Israel ‘outraged’ by UN chief’s ‘moral bankruptcy’
Guterres condemned Jerusalem for its renewed offensive against Hamas, but stayed silent on the terror group’s rejection of U.S. ceasefire extension proposals.
U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres speaks during a U.N. Security Council meeting on Gaza and the situation in Middle East at U.N. headquarters in New York City on Jan. 20 2024. Photo by Kena Betancur/AFP via Getty Images.
(March 19, 2025 / JNS)
Israel on Tuesday sharply criticized United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, after he condemned Israel’s airstrikes on Hamas targets in Gaza overnight Monday.
“We are outraged that you are the secretary-general of the United Nations,” tweeted Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesperson Oren Marmorstein.
“Not a word about Hamas rejecting two ceasefire extensions [that] Israel accepted. Not a word about Hamas exploiting humanitarian aid or UNRWA employing terrorists. Indeed, we are outraged by your moral bankruptcy,” he said, referring to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.
Guterres had some two hours earlier stated he was “outraged by Israeli airstrikes in Gaza,” calling for a renewed ceasefire, uninterrupted aid and the unconditional release of hostages.
The latest clash follows a series of tensions between Israel and Guterres, who previously angered Israeli officials by stating Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack “did not happen in a vacuum.” Israel has accused him of bias, pointing to his decision to exclude Hamas from a U.N. list of entities accused of sexual violence, while later blacklisting Israel alongside Russia and terrorist organizations.
Following Iran’s October attack on Israel, then-foreign minister Israel Katz barred Guterres from entering the country, calling him a “disgrace in U.N. history” for failing to condemn Iran unequivocally.
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