U.N. Secretary General António Guterres visited the Egyptian side of the border with Gaza, where he took the opportunity to unload his usual heavy artillery against Israel, describing the obstacles to the entry of humanitarian aid into the strip as a "moral outrage." He did not mention that Hamas usually appropriates that aid, as told by Mohammed Massad, a former Palestinian terrorist who currently resides in Israel, in statements to Voz Media.
During a press conference, Guterres stated that there is "a long line of blocked relief trucks on one side of the gates, the long shadow of starvation on the other. That is more than tragic. It is a moral outrage."
Guterres, visiting the area for the second time since war broke out on Oct. 7 following the massacre by Hamas, also pressed Israel not to carry out an incursion in the city of Rafah, which is on the border with Egypt, an operation that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu does not plan to abort, since he considers it absolutely necessary to win the war.
"It is more than time for an immediate ceasefire. It is time for an ironclad commitment by Israel to full and unrestricted access to humanitarian goods throughout Gaza," Guterres added.
The leader also called for the "immediate release of all hostages" held by Hamas in Gaza, evoking the "spirit of compassion" of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.
However, he also appealed to the Islamic holy month again take shots at Israel. "It is monstrous that after so much suffering over so many months, Palestinians in Gaza are marking Ramadan with Israeli bombs still falling, bullets still flying artillery still pounding and humanitarian assistance still facing obstacle upon obstacle."
Although the leader maintained that "nothing justifies the horrific attacks by Hamas on Oct. 7," he noted that "nothing justifies the collective punishment of the Palestinian people." However, Guterres did not condemn Hamas for using human shields.
The Portuguese leader also called on the international community to collaborate on providing humanitarian assistance to Gaza. Guterres' request comes after several countries suspended funding to UNRWA, the United Nations agency tasked with helping Palestinians, after some of its members were accused of having been involved in the Oct. 7 massacre.
"I want Palestinians in Gaza to know: You are not alone. People around the world are outraged by the horrors we are all witnessing in real time. I carry the voices of the vast majority of the world who have seen enough. Who have had enough. And who still believe that human dignity and decency must define us as a global community," said Guterres.
Israel's harsh response: UN has become an 'antisemitic body'
In a harsh response to Guterres' comments, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz accused the United Nations, under Guterres' leadership, of having become an "antisemitic and anti-Israel body" that "emboldens" terrorism.
Guterres, Katz said, "stood today on the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing and blamed Israel for the humanitarian situation in Gaza, without condemning in any way the Hamas-ISIS terrorists who plunder humanitarian aid, without condemning @UNRWA that cooperates with terrorists - and without calling for the immediate, unconditional release of all Israeli hostages."
the UN Secretary-General @antonioguterres, stood today on the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing and blamed Israel for the humanitarian situation in Gaza, without condemning in any way the Hamas-ISIS terrorists who plunder humanitarian aid, without condemning @UNRWA that…
— ישראל כ”ץ Israel Katz (@Israel_katz) March 23, 2024
Guterres' justification of the Oct. 7 massacre
Days after the terrorist attack carried out by Hamas on Oct. 7, the U.N. secretary general justified the massacre in which more than 1,400 people were killed, thousands were injured and hundreds were kidnapped.
"It is important to also recognize the attacks by Hamas did not happen in a vacuum. The Palestinian people have been subjected to 56 years of suffocating occupation. They have seen their land steadily devoured by settlements and plagued by violence; their economy stifled; their people displaced and their homes demolished. Their hopes for a political solution to their plight have been vanishing," said Guterres, justifying the rapes of women, the murders of entire families, the indiscriminate killing of young people at a music festival, the beheadings of children, the kidnappings of men, women, the elderly and babies, etc.
The leader argued that Gaza is experiencing a "suffocating occupation" despite the fact that Israel unilaterally withdrew from the Gaza Strip in 2005. This, far from being taken as a step towards peace by the Palestinian side, led to attacks against Israel increasing significantly. Furthermore, Guterres did not comment on the times that, throughout history, the Jewish state offered to hand over the territories that he claims are occupied to the Palestinians in exchange for peace. All proposals were rejected by the Palestinian side again and again.
Guterres also avoided mentioning the atrocities committed by Hamas before Oct. 7, including against its own people, and that the terrorist organization is not only not interested in peace, but, on the contrary, does not hide its genocidal intentions against the Jews. By not recognizing either of these two realities, and by justifying the worst antisemitic attack since the Holocaust, Guterres showed which side he is on in the conflict.
