution of humanitarian aid must be solved. There is no need to reinvent the wheel with dangerous schemes," the UN chief added.

Guterres said the UN has "the solution-a detailed plan grounded in the humanitarian principles of humanity, impartiality, neutrality, and independence," adding: "We have the supplies. We have the experience."