Israel’s ambassador called Friday’s United Nations Security Council meeting an “absurdity,” as the body was summoned again to discuss the humanitarian situation in Gaza at the request of Russia, China and Algeria.
Gilad Erdan, noting that Israeli forces had recovered the bodies of five slain hostages from a designated humanitarian zone in Gaza, chided the council for failing to call a single meeting to discuss “what has caused the war and how to address it.”
He also criticized the United Nations for its failure to deliver the humanitarian aid to Gaza that Israel facilitates the screening and entry of, and for relying on Hamas’s data regarding casualty figures and other metrics.
“How can we even hold a session on the situation in Gaza without verifiable data?” asked Erdan. “Why hasn’t the Security Council called a meeting to ask the United Nations for an independent process to secure reputable information, rather than trusting the words of child killers and rapists?”
Much of the meeting was focused on the plight of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), the scandal-plagued Palestinian-only U.N. agency which Israel has accused of extensive ties to Hamas.
Israeli legislators are advancing bills to designate UNRWA as a terror organization, to halt the agency’s activities in Jerusalem and to strip the agency and its staff of diplomatic privileges and immunities.
Its facilities in Jerusalem have been attacked by Israeli civilians angry at the agency’s alleged ties to Hamas, the participation of a number of its staff members in the Oct. 7 massacre and UNRWA’s disinformation campaign regarding Israel’s humanitarian aid efforts.
“The campaign against UNRWA, attacks against its premises and legislative efforts to declare UNRWA a terrorist organization to end its operations are utterly unacceptable and endanger our operations,” said Muhannad Hadi, U.N. deputy special coordinator for the Middle East peace process.
Antonia De Meo, UNRWA deputy commissioner-general, complained to the council that “many U.N. staff” have been refused visas to enter Israel or have been issued short-term visas, while the visa of UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini “expired more than a month ago and has not yet been renewed.”
Vasily Nebenzya, Russia’s U.N. ambassador and rotating council president for July, said on Friday that Security Council members “should not play along with efforts to discredit” UNRWA, adding that the Knesset’s UNRWA legislation “cannot be interpreted as anything other than a slap in the face of the entire U.N.”
Washington’s representative at the meeting also took Israel to task, saying that “heated rhetoric and attacks aimed at U.N. organizations such as UNRWA, as well as U.N. personnel performing humanitarian functions, put the safety of all U.N. and humanitarian aid workers at risk. They do nothing to get humanitarian assistance to civilians in Gaza.”
But Robert Wood, U.S. deputy U.N. ambassador, reiterated calls for an investigation of all claims against UNRWA personnel accused of terror ties.
“It is vital that ongoing investigations are concluded swiftly and that U.N. organizations, including UNRWA, implement recommended reforms,” said Wood.
“Even as we press all parties to facilitate life-saving work, we must not ignore how Hamas’s actions continue to put civilians, including humanitarian personnel and their families at risk,” he added.
He also accused Nebenzya and Moscow of playing politics with Gaza and feigning interest in scaling up humanitarian aid.
“Russia continues to try to portray itself as a great humanitarian actor when it comes to Gaza, yet it does very little when it comes to trying to address the humanitarian situation,” said Wood. “Russia doesn’t help solve humanitarian crises. It creates them.”
Slovenian Ambassador Boštjan Malovrh attempted to split the difference, urging the council to demand from both sides a quick resolution to ceasefire negotiations, suggesting that if a deal isn’t in place by the end of the Olympic games, the council should take action to force compliance.
“This is what we believe the council could do to move beyond briefings and lamenting over the humanitarian situation,” said Malovrh.
