The Israeli UN Ambassador is demanding the resignation of UN Secretary-General António Guterres, following his statement on the Hamas assault on October 7, which resulted in 1,400 casualties.
Guterres remarked, “This did not occur in isolation.
For 56 years, the Palestinian population has endured a crippling occupation,” as reported by Haaretz. He addressed the 15-country U.N. Security Council on Tuesday, after the Gaza-based Ministry of Health, controlled by Hamas, announced over 700 Palestinian fatalities due to Israeli air raids within a 24-hour span, marking the deadliest day since the offensive started.
Guterres asserted: “The Palestinian people’s grievances do not excuse the horrific actions of Hamas. Conversely, these horrific actions do not warrant the collective punishment of the Palestinian population.” He acknowledged Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories, including the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem.
Gilad Erdan, Israel’s UN Ambassador, condemned Guterres’ statement as “astounding” on X, a social media platform formerly known as Twitter. Erdan accused the Secretary-General of being “utterly out of touch with our region’s reality” and criticized any empathy shown towards those committing heinous acts against Israeli citizens and Jews. Following this, Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen declared his intention to cease engagements with Guterres.
Both U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Palestinian Authority Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki addressed the UN Security Council on Tuesday, urging for the minimization of civilian harm in Gaza.
The New York Times cites the Hamas-run Ministry of Health in Gaza, reporting over 5,700 Palestinian deaths due to Israeli air raids since the conflict’s onset in October.
Home to over 2 million Palestinians, the Gaza Strip, governed by Hamas, has been under a comprehensive blockade by Israel since 2007, severely restricting movement and trade.
The blockade has intensified since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas conflict this October, with Israel implementing a “total siege,” cutting off essential services like fuel, electricity, and water to a community heavily dependent on humanitarian aid.
Guterres commented on the insufficient aid reaching Gaza, stating that the approximately 50 aid trucks that crossed from Egypt through the Rafah border since Saturday are merely “a drop of aid in an ocean of need.”
On Monday, despite the majority support among attendees for a “humanitarian pause” to facilitate aid delivery to Palestinians in Gaza, the European Union’s foreign ministers could not reach a unanimous agreement to endorse this initiative.