UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday rebuffed a proposal by US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to relocate the people of Gaza to other countries, calling it a violation of international law.

In response to Anadolu's question about their widely denounced plan, Guterres said: "Palestinians must be able to live in a Palestinian state, side by side with an Israeli state. That is the only solution that can bring peace to the Middle East."

He further stated that forcibly relocating Palestinians "is something that is against international law."

Asked about Netanyahu claiming the people of Gaza are being "locked" in the enclave, Guterres noted the urgent need for medical evacuations and stressed that "everything must be done to increase the number of medical evacuations."

Questioned about the use of the term "genocide," Guterres said: "The situation is sufficiently horrible not to be worried with the semantics."

He said the International Court of Justice (ICJ) is the appropriate body to determine whether genocide is occurring, adding: "I respect the decisions of the International Court of Justice."

The UN chief also stressed that the ongoing suffering of Palestinians constitutes "collective punishment" and cannot be justified by any means, calling for an immediate end to such practices.