The Secretary-General, United Nations, said the ceasefire in Gaza must be respected and that humanitarian aid should be scaled up to reach the entire population after reporting a "massive" level of destruction.

"We have our teams, namely UNDP and others working on the evaluation of the whole volume of destruction, but it is massive," he said, adding that humanitarian access had improved in part through U.S. engagement to reduce obstacles.

He said the next stage must link Gaza and the West Bank and lead toward a political path to a two-state solution that ensures Palestinians' right to self-determination.

On security arrangements, he said discussions among Security Council members have addressed possible entities or forces in Gaza, and that any such entity should have Security Council legitimacy. He also said it would be important to train and form a Palestinian police force as part of a transition in which the Palestinian Authority "exerts its full authority." The Secretariat is not a party to draft Security Council proposals among member states, he said.

Asked about education, the Secretary-General said reestablishing Gaza's education system is essential. He noted schools were largely run by UNRWA and that "most of the schools were destroyed," and said a forthcoming Cairo conference on rehabilitation and recovery should make education a central pillar of reconstruction efforts.

He said Egypt is convening an international conference on Gaza's rehabilitation and that Qatar is expected to play a decisive role in reconstruction planning. No funding figures or timelines were announced at the press conference.