In a statement marking the one-year anniversary of Hamas’s Oct. 7 terror attack in southern Israel, António Guterres, the United Nations secretary-general, referred to the terror group’s “abhorrent” acts and said that the ensuing war “continues to shatter lives and inflict profound human suffering for Palestinians in Gaza, and now the people of Lebanon.”
“The Oct. 7 attack scarred souls, and on this day we remember all those who were brutally killed and suffered unspeakable violence, including sexual violence, as they were simply living their lives,” Guterres stated.
“This is a day for the global community to repeat in the loudest voice our utter condemnation of the abhorrent acts of Hamas, including the taking of hostages,” he added, noting that he has met with families of hostages and “shared in their anguish and pain.”
“I cannot imagine the torture they are forced to endure every day. I demand once again the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages,” Guterres said. “Until then, Hamas must allow the International Committee of the Red Cross to visit those hostages.” (The secretary-general said the same thing about the Red Cross earlier in the week.)
Guterres also stated that the war “that has followed the terrible attacks of one year ago continues to shatter lives and inflict profound human suffering for Palestinians in Gaza, and now the people of Lebanon.”
“I have spoken out about this often and clearly,” he stated. “It is time for the release of the hostages. Time to silence the guns. Time to stop the suffering that has engulfed the region. Time for peace, international law and justice.”
Israel Katz, the Israeli foreign minister, recently declared Guterres persona non grata. “Anyone who cannot unequivocally condemn Iran’s heinous attack on Israel, as almost every country in the world has done, does not deserve to step foot on Israeli soil,” Katz stated at the time.
“This is a secretary-general, who has yet to denounce the massacre and sexual atrocities committed by Hamas murderers on Oct. 7, nor has he led any efforts to declare them a terrorist organization,” Katz added.
Guterres drew criticism from across the Israeli political spectrum on Oct. 25 when he said that Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack “did not happen in a vacuum.” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reportedly refused to take calls from Guterres since then, and Gilad Erdan, who left his post as Israeli envoy to the United Nations last month, castigated Guterres regularly, often in personal terms.
