The Secretary General of the United Nations (UN), António Guterres, remains without response from the Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, to a request for contact after the start of the war in Gaza, his door confirmed this Monday. voice, Stéphane Dujarric.
‘We have requested a telephone conversation with the Prime Minister [Netanyahu] and when that connection is made, it will happen”Dujarric said, adding that this does not prevent the UN from “maintaining functional contacts with Israel.”
The only contact made public so far is Guterres’ with Israeli President Isaac Herzog, who has no executive power. To Herzog, Guterres stressed “the need to respect international law, protect civilians and protect UN facilities,” the spokesman said, referring to the schools where refugees are sheltering.
Dujarric insisted that Guterres “says the same thing in private as he says in public” about the situation of citizens.
The spokesperson was also asked why Guterres did not travel to Israel on his last trip to the region – which took him to Cairo and the Rafah border, between Egypt and Gaza – to which he replied: “The Secretary-General always takes into account where his presence is most useful.”
Israel has always been highly critical of UN institutions in general, and last week, during a protest in support of Israel in New York, Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Gilad Erdan said that Guterres, when he went to the Rafah border crossing went, “a message of support for terrorists.”
Hamas’ attack on Israeli territory on October 7 left more than 1,400 dead, mostly civilians, and 222 hostages, prompting strong Israeli retaliation.
This Monday, the Israeli army and Palestinian fighters will enter the 17th day of the war, continuing incessant airstrikes by Israeli forces on the enclave and the launching of projectiles into Israel by Palestinian militias.
According to local authorities, more than 5,000 people have been killed in the Gaza Strip, including more than 2,000 children, more than 1,100 women and 217 elderly people.
At Monday’s press conference, the spokesperson acknowledged that the UN Agency for Palestinians (UNRWA, the largest aid agency active in Gaza) has not yet managed to bring even one liter of fuel into the Gaza Strip.
UNRWA has repeatedly said the fuel is needed to power the generators that keep Gaza’s hospitals running after the Israeli government cut electricity supplies to the entire territory.
Meanwhile, at least 35 UNRWA workers have been killed as a result of Israeli bombing in the Gaza Strip since October 7, when war broke out between the Islamist group Hamas and Israel, the organization said in a statement on Monday.
The country also indicated that 40 of its facilities – including two in the past 24 hours – have been damaged since the start of the war.
UNRWA also stated that nearly 600,000 internally displaced persons are taking refuge in 150 of the organization’s facilities in the Gaza Strip.
For example, the number of internally displaced people has increased by 14,000 in the past 24 hours, i.e. by 3.5%.
The UN General Assembly will meet on Thursday to discuss the war caused by the Hamas attack on Israeli territory, the organization’s leader announced in a letter to member states on Monday.
Although the Security Council could not agree on a resolution on this war, several countries, including Jordan on behalf of the Arab group, Russia, Syria, Bangladesh and even Vietnam and Cambodia, formally requested Assembly President Dennis Francis to hold this meeting to plan.
Before the General Assembly meets on Thursday morning, the Security Council will meet on Tuesday to debate the issue. A long-planned meeting at which several foreign ministers are expected, including Israel’s Eli Cohen.
Source: DN
