UN chief Antonio Guterres appealed Friday for the protection of basic human rights as the Israel-Hamas conflict spiralled, stressing that "even wars have rules" and warning against using hostages as human shields.
"The situation in Gaza has reached a dangerous new low," Guterres said ahead of a Security Council meeting on the volatile situation.
"We need immediate humanitarian access throughout Gaza, so that we can get fuel, food and water to everyone in need," he said, adding that the blockaded enclave's health system was on the brink of collapse.
Guterres' call for the protection of civilians came as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his country's fierce bombardment of Gaza was "just the beginning".
In a televised address, Prime Minister Netanyahu said Israel's fierce bombardment of Gaza was "just the beginning" . "Our enemies have only just started paying the price. I cannot reveal what will happen, but I am telling you this is just the beginning."
Netanyahu spoke only hours after the Israeli military revealed that troops had carried out localised raids inside the besieged Palestinian territory over the past 24 hours as a prelude to an anticipated ground invasion.
Israel has also told Palestinians to leave Gaza City within 24 hours, sparking UN warnings of a humanitarian disaster.
"Even wars have rules," Guterres said. "International humanitarian law and human rights law must be respected and upheld; civilians must be protected and also never used as shields.
"It is imperative that all parties -- and those with influence over them -- do everything possible to achieve these steps."
"Moving more than one million people across a densely populated warzone to a place with no food, water, or accommodation, when the entire territory is under siege, is extremely dangerous -- and in some cases, simply not possible," he said.
Guterres also warned against hostilities spilling across the region, with Israel facing the threat of a separate confrontation with Hizbollah in Lebanon.
On Friday, a Reuters video journalist was killed and six others from AFP, Reuters and Al Jazeera were wounded in southern Lebanon when they were caught up in cross-border shelling.
"I have been in constant contact with leaders across the region, focusing on ways to reduce suffering and prevent further dangerous escalation in the West Bank or elsewhere in the region, especially in southern Lebanon," Guterres said.
"The exchange of fire across the Blue Line is very worrying. It must stop," he said, referring to the United Nations demarcation line drawn when Israeli troops withdrew from south Lebanon in 2000.
