'Force Cannot Prevail Over Law': UN Chief Guterres Attacks Israel, Hamas; Says AI Out Of Control

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres delivered a blunt assessment of a world in deep crisis, condemning Hamas' October 7 attack while simultaneously accusing Israel of inflicting destruction on Gaza with no parallel in UN history.

Guterres rejected a transactional approach to diplomacy, insisting the United Nations must remain a global reference point for values and principles, declaring that force can never be allowed to prevail over the force of law.

He pointed to a clear violator unwilling to listen to the truth, a barrier now limiting any realistic path toward negotiated peace in the region today.

Guterres then turned to the machinery of global governance itself, warning that the Security Council is paralyzed by geopolitical divides. He argued that systematic violations of international law, committed even by council members, have created a culture of impunity, with smaller nations asking why superpowers can break the rules while they cannot.

That double standard, he said, is why countries increasingly act with total disregard for consequences, confident sanctions and condemnation will never follow them.

The Secretary-General closed with a stark warning on artificial intelligence, revealing that the very people building AI are the ones sounding alarms that critical areas are slipping out of control.