The United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned today, Monday, that an Israeli attack on Rafah would deliver a fatal blow to aid programs in Gaza, where humanitarian aid remains "completely insufficient."

Guterres said, in a speech before the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, that a comprehensive attack on the city located in the southern Gaza Strip on the border with Egypt "would not only be horrific for more than a million Palestinian civilians who have taken refuge there, but it would also be the final nail in the coffin of our aid program."

Guterres said that fighters in places like Congo, Gaza, Myanmar, Ukraine, and Sudan "ignore" international law, calling for more respect for human rights and peace around the world.

Guterres defended "UNRWA," the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, as the "backbone" of relief efforts in Gaza at a time when Israeli authorities have called for its dismantling.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, also criticized "attempts to undermine the legitimacy and work" of the United Nations and its affiliated institutions.

Turk said, "The United Nations has become a lightning rod for manipulative propaganda and a scapegoat for failed policies.. This is extremely destructive to the public good and severely betrays many people who depend on it for their lives."

The council began its six-week sessions today, Monday, amid increasing human rights crises.