UN Chief Indirectly Lashes Out At Israel Over Remarks
By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
JERUSALEM/NEW YORK (Worthy News) – United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres indirectly lashed out at Israel Wednesday, saying he is “shocked” at the reaction to remarks he made Tuesday about the war between Israel and Hamas.
Guterres addressed the controversy after Israel demanded his resignation for “expressing an understanding for terrorism and murder” and said it would deny visas to top United Nations officials in response.
Israel’s foreign minister earlier condemned Guterres for suggesting that the recent massacres against Israel by Hamas gunmen were linked to Palestinians being “subjected to 56 years of suffocating occupation.”
Minister Eli Cohen also dismissed U.N. calls for “proportionality” in Israel’s response to Hamas’ surprise attacks in Israel on October 7 that killed 1,400 people. “Tell me, what is a proportionate response for the killing of babies, for rape (of) women and burn them, for beheading a child?” Cohen asked. “How can you agree to a cease-fire with someone who swore to kill and destroy your own existence?”
Additionally, more than 200 people kidnapped in Israel are still held by Hamas as hostages in Gaza.
Guterres said on Tuesday, however, that he clearly condemned the “acts of terror” inflicted on Israel in remarks where he also said the violence did not happen “in a vacuum.”
In his original statement, Guterres stated: “The grievances of the Palestinian people cannot justify the appalling attacks by Hamas.”
HOSPITALS STRUGGLE
He spoke while in Gaza, hospitals are stopping all but emergency services as fuel runs out, Palestinian officials said.
Israel blocked new fuel supplies reaching Gaza, saying the “Hamas terrorist organization” had been stockpiling hundreds of thousands of liters or gallons.
Egypt, however, has also been reluctant to open its border with Gaza, except for some humanitarian aid, a few hostages, and several other individuals.
Critics say 2.3 million people have been living in the world’s largest “open-air prison” in Gaza, fearful of ongoing Israeli air strikes.
The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza claims almost 6,500 people, including many children have been killed since Israel began bombing the territory following the worst recorded atrocities against Jews since the Holocaust.
The death toll has been difficult to verify independently in a territory where Hamas gunmen rule and press freedom is virtually non-existent.
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