Israel's Ambassador to the United Nations Gilad Erdan spoke Friday afternoon at the United Nations (UN) Security Council's emergency meeting on the medical situation in Gaza.
The meeting was convened at the request of the United Arab Emirates. The discussion opened with a briefing by the Director-General of the World Health Organization Dr. Tedros and the Director General of the Palestinian Red Crescent Marwan Jiliani.
With Masab Hasan Yousef, the son of one of the founders of Hamas, by his side, the Ambassador attacked the Security Council: "Is it not concerning to you that in Dr. Tedros briefing, not once did he mention Hamas’ deliberate exploitation of hospitals and ambulances for terror? Should this not raise a red flag? We are also being briefed by the Palestinian Director-General of the Red Crescent, yet there is no Israeli Representative of Magen David Adom – the Israeli Red Cross – briefing the Council. Is this not mind-boggling? Does this not reek of bias? Do Israeli lives matter less?"
The Ambassador referred to the briefings and criticized sharply the bias, adding, "Just because briefings are written on official UN documents, it does not change the fact that the content was based only on information supplied by Hamas. Hamas knows that this Council ingests their poisonous falsehoods. This is part of their script. Their very own terror operatives give libelous information – which cannot be verified by anyone other than Hamas – to UN bodies. This information is passed on to UN officials, and then this information is used to brief you."
The Ambassador urged the Security Council to allow him to show footage of the Hamas’ atrocities, saying, "I urge the Council to invite me to share a screening of the footage from Hamas’ slaughter – footage that the terrorists filmed themselves. Once you see the barbarity and savagery with your own eyes, you will understand the evil that Israel is defending itself against."
The Ambassador told the members of the Council about Israel's efforts to mitigate the harm to Gazan civilians, noting, "Israel is taking action to mitigate civilian casualties. We prefer to take proactive steps, because, unlike Hamas and UN bodies, we cherish life and hold it sacred. This is why Israel is in advanced talks with the United Arab Emirates, the ICRC, and other European countries regarding the establishment of field hospitals and floating hospital ships. Israel facilitated the Jordanian airdrop of medical aid to hospitals in northern Gaza. Thousands of tons of medical equipment and supplies have already entered Gaza."