Guterres says Hamas attacks do not justify 'collective punishment' of Palestinians

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Wednesday that attacks by Palestinian militant group Hamas did not justify the "collective punishment" of the Palestinian people.

The Hamas attacks on October 7 "cannot justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people", Guterres told delegates at a forum of China's Belt and Road infrastructure initiative in Beijing.

He also called for an "immediate humanitarian ceasefire".

"I call for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire to ... ease the epic human suffering we are witnessing," Guterres said at the same event.