United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Saturday denounced the horrors unleashed by Hamas on October 7, as Israel marks six months since the start of the war.
“The 7th of October is a day of pain for Israel and the world. The United Nations and I personally mourn with the Israelis for the 1,200 people, including many women and children, who were killed in cold blood,” Guterres said in a video posted to social media.
“Nothing can justify the horror unleashed by Hamas on October 7th. I once again condemn the use of sexual violence, torture and kidnapping of civilians, the firing of rockets towards civilian targets, and the use of human shields, and I call for the unconditional release of all the hostages still held by Hamas and other armed groups,” the UN chief added.
Foreign Minister Israel Katz responded to the video and wrote, “The time has come after more than six months. Now, bring the wording you drafted as a binding decision to the UN Security Council, pursuant to your authority under Article 99, including the imposition of sanctions on the terrorist organization Hamas - just like on Al-Qaeda and ISIS.”
Guterres’ statement follows a host of controversial remarks he has made against Israel in the last six months. Near the start of the war in Gaza, Guterres said that Hamas’ attack on Israel “did not happen in a vacuum” and appeared to blame Israel for the attack.
After his remarks were widely condemned, the UN chief claimed his comments were misinterpreted and that he had indeed condemned Hamas.
More recently, he mentioned the sexual crimes committed by Hamas in its October 7 attack in Israel in the same breath as “reports of sexual violence against Palestinian detainees”.
The crimes committed by Hamas were confirmed in a report released by UN Special Rapporteur Pramila Patten. On the other hand, UN experts have accused IDF soldiers of raping Palestinian Arab women and girls in detention but have not provided evidence to back those claims.
Last month, Guterres called Israel’s war against Hamas a "catastrophic onslaught” against Gaza. Israel’s Ambassador to the UN, Gilad Erdan, responded to Guterres, saying the UN chiefcares more about terrorists than about the hostages being held by Hamas.