Geneva, November 1 (QNA) - United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres today condemned the killing of journalists in Gaza by the Israeli occupation forces, labeling it "unacceptable" and underscoring the urgent need to protect them from the escalation of violence in the region.

In a message to an international media symposium at the UN Office in Geneva, Guterres highlighted that the conflict in Gaza reached its first anniversary last October. He emphasized that ongoing developments in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem marked by Israeli military incursions, settlement expansions, and a rise in settler attacks further erode the possibility of achieving a two-state solution.

Guterres also criticized Israel's continued ban on international journalists' entry into Gaza, pointing out that media professionals in the area are being killed at a rate unprecedented in any conflict. He expressed deep concern over journalists covering events in the West Bank who have been injured or killed by Israeli forces, reiterating that this situation is "unacceptable" and calls for immediate measures to safeguard media workers from irreversible harm.

The Secretary-General underscored the pressing need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon to facilitate effective humanitarian aid delivery and support renewed, irreversible progress toward a two-state solution.

According to recent figures, 174 journalists and media personnel have lost their lives amid the ongoing Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip. (QNA)