Today’s news / Angry scenes at UN Security Council
UN Secretary-General António Guterres addressed a meeting of the Security Council at the UN headquarters in New York on Tuesday. Photo: Seth Wenig/Ritzau Scanpix

Angry scenes at UN Security Council

UN Secretary-General António Guterres asked at a meeting of the UN Security Council on Tuesday for civilians to be protected in the conflict between Israel and Hamas. He also expressed concern about “clear violations of international humanitarian law” in the Gaza Strip, Reuters reports. Guterres, speaking to the 15 members of the council, said that “at crucial moments like this,” it is important to be clear that war has rules, starting with the basic principle of respecting and protecting civilians.
     “It is important also to recognize that the attacks by Hamas did not happen in a vacuum. The Palestinian people have been subjected to 56 years of suffocating occupation,” Guterres said on Tuesday, adding: “I am deeply concerned about the clear violations of international humanitarian law that we are witnessing in Gaza. Let me be clear: No party to an armed conflict is above international humanitarian law,” he said, without mentioning Israel directly.
     According to AFP, Guterres’ statements infuriated Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen. He raised his voice and pointed to Guterres while speaking in very detailed language about civilian killings committed by Hamas on October 7. “Mr. Secretary-General, in what world do you live?” asked Cohen. Israel’s UN ambassador, Gilad Erdan, also described the secretary-general’s speech as “shocking”. “His statement that ‘the attacks by Hamas did not happen in a vacuum,’ expressed an understanding for terrorism and murder,” he writes on X. “It’s truly sad that the head of an organisation that arose after the Holocaust holds such horrible views,” he added. /ritzau/