United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on Israel to reverse its planned division of the West Bank and expansion of the military operation in Gaza, while reiterating the need for an immediate ceasefire to prevent further destruction in the region.

The UN chief's demands come as Egypt, other mediators, former hostages held by Hamas, the remaining hostages' families and the international community ramp up pressure on Israel to agree to a ceasefire, which involves a 60-day truce that Hamas had already accepted earlier this week.

In a post on the social media platform X on Thursday, Guterres said it is "vital to reach immediately a ceasefire in Gaza", and called for the unconditional release of all hostages held by the Palestinian group Hamas "to avoid the massive death and destruction that (an expanded) military operation against Gaza would inevitably cause".

"Simultaneously, the decision by the Israeli authorities to expand illegal settlement construction, which would divide the West Bank, must be reversed. All settlement construction is a violation of international law," Guterres said.

It also came as Israel on Wednesday gave final approval to a highly controversial settlement project that would bisect the occupied West Bank and cut it off from East Jerusalem.

The Palestinian Authority condemned the settlement plan, saying it was illegal and would "destroy "the prospects for a two-state solution, BBC reported.

Israel has yet to issue a formal response to Hamas over the ceasefire proposal while White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt has said the United States continues to discuss a 60-day Gaza truce.

While Egypt and Qatar have invested political capital in brokering the proposed truce, Arhama Siddiqa, a research fellow at the Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad in Pakistan, told China Daily that Tel Aviv's move to press ahead with the mobilization of 60,000 reservists for an expanded Gaza operation "is an unmistakable signal that military conquest, not diplomacy, remains the priority".

Catastrophic casualties

"This stance runs directly counter to the urgent calls of the UN secretary-general, who has warned of catastrophic civilian casualties and condemned Israel's parallel decision to expand illegal settlements in the West Bank," said Siddiqa.

"By delaying a response, Israel appears intent on dictating terms through force rather than compromise, reinforcing the perception that it views ceasefires as tactical pauses rather than steps toward peace," she said, adding: "Basically, Tel Aviv bears direct responsibility for prolonging a cycle of deliberate deprivation and devastation in Gaza."

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty on Tuesday urged the international community to pressure Israel into accepting the latest Gaza ceasefire proposal, affirming that it would help alleviate the humanitarian crisis in the besieged enclave.

He made the remarks during separate phone talks with British Foreign Secretary David Lammy, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, and Palestinian Vice-President Hussein al-Sheikh, on the Palestinian issue, according to a statement by the Egyptian Foreign Ministry, Xinhua News Agency reported.

He also addressed the ongoing preparations for an international conference on Gaza's early recovery and reconstruction, which will be hosted as soon as a ceasefire agreement is reached.

At a joint news conference in Moscow on Wednesday, visiting Jordanian Minister of Foreign and Expatriates Affairs Ayman Safadi criticized Israel's "expansionist and extremist" policies.

He said Israel's assault on Gaza had caused "massacres and starvation" and that its wider actions were "killing all prospects" for peace in the Middle East, Arab News reported.

Gokhan Batu, an analyst on Israel studies at the Center for Middle Eastern Studies in Turkiye, told China Daily that recent developments have demonstrated that Israel's discourse, and the narratives promoted through it, "have lost much of their global traction".

"The primary factor behind this shift has been the severity of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Israel continues to lose the support it once commanded on issues related to Hezbollah, the Houthis, and Iran, precisely because of the ongoing devastation in Gaza. At the same time, the growing trend of recognizing Palestine has emerged as Israel's most serious challenge, and developments have now reached an uncontrollable stage," said Batu.

He said the latest developments were "nothing more than a hasty attempt to bring the Gaza conflict — long marked by the absence of a coherent strategy — to an abrupt conclusion". Yet, as long as the fighting continues, Israel is fully aware that it will face mounting difficulties on the international stage, he added.

jan@chinadailyapac.com