Israel calls on UN chief to resign after call for cease-fire with Hamas

Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations called on Secretary-General António Guterres to resign Tuesday after he gave a speech calling for a cease-fire in the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

“The UN Secretary-General, who shows understanding for the campaign of mass murder of children, women, and the elderly, is not fit to lead the UN,” Ambassador Gilad Erdan said on X, formerly Twitter. “I call on him to resign immediately.”

“There is no justification or point in talking to those who show compassion for the most terrible atrocities committed against the citizens of Israel and the Jewish people,” he added. “There are simply no words.”

Earlier Tuesday, Guterres gave a speech at the United Nations denouncing Hamas and Israel for acts endangering civilians, saying he is “deeply concerned” about the “clear violations of international humanitarian law” in the conflict.

“The protection of civilians is paramount in any armed conflict. Protecting civilians can never mean using them as human shields,” he said, referring to Hamas. 

“Protecting civilians does not mean ordering more than 1 million people to evacuate to the south [of Gaza] where there is no shelter, no food, no water, no medicine and no fuel and then continuing to bomb the south itself,” he continued, calling out the Israeli military.

“To ease epic suffering, make the delivery of aid easier and safer, and facilitate the release of hostages, I reiterate my appeal for an immediate humanitarian cease-fire,” Guterres added.

Erdan took exception to Guterres’s sentiments, saying he is “disconnected from reality.”

“The shocking speech by the UN Secretary-General at the Security Council meeting, while rockets are being fired at all of Israel, proved conclusively, beyond any doubt, that the Secretary-General is completely disconnected from the reality in our region and that he views the massacre committed by Nazi Hamas terrorists in a distorted and immoral manner,” he said on X.

Guterres has been a chief advocate for humanitarian aid in Gaza, a territory that has nearly run out of food, water, medical supplies and fuel. 

The first humanitarian aid convoys entered Gaza on Saturday, but Guterres warned that they will soon be forced to stop unless Israel reverses its ban on fuel imports because the U.N.’s reserve is running low.

The fighting has killed more than 5,000 Palestinians, including more than 2,000 children, according to the Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry. More than 1,400 Israelis were also killed, mostly in a Hamas surprise attack at the outset of the conflict earlier this month.

Israel ramped up its aerial strike campaign on Gaza overnight Tuesday as the country prepares for an expected ground invasion of Gaza.

Also in response to Guterres’s speech, Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said he will cancel upcoming meetings with the U.N. chief.

“I will not meet with the UN Secretary General. After October 7th there is no room for a balanced approach,” he said on X. “Hamas must be erased from the world!”