UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres accused Israel of violating international law in its retaliation against the Hamas terrorist organization in the Gaza Strip and called for an immediate truce that would leave the terrorist organization in power after it massacred over 1,400 Israelis in the worst mass killing of Jews since the Holocaust.
"I am deeply concerned about the clear violations of international humanitarian law that we are witnessing in Gaza. Let me be clear: No party to an armed conflict is above international humanitarian law," Guterres said during a Security Council meeting on the Gaza conflict.
"I have condemned unequivocally the horrifying and unprecedented 7 October act of terror by Hamas in Israel," he continued. "Nothing can justify the deliberate killing, injuring, and kidnapping of civilians, or the launching of rockets against civilian targets. All hostages must be treated humanely and released immediately and without conditions."
However, he stated that "it is important to also recognize the attack by Hamas did not happen in a vacuum. The Palestinian people have been subjected to 56 years of suffocating occupation. They have seen their lands steadily devoured by settlements and plagued by violence, their economies stifled, their people displaced and their homes demolished. Their hopes for a political solution to their plight have been vanishing."
Guterres called the aid convoys that have entered Gaza from Egypt through the Rafah Crossing in recent days "a drop of aid in an ocean of need. In addition, our UN fuel supplies in Gaza will run out in a matter of days. That would be another disaster."
"To ease epic suffering, make the delivery of aid easier and safer, and facilitate the release of hostages, I reiterate my appeal for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire," he said.
Guterres' speech was condemned in Israel.
Israeli Ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan responded: "The shocking speech by the UN Secretary-General at the Security Council meeting, while rockets are being fired at all of Israel, proved conclusively, beyond any doubt, that the Secretary-General is completely disconnected from the reality in our region and that he views the massacre committed by Nazi Hamas terrorists in a distorted and immoral manner. His statement that, “the attacks by Hamas did not happen in a vacuum,” expressed an understanding for terrorism and murder. It’s really unfathomabale. It’s truly sad that the head of an organization that arose after the Holocaust holds such horrible views. A tragedy!"
Minister Benny Gantz said: "The days when the UN Secretary-General supports terrorism are dark days for the world. There is no way to justify a massacre of innocent civilians. Anyone who is not on the right side of history will be judged by it. Anyone who justifies terrorism is not fit to speak for the world."
Arutz Sheva columnist Jack Engelhard is not surprised. Read his article written in 2021 on what to expect if there is a war in Gaza and that was before anyone imagined the pogrom of October7, 2023.