UNITED NATIONS: The upcoming inclusion of Israel on a UN list of countries and armed forces failing to protect children in war prompted a furious Israeli response Friday.
“I am utterly shocked and disgusted by this shameful decision,” UN Ambassador Gilad Erdan said in a statement.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu posted on his X social media account that the UN had “added itself to the blacklist of history when it joined those who support the Hamas murderers.”
“The IDF is the most moral army in the world; no delusional UN decision will change that,” he wrote.
The annual “Children and Armed Conflict” report from UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is not due to be published until June 18, but Erdan went public after receiving notification of Israel’s inclusion on the list of countries that do not take adequate measures to shield children from conflict.
A diplomatic source told AFP that Hamas and another Palestinian group, would also appear on the list.
Erdan lashed out at Guterres, saying: “The only one who is blacklisted today is the secretary-general.”
Israel says struck Hamas at UN school, Gaza officials report 3 dead
“Now Hamas will continue even more to use schools and hospitals because this shameful decision of the secretary-general will only give Hamas hope,” he said.
Gaza is suffering through a war which broke out after Hamas’s unprecedented October 7 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,194 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed at least 36,731 people in Gaza, mostly civilians, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry.
Israel has also delayed the entry of aid into Gaza, depriving the territory’s 2.4 million people of clean water, food, medicines and fuel.
American Dollar Exchange Rate