Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon criticized the United Nations for ignoring the murder of aid workers from the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation by the Hamas terrorist organization, while the General Assembly instead convenes to vote on a resolution demanding a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
"Last night, Hamas murdered at least five Palestinian aid workers in Gaza. They ambushed a bus clearly marked and carrying over two dozen humanitarian staff from the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. Several others were injured, some may have been taken hostage," Danon told reporters outside the General Assembly.
"These were civilians," he emphasized. "These are aid workers risking their lives to feed the people of Gaza. Hamas gunned them down in cold blood because they do not care about Palestinian lives. They do not care about life, period."
"It was an attack on humanitarian workers - who the UN claims to care so deeply about. I'm asking you today, where is the condemnation from the Secretary General? Where is the condemnation from the United Nations?" he wondered.
"Moreover, the General Assembly will not meet to condemn that crime," he observed. "It will not gather to denounce Hamas. Instead, it will probably pass a resolution, a resolution which is a farce. It is a moral failure. It is a political stunt. If it passes, it will be remembered not as a step toward peace, but as a disgraceful act of appeasement. It is a resolution that rewards terrorists and abandons their victims."
Holding up the resolution, Danon stated that the text does not include any condemnation of Hamas for the atrocities committed during the October 7 massacre or make the release of the 53 hostages in Gaza a condition for a ceasefire. "It does not hold Hamas accountable, the terrorists who started this war, prolong this war, and tortures our hostages."
"This assembly has over 20 months to say the words, 'We condemn Hamas and we demand the immediate release of the hostages. But those words are nowhere to be found. Instead, the GA will try to place all the pressure on us, on Israel, the only party that accepted the proposal that was offered by the US, Qatar, and Egypt," he said.
"I say today to every delegation that will vote on this resolution - and we know that it will pass - if you refuse to condemn Hamas, you commend them. If you fail to demand the release of the hostages, you abandon them. If you try to erase October 7, you are complicit in allowing it to happen again. No General Assembly resolution, no moral failure, no hypocrisy, will change the reality. Israel will do whatever it takes to bring all of them back home," Danon said.