Jordan's King Abdullah II says Israel's war in Gaza amounts to an attack on the UN

In an address to the General Assembly he called for humanitarian gateway to flow aid into the enclave

Latest updates: Follow our full coverage of the UN General Assembly

Jordan’s King Abdullah II told the UN General Assembly that Israel’s war in Gaza amounts to an attack on the UN and called on the international community to establish a humanitarian gateway to flow aid into Gaza.

Speaking on the opening day of high-level speeches at the UN's 79th General Assembly on Tuesday, King Abdullah said Israel has failed to respect many of the protections supposed to be afforded to UN workers and agencies in Gaza.

“The UN is under attack, literally and figuratively,” he said. “For nearly a year, the sky-blue flag flying over UN shelters and schools in Gaza has been powerless to protect innocent civilians from Israeli military bombardment.

“UN aid trucks sit motionless just miles away from starving Palestinians. Humanitarian workers who proudly wear the emblem of this institution are disparaged and targeted.”

He added that in his years as king, he could not “recall a time of greater peril” than the crisis facing the Middle East today.

“The attacks of October 7 on Israeli civilians last year were condemned by countries all over the world, including Jordan, but the unprecedented scale of terror unleashed on Gaza since that day is beyond any justification,” he said.

He said Israel's assault on Gaza has resulted in one of the fastest death rates in recent conflicts and one of the fastest rates of starvation caused by war and accused Jordan's neighbour of leading “unprecedented levels of destruction”.

The king said it is the world's “moral duty” to establish a protection mechanism to provide aid to Gaza.

“I call on all countries to join Jordan in enforcing an international Gaza humanitarian gateway, a massive relief effort to deliver food, clean water, medicine and other vital supplies to those in desperate need because humanitarian aid should never be a tool of war,” he said.

Destruction in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip. AFP