Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., says the humanitarian situation in Gaza must be addressed immediately "or thousands of people may die," following a meeting with U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

Sanders, a former Democrat presidential candidate, told reporters before Monday afternoon's meeting that "we have a horrendous situation" where Hamas started a war "by a barbaric attack" against innocent people in Israel, where some 1,200 people were killed. At least 11,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's response, "including many, many children," Sanders said.

"The goal now is to do everything we can to save lives – get the humanitarian aid in as quickly as possible," he said.

U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Guterres and Sanders discussed the situation in the Middle East, and the secretary-general briefed the senator on the U.N.’s humanitarian operations in the region. The U.N. chief has repeatedly called for a humanitarian ceasefire to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza.

Sanders, who is an independent but caucuses with the Democrats, said he asked for the meeting with Guterres as Vermont’s senator, not as a representative of the Biden administration.