A nurse prepares premature babies for transport to Egypt after they were evacuated from Shifa Hospital in Gaza city to a hospital in Rafah, Gaza Strip, Nov 20, 2023. (PHOTO / AP)

TEHRAN/AMMAN/MOSCOW/UNITED NATIONS - UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday foresees that a strengthened Palestinian Authority would assume responsibilities in Gaza after the current crisis and international players would work toward a two-state solution.

Asked about his vision "for the day after" in Gaza, Guterres said it is important to be able to transform this tragedy into an opportunity for a long-term settlement.

"And for that to be possible, it is essential that after the war we move in a determined and irreversible way to a two-state solution," he said.

"I believe it will be important to have a strengthened Palestinian Authority assuming responsibilities in Gaza. I understand that the Palestinian Authority cannot come with Israeli tanks in Gaza, which means that the international community needs to move into a transition period," he said. "I do not think that a UN protectorate in Gaza is a solution. I think we need a multi-stakeholder approach in which different countries, different entities, will cooperate."

Iranian and Qatari foreign ministers called on the international community to take immediate measures to pressure Israel into stopping its "flagrant violations of international law" in Gaza

For Israel, the United States is the main guarantor of its security. For Palestinians, the neighboring and Arab countries of the region are essential. So everybody needs to come together to make the conditions for a transition, allowing for a strengthened Palestinian Authority to assume responsibilities in Gaza and then, based on that, to finally move in a determined and irreversible way to a two-state solution based on the principles that have been largely established by the international community, said Guterres.

He emphasized that for the short term, there must be a humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza.

"To have an after, we must have a before. And the before obviously conditions the after. And that is why I have been insisting on the need for a humanitarian cease-fire, on unrestricted access for humanitarian aid, on the liberation of hostages and on the need to end the violations of international humanitarian law and the (need for) protection of civilians," he said.

ALSO READ: Palestinian death toll in Gaza surpasses 13,000

Separately, Iranian and Qatari foreign ministers called on the international community to take immediate measures to pressure Israel into stopping its "flagrant violations of international law" in Gaza.

The appeal was made in a phone call between Iran's Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and Qatar's Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, in which they discussed the latest developments in the Gaza Strip and the ongoing Israeli attacks on the coastal enclave, according to a statement released by the Iranian Foreign Ministry on Monday.

The two ministers held Israel accountable for "the present situation in the occupied territories," calling for efforts by Muslim and Arab states to immediately send aid to the "defenseless" Palestinians.

The two sides also exchanged views on the latest political initiatives aimed at stopping the Israeli "war crimes" against Gaza.

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh (right) and European Union's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, leave after deliver a statement, following their meeting in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Nov 17, 2023. (PHOTO / AP)

Meanwhile, King Abdullah II of Jordan on Monday discussed the situation in Gaza with the EU foreign policy chief, with both sides stressing protecting civilians and adopting the two-state solution.

At a meeting in the Jordanian capital Amman with Josep Borrell, high representative of the European Union (EU) for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the king urged intensive efforts to stop the conflict in Gaza, end the siege, and ensure the delivery of food, medicine, water, and fuel to the Strip, according to a statement by Jordan's Royal Hashemite Court.

The Israel-Hamas conflict has so far led to the deaths of over 13,000 Palestinians in Gaza, while on the Israeli side, about 1,200 people have lost their lives, the majority of whom were killed in the Hamas attacks

The Jordanian leader also warned of the disastrous repercussions of the ongoing conflict, whose victims are innocent civilians.

He also warned of the continued escalations and settler violence against the Palestinians in the West Bank, reiterating that the only way to resolve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is the two-state solution.

ALSO READ: UN chief wants return of two-state solution after Gaza crisis

Borrell, for his part, also stressed the need to protect civilians in the Gaza Strip, and applauded Jordan's crucial role in working towards creating a political horizon for the Palestinian issue, the statement said.

Also on Monday, Russia has delivered another 27 tons of humanitarian aid to civilians in the Gaza Strip, the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations said in a statement.

It said that an Il-76 plane carrying the aid had already arrived at the airport in El-Arish, which is the nearest Egyptian airport to the Gaza Strip.

The humanitarian aid, including generators, clothes, bandage materials, and food, will further be handed over to representatives from the Egyptian Red Crescent Society, who will deliver it to the Gaza Strip.

The Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations said Saturday that it had delivered a total of 190 tons of humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza.

Israel has been carrying out attacks on Gaza over the past weeks in retaliation for the Hamas attacks on southern Israel on Oct 7. The conflict has so far led to the deaths of over 13,000 Palestinians in Gaza, while on the Israeli side, about 1,200 people have lost their lives, the majority of whom were killed in the Hamas attacks.