UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has yet again called for an immediate halt to the war in Gaza, the return of captives, and a “surge” in humanitarian aid to the besieged Palestinian territory.

“A ceasefire will only be the start,” he said in a video address to an international donors’ conference in Kuwait, adding, “It will be a long road back from the devastation and trauma of this war,” Al Jazeera reported.

Israel waged its brutal war on the besieged Gaza on October 7 after Hamas carried out a historic operation against the usurping entity in retaliation for its intensified atrocities against the Palestinian people.

Earlier this week, Israeli troops took control of the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing between Egypt and Gaza and started carpet-bombing the city. Israeli officials said it was the first step towards a full-scale assault on Rafah, home to around 1.5 million Palestinians who have been displaced due to the Gaza onslaught.