Jerusalem: In a scathing criticism of UN chief Antonio Guterres, Israel on Thursday said his tenure “is a danger to world peace” after he used a rarely exercised power to warn the Security Council of an impending “humanitarian catastrophe” in Gaza and urged it to demand an immediate humanitarian ceasefire.
In a letter to the UN Security Council’s 15 members on Wednesday, the UN Secretary-General said that Gaza’s humanitarian system was at risk of collapse after two months of war that has created “appalling human suffering, physical destruction and collective trauma”.
Israel said Guterres’ move was akin to support for the Hamas terror group and an endorsement of the dastardly acts carried by it in Israel on October 7.
Taking to social media platform X, formerly Twitter, Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said that “Guterres’ tenure is a danger to world peace”.
“His request to activate Article 99 and the call for a cease-fire in Gaza constitutes support of the Hamas terrorist organisation and an endorsement of the murder of the elderly, the abduction of babies and the rape of women,” Cohen wrote.
“Anyone who supports world peace must support the liberation of Gaza from Hamas”, he emphasised.