At a UN Security Council briefing on the Middle East, Acting US Alternate Representative to the United Nations John Kelley criticized antisemitism and reaffirmed US support for Israel, while condemning Hamas for violence and obstruction of humanitarian efforts in Gaza.
Kelley began by offering condolences for the murders of Israeli Embassy officials Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim, an American citizen, at a Jewish community event in Washington. "Yaron and Sarah were murdered for no other reason than the assailant wanted to kill Jews," he said. "It is horrific and shameful. We can and must do better to combat the sickening rise in antisemitism around the world."
He noted that Lischinsky's final post on social media condemned what he described as antisemitism at the UN, singling out Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Tom Fletcher. According to Kelley, Fletcher's remarks included the charge of "genocide" against Israel and a claim that "14,000 babies were about to die within 48 hours," which Kelley called "an abject falsehood."
Kelley pointed out the irony that the event where Lischinsky and Milgrim were killed was focused on ways to bring aid to Gaza. "But that didn’t matter. They were targeted because of who they were."
He reiterated US efforts to end the conflict and secure the release of hostages, stating, "The United States has been working to free the hostages and bring this war to an end, one that Hamas brutally started." Kelley criticized some UN Member States for refusing to condemn Hamas, saying, "Forget that these actions endanger hostages. The actual outcome is condemning civilians in Gaza to remain under Hamas’s control for another generation."
"In order to move forward, Hamas must be defeated," Kelley stated. He cited Secretary Rubio: "If an ember survives, it will spark again into a fire. There can be no peaceful and prosperous Gaza as long as Hamas governs it by force."
Kelley called for pressure on Hamas to disarm and leave Gaza, urging the group to release all hostages, including the bodies of four Americans. "We will not rest until every hostage has been returned from Gaza."
Addressing humanitarian aid, Kelley endorsed the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation as a way to deliver assistance without benefiting Hamas. "We support the new initiative to resume the flow of aid through preexisting mechanisms... The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation is an independent entity established to provide a secure mechanism for the delivery of aid directly to those in need."
He encouraged the UN to work with Israel and the Foundation to operationalize the system, aiming to provide aid without diversion by "Hamas and other terrorist and criminal groups."
Quoting President Donald Trump, Kelley said, "Before our eyes, a new generation of leaders is transcending the ancient conflicts and tired divisions of the past, and forging a future where the Middle East is defined by commerce, not chaos."
Kelley concluded by stating the US opposes any unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state. "The United States stands with Israel in unequivocally rejecting any effort to unilaterally recognize a Palestinian state or impose conditions on Israel, which would be an unconscionable reward for the heinous Hamas attack on Israel."
"The United States will do its part to help forge this new reality alongside Israel and our Arab partners," he said.