UN Secretary-General António Guterres said at a Reuters NEXT conference on Wednesday, the 8th of November, that the death toll in Gaza shows that there is something “clearly wrong” in Israeli military operations against Palestinian militants Hamas, reports Reuters.
“Hamas commits violations when they use human shields. But if you look at the number of civilians who have been killed in military operations, there is something clearly wrong,” Guterres told the Reuters NEXT conference.
The UN Secretary-General stressed the importance of communicating to Israel that daily coverage of the grave humanitarian situation in Palestine has a negative impact on Israel’s image in the world, adding that “it does not help Israel in terms of world public opinion.”
Israel’s UN Ambassador Gilad Erdan disagreed with Secretary-General Guterres’ comments,
expressing his lack of confidence in the casualty figures provided by Gaza’s Ministry of Health. Erdan confirmed Israel’s efforts to reduce civilian casualties, stressing the establishment of an evacuation corridor, while pointing out that civilians Hamas target civilians.
Using a historical analogy, Erdan questioned whether the Secretary-General would claim that the higher number of German civilian casualties during the World War Two “meant that something was “wrong” with the military operations of the US and the UK when fighting a genocidal regime?” he told Reuters.
Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry reports that more than 10 000 people, including thousands of children, have been killed since the start of Israel’s retaliatory operations.
Read also: Israel says it is open for humanitarian pauses in Gaza
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