New York, January 20 (QNA) - The UN Security Council held an open session on the Middle East, including the Palestinian issue, today.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a speech that the "ceasefire" agreement in the Gaza Strip offers a "ray of hope", despite the many challenges.

Guterres added that the United Nations is doing its part to ensure the rapid expansion of humanitarian operations, noting that more than 630 trucks loaded with humanitarian aid entered the Strip on Sunday, including at least 300 of them heading north.

The Secretary-General urged the parties to ensure that this agreement leads to a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, adding that it must be translated on the ground into at least four simultaneous actions: United Nations entities, including the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) must be able to perform their functions unhindered; the expansion of the provision of essential assistance and services requires safe conditions and a conducive operating environment, including allowing protective equipment, communications and the restoration of public order; people must be able to access life-saving assistance and adequate commercial supplies must be allowed into Gaza; civilians must be protected and those seeking to return to their communities must have safe passage.

He noted that the situation in the West Bank continues to deteriorate due to Israeli airstrikes, ongoing illegal settlement expansion and home demolitions, expressing grave concern about the existential threat to the integrity and contiguity of the occupied Palestinian territory in Gaza and the West Bank.

He said that settlement approvals have accelerated and that senior Israeli officials are openly talking about formally annexing all or part of the West Bank in the coming months, adding that any such annexation would constitute a very serious violation of international law.

He went on saying that stability in the Middle East requires taking irreversible steps towards a two-state solution.

For her part, Palestinian Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Varsen Shaheen expressed her hope that the agreement will endure and succeed, leading to a complete and final ceasefire, a full withdrawal of the occupation forces from the Gaza Strip, and establishing a political path based on international legitimacy resolutions that will lead to the end of the occupation, and implementing what was in the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice in accordance with the General Assembly resolution calling for the end of the occupation within one year.

In her speech to the Council, Shaheen called for the implementation of relevant UN resolutions, including Security Council Resolution 2735. (QNA)