By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
JERUSALEM (Worthy News) – Israel has condemned a decision by United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to add it to a U.N. blacklist of countries and groups that commit grave violations against children.
Guterres announced Friday that his decision was due to Israel’s military operations in Gaza, where it seeks to eliminate Hamas after the Islamic group killed some 1,200 people, including babies in southern Israel.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, “The U.N. put itself on history’s blacklist today when it joined the supporters of the Hamas murderers. The [Israel Defense Forces] IDF is the most moral army in the world, and no delusional decision by the U.N. will change that.”
Israel’s UN Ambassador Gilad Erdan said he was “utterly shocked and disgusted by this shameful decision.”
He added that the “immoral decision only aids terrorism and rewards Hamas. Now Hamas will continue even more to use schools and hospitals because this shameful decision of the secretary-general will only give Hamas hope.”
The annual “Children and Armed Conflict” report from UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has not yet been published, but Israeli leaders responded after receiving notification of Israel’s inclusion.
Guterres’ report, which highlights human rights violations against children in around 20 conflict zones, is expected to be published by the end of June.
ISLAMIST GROUPS
Last year’s report listed entities such as the Islamist Taliban rulers in Afghanistan and the Islamic State group in Iraq, as well as the Russian army for its actions in Ukraine.
However, the U.N. decision came to include Israel amid mounting pressure from pro-Palestina activists. Critics want to punish Israel for its retaliatory offensive after Hamas carried out the worst atrocities against Jews since the Holocaust, also known as Shoah.
The Hamas-run health ministry claims at least 36,731 people have been killed in Gaza since Israel began its military operations in October. Israel’s government gave slightly lower estimates and said nearly half of those killed were Hamas fighters.
Last week, the World Health Organization said that more than four in five children had gone a whole day without eating at least once in 72 hours due to a lack of aid entering Gaza.
The Hamas-run media office said at least 32 people, many of them children, have died of malnutrition in Gaza since the war began.
Israel had been blamed for delaying the entry of aid into Gaza, depriving the territory’s 2.4 million people of clean water, food, medicines, and fuel.
However, Israel’s government has blamed Hamas for withholding aid from the general population or selling it for high prices.
US TRIP
The controversy unfolded after Netanyahu reportedly said he would “present the truth” about the war against Hamas in Gaza when he addressed the U.S. Congress on July 24 during a visit to Washington.
Netanyahu will speak to a joint session of the House of Representatives and the Senate, House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell announced.
It was not immediately clear if Netanyahu would meet with U.S. President Joe Biden amid tensions about Israel’s military operations in the southern Gaza city of Rafah.
Last month, the World Health Organization said about 1.2 million people were sheltering in Rafah, and more than half were children.
Many have come from other parts of Gaza, fleeing in search of safety and shelter as Israel’s campaign against Hamas left much of the Gaza Strip in ruins.
Israel has accused Hamas of hiding among civilians, increasing the destruction and death toll.
Copyright 1999-2024 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
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