UN chief says Hamas massacre 'didn't happen in a vacuum'

Israel's UN envoy blasts 'shocking, immoral' speech as 'disconnected from reality'

Israel's envoy to the United Nations on Tuesday lambasted the speech by the body's Secretary-General Antonio Guterres regarding the Hamas massacre.

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“It is important to also recognize the attacks by Hamas did not happen in a vacuum,” Guterres said. “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.”

Gilad Erdan wrote on his X account that "the shocking speech," given "while rockets are being fired at all of Israel, proved conclusively, beyond any doubt, that the Secretary-General is completely disconnected from the reality in our region and that he views the massacre committed by Nazi Hamas terrorists in a distorted and immoral manner."

The October 7 massacre, where over 1,400 Israelis were butchered by Palestinian terrorists in horrific circumstances, represents the worst atrocity committed against the Jews since the Holocaust.

Chewhanluke on October 24th, 2023 at 20:18 UTC »

The discourse surrounding this entire situation further proves to me that we’re doomed to never see one another as human beings…

Impossible1999 on October 24th, 2023 at 17:55 UTC »

Don’t forget Hamas had just agreed to ceasefire/peace with Israel just a few weeks before the massacres. Obviously, Hamas doesn’t care about Gaza either.

seth928 on October 24th, 2023 at 17:36 UTC »

Credit to u/thiswebsitewentdownh. I just thought it deserves to be it's own comment.

Original comment

At a crucial moment like this, it is vital to be clear on principles -- starting with the fundamental principle of respecting and protecting civilians.

I have condemned unequivocally the horrifying and unprecedented 7 October acts of terror by Hamas in Israel.

Nothing can justify the deliberate killing, injuring and kidnapping of civilians – or the launching of rockets against civilian targets.

All hostages must be treated humanely and released immediately and without conditions. I respectfully note the presence among us of members of their families.

Excellencies,

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.

But the grievances of the Palestinian people cannot justify the appalling attacks by Hamas. And those appalling attacks cannot justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people.

Excellencies,

Even war has rules.

We must demand that all parties uphold and respect their obligations under international humanitarian law; take constant care in the conduct of military operations to spare civilians; and respect and protect hospitals and respect the inviolability of UN facilities which today are sheltering more than 600,000 Palestinians.

The relentless bombardment of Gaza by Israeli forces, the level of civilian casualties, and the wholesale destruction of neighborhoods continue to mount and are deeply alarming.

I mourn and honour the dozens of UN colleagues working for UNRWA - sadly, at least 35 and counting - killed in the bombardment of Gaza over the last two weeks.

I owe to their families my condemnation of these and many other similar killings.

The protection of civilians is paramount in any armed conflict.

Protecting civilians can never mean using them as human shields.

Protecting civilians does not mean ordering more than one million people to evacuate to the south, where there is no shelter, no food, no water, no medicine and no fuel, and then continuing to bomb the south itself.