Dozens of envoys to the United Nations are in Israel as part of a fact-finding mission organized by Israeli Ambassador to the U.N. Danny Danon, comprising visits to Jerusalem and the southern border with the Gaza Strip.
On Sunday, the delegation visited the Gaza Envelope region, where they were “exposed to the horrors of the October 7 [attacks] and the stories of heroism of our people,” Danon wrote in a post on X.
The ambassadors visited the site of the Nova festival, the Israel Defense Forces’ Nahal Oz base and Kibbutz Kfar Aza, where a combined total of 493 people were killed by Hamas during the Oct. 7, 2023, terror attack.
“Whoever hears these testimonies and looks the victims’ families in the eyes cannot return to the diplomatic comfort zone,” Danon said, adding that the visit was “worth more than a thousand discussions” at the United Nations.
The envoys also toured the nearby Kerem Shalom Crossing to witness “the aid trucks that enter ... every day,” Danon stated.
“Israel has been accused of preventing [...] the inflow of humanitarian aid,” the senior Israeli diplomat continued. “I made it clear that as long as Hamas is in power, there will be no future of reconstruction in Gaza.”
“The international effort must focus on one thing: removing the terrorist organization Hamas from the equation,” Danon concluded.
Last week, the delegation toured Jerusalem, where they visited the ancient City of David, the Old City and the Western Wall, among other Jewish heritage sites, Danon said in a separate post.
“Moving to be visiting the Pilgrimage Road in the City of David with a delegation of ambassadors from around the world, at the place where the history of the Jewish people is etched in stone,” Danon tweeted.
The delegation, which includes U.N. envoys from Italy, Australia, Romania, Bulgaria, Cyprus and Albania, as well as six African nations, three Latin American ones, five Pacific Island countries and Papua New Guinea, touched down in Israel after Danon led them on a tour of Auschwitz-Birkenau and Holocaust-related sites in Poland earlier last week.
As part of the visit to the Jewish state, they are also scheduled to meet with senior Israeli officials, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli President Isaac Herzog, according to a statement by Danon’s office.
Most of the participating ambassadors had never been in Israel, and had also visited Poland for the first time as part of the fact-finding mission, Danon told JNS last week, saying that their attendance represented a “shift into a phase” in Jerusalem’s diplomatic relationships at the United Nations following the Oct. 10 implementation of the ceasefire between Hamas and Israel in Gaza.
The Jewish state has been under fierce criticism and attempts to isolate it at the U.N. during the war that broke out after Hamas attacked Israel.
