Anchor: The United Nations Security Council met on Tuesday to discuss the war in Gaza and its implications, but failed to make headway. Israel called for the resignation of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres after he said Hamas's attack didn't happen in a vacuum.
Lee Bo-kyung has more.

Report: The United Nations Security Council(UNSC) convened to discuss the ongoing war between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

[Sound bite: UN Secretary-General António Guterres]
"To ease epic suffering, make the delivery of aid easier and safer, and facilitate the release of hostages, I reiterate my appeal for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire."

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for an immediate ceasefire at the high-level meeting of the international body on Tuesday, criticizing the killings and abductions of civilians by Hamas.

[Sound bite: UN Secretary-General António Guterres]
"All hostages must be treated humanely and released immediately and without conditions. I respectfully note the presence among us of members of their families. Excellencies, it is important to also recognize the attacks by Hamas did not happen in a vacuum. The Palestinian people have been subjected to 56 years of suffocating occupation."

While the Palestinian Authority's foreign minister expressed support for Guterres’ statement, his Israeli counterpart slammed the UN chief’s remarks and rhetorically asked how the Jewish state can coexist with Hamas, a group that vows to destroy Israel, before demanding the UN chief's resignation.

[Sound bite: Palestinian Authority Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki]
"The ongoing massacres, being deliberately and systematically and savagely perpetrated by Israel, the occupying power, against the Palestinian civilian population under its illegal occupation must be stopped. The Security Council has a duty to stop them. The international community is obliged under international law to stop them."

[Sound bite: Minister of Foreign Affairs of Israel Eli Cohen]
"How you can agree to a ceasefire with someone who swore to kill and destroy your own existence? How? The proportional response to October 7 massacre is total destruction, total destruction to the last one of the Hamas. It is not only Israel's right to destroy Hamas. It's our duty. For Israel, it's a matter of survival."

South Korea's deputy permanent representative to the UN, Kim Sang-jin, called for a two-state solution to prevent further suffering while also urging sustained humanitarian support.

[Sound bite: Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN for South Korea Kim Sang-jin]
"To break the cycle of violence, we also have to renew our efforts to revive the political process. We believe that sustainable peace in this region can only be achieved through sincere negotiations based on the two-state solutions for the security and the dignity of both Israel and Palestine."

Attended by foreign ministers of many countries instead of UN ambassadors, the high-level meeting failed to produce any progress in dialogue as entrenchment was merely reinforced.
Lee Bo-kyung, KBS World Radio News.