United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has called on the global community to reject the use of hunger as a weapon of war, urging immediate action to address rising humanitarian crises around the world.

Speaking via video at a UN conference in Ethiopia on Monday, Guterres emphasized the urgent need to protect food security, especially in conflict zones.

“Climate change is disrupting harvests, supply chains, and humanitarian aid. Conflict continues to spread hunger from Gaza to Sudan and beyond,” he said. “Hunger fuels instability and undermines peace. We must never accept hunger as a weapon of war.”

His comments come amid growing concern over the worsening humanitarian situation in Gaza. United Nations agencies have repeatedly warned of life-threatening hunger due to limited access to aid and essential supplies.

Although Israel has denied allegations that it is intentionally using hunger as a weapon, it has faced mounting criticism over the blockade of Gaza, particularly between March and May, when humanitarian access was nearly cut off. While some aid is now entering the territory, relief agencies report that supplies remain insufficient to meet the urgent needs of the population.

On Sunday, Israel announced a “tactical pause” in its military operations to allow aid distribution to resume. However, the World Health Organization warned that malnutrition levels in Gaza remain “alarming.”

In addition to Gaza, the UN is also sounding the alarm on the crisis in Sudan, where conflict has created one of the world’s most severe — and underreported — humanitarian emergencies.

“This is the largest humanitarian catastrophe facing our world and also the least remembered,” said Othman Belbeisi, regional director for the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

Since April 2023, Sudan has been engulfed in violence between the national army, led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces, commanded by Mohamed Hamdan Daglo. The conflict has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and has displaced more than seven million people.

Guterres concluded his remarks with a firm reminder: "The global community must act now. Hunger must never be tolerated as a tactic of war — not in Gaza, Sudan, or anywhere else in the world."