A day after UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres stated that Hamas’ attack on Israel “did not happen in a vacuum,” Tel Aviv has responded by declaring that it will reject visas to UN personnel.
According to Israel’s UN ambassador, Gilad Erdan, the move follows Guterres’ words that “appeared to justify Hamas’s brutal assault on Israel.”
“As a result of his remarks, we will refuse to issue visas to UN representatives,” Erdan said, according to The Times of Israel. “We have already denied Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Martin Griffiths a visa.” “Now is the time to teach them a lesson,” he added.
Guterres made the statements during a meeting of the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday. “It is important to also recognise the attacks by Hamas did not happen in a vacuum,” Secretary of State Antonio Guterres stated.
The remarks irritated Israel, which asked Guterres to resign. Foreign Minister Eli Cohen canceled a meeting with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, and Minister Benny Gantz called the UN chief a “terror apologist.”
Guterres retracted his words after they sparked criticism. On Wednesday, he wrote on X, “The grievances of the Palestinian people cannot justify Hamas’s horrific attacks.” These atrocities cannot justify collective punishment of the Palestinian people.”
The grievances of the Palestinian people cannot justify the horrific attacks by Hamas.
— António Guterres (@antonioguterres) October 25, 2023
Those horrendous attacks cannot justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people.
Attack from Syria
After rockets were fired from Syria toward Israeli villages on the Golan Heights, the Israel Defense Forces say they struck several Syrian military sites. According to the IDF, fighter jets attacked “military infrastructure” and mortar launch locations.
The strikes killed eight soldiers and injured seven more, according to the Syrian state news agency (SANA). According to SANA, Israel’s “aerial aggression” hit a number of military locations near the southwestern city of Deraa, citing a military source. According to the study, the strike also caused material damage.
Meanwhile, Hamas reported that over 80 people were killed in midnight strikes on Gaza. According to the rebel group’s statement, “more than 80 people were martyred and hundreds were wounded in massacres committed by occupation raids” overnight.
In addition, three Palestinians were slain in the West Bank during a nocturnal raid. The armed Palestinians “fired and hurled explosive devices” at IDF personnel in the Jenin refugee camp in the northern West Bank, according to the IDF. Following that, the soldiers replied by launching a drone at them.
