UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed his condemnation of Israel on Tuesday, following its airstrikes on Hamas positions in Gaza. “I am outraged by the Israeli airstrikes in Gaza. I strongly appeal for the ceasefire to be respected, for unimpeded humanitarian assistance to be reestablished and for the remaining hostages to be released unconditionally,” Guterres posted on social media platform X.
The Israeli strikes, which took place early Tuesday, were a response to Hamas’s refusal to free additional hostages and its rejection of a proposal put forward by US envoy Steve Witkoff.
Following the airstrikes, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the nation, stating, “We returned to fighting with strength, on the recommendation of security officials.” He further emphasized, “This is just the beginning. We will continue to fight to achieve the goals of the war and the promise that Gaza will not pose a threat to Israel,” adding, “From now on, negotiations will only take place under fire.”
Netanyahu explained Israel’s decision to resume combat by saying, “We extended the ceasefire in the weeks in which we did not receive any hostages, we sent delegations to Doha, we accepted the proposal of US envoy Witkoff, but on the other hand Hamas rejected every proposal. I accepted the recommendation of the IDF and the security establishment to return to fighting.”
Since the Hamas assault on Israel on October 7, 2023, Guterres has consistently criticized Israel. A few weeks after the attack, the UN Secretary-General suggested that the Hamas assault on Israel “did not happen in a vacuum,” which many interpreted as implying Israeli responsibility for the violence. After facing widespread backlash, Guterres clarified that his words had been misinterpreted and that he had in fact condemned Hamas.
Later, he controversially mentioned the sexual violence carried out by Hamas during the October 7 attack alongside “reports of sexual violence against Palestinian detainees.”
In the aftermath of the October 7 attack, Guterres appeared to draw parallels between Hamas’s actions and the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza. More recently, he called for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza and advocated for the creation of a Palestinian state, yet did not address the critical condition of three hostages recently freed by Hamas after 491 days in captivity.
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