António Guterres invokes a seldom-used clause to prevent ‘catastrophe’ in Palestinian territories.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres invoked Article 99 of the U.N. Charter for the first time in more than 30 years to call on the Security Council to intervene in the war in Gaza, in a move that was backed by EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell.

In a letter on Wednesday addressed to the president of the Security Council, Guterres wrote that the conflict in Gaza and Israel had created “appalling human suffering, physical destruction and collective trauma across Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory.”

Guterres called on the Security Council to “press to avert a humanitarian catastrophe” and for a “humanitarian ceasefire to be declared.”

“The situation is fast deteriorating into a catastrophe with potentially irreversible implications for Palestinians as a whole and for peace and security in the region,” he wrote. “Such an outcome must be avoided at all costs.”

Article 99 allows the secretary-general to alert the Security Council to “any matter which in his opinion may threaten the maintenance of international peace and security.” The last time it was explicitly invoked was in 1989 amid conflict in Lebanon.

A spokesperson for Guterres said it was a “very dramatic move.”

The EU’s Borrell backed the intervention. In a post on X, he urged “EU members of the UN Security Council and like-minded partners” to support the secretary-general’s call.

Borrell also criticized Israeli settlers in the West Bank for demolishing a Palestinian school constructed with EU funds, calling it a “violation of international law,” adding that “Settler violence against Palestinian communities must stop.”

Israel’s Ambassador to the U.N. Gilad Erdan slammed Guterres’ decision to invoke Article 99, accusing him of “bias against Israel” and saying he should “resign immediately.”

“Today, the Secretary-General has reached a new moral low,” Erdan wrote on X. “The Secretary-General decided to activate this rare clause only when it allows him to put pressure on Israel, which is fighting the Nazi Hamas terrorists.”

Palestinian Ambassador to the U.N. Riyad Mansour said it was important the Security Council call for a cease-fire. “On top of the agenda is this war has to stop,” he said. “A ceasefire has to take place and it has to take place immediately.”

In a reply to Guterres’ letter, the United Arab Emirates, a non-permanent member of the 15-seat Security Council, said it had submitted a draft resolution calling for a humanitarian cease-fire.

Belgian army will be throwing ‘stones’ within hours of a war starting, laments ex-general

Crippling shortage of ammo leaves Belgium with Stone Age military.

The Belgian military is so short of ammunition and funding that soldiers will «have to throw stones» shortly after the start of any conflict, said Marc Thys, a former top general.

Thys, who recently retired from the Belgian army with the rank of lieutenant general, said Tuesday on public broadcaster VRT that securing reserves of ammunition to fend off any attack lasting up to two months would take investment of «€5 to €7 billion,» which is far more than the government currently provides. «I had €15 million a year to buy ammunition, but that has now been increased to €150 million,» said Thys.

«If war breaks out here, we will have to throw stones after just a few hours due to a shortage of ammunition,» Thys added.

Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Western governments have been funneling ammunition to Kyiv to help it fend off Moscow’s attacks and bolster its defense.

However, the bloc’s arms producers have struggled to ramp up capacity to restock silos and keep supplies flowing east, especially when it comes to 155 millimeter caliber munitions. That means the EU is almost certain to miss its self-imposed target for deliveries to Ukraine.

While an attack on Belgium remains unlikely, the shortage brings into focus the viability of continued deliveries to Ukraine if national stocks are running low. In November, shortly after Thys’ retirement, the Belgian government signed a two-decade deal with local armament manufacturer FN Herstal, including for ammunition, but deliveries will take time.