UN Chief Guterres Criticizes Israel's Gaza Operation and Ukraine War Stalemate

UN Chief Criticizes Israel's Gaza Operation and Ukraine War Stalemate

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday pointed to a "fundamental error" in the way Israel is conducting its military operations in the Gaza Strip, and the existence of "good reasons to believe" that it is committing war crimes.

In an interview, Guterres stated, "I think the way this operation is being conducted is fundamentally wrong, with a total disregard for civilian deaths and the destruction of Gaza. Israel's objective is to destroy Hamas, Gaza has been destroyed, and Hamas has not been destroyed. So, there is a fundamental error in the way this operation is being conducted."

According to data from the Gaza Health Ministry, more than 70,000 people have been killed in Gaza during the two-year-long conflict between Israel and Hamas. When asked if Israel had committed war crimes, Guterres responded, "There are good reasons to believe that this may be the case."

In response, Danny Danon, Israel's ambassador to the United Nations, stated, "The only crime is that more than two years after the terrible massacre on October 7, the UN Secretary-General has still not visited Israel, and instead uses his high position to criticize and condemn Israel and Israelis at every opportunity, which is morally repugnant."

However, last October, then-Israeli Foreign Minister (now Defense Minister) Katz stated that he had banned Guterres from entering the country.

Since October 10, a fragile ceasefire agreement has been in effect in Gaza, but Israel continues to strike Gaza and demolish what it calls Hamas infrastructure. Hamas and Israel accuse each other of violating the US-backed agreement.

Guterres praised the crucial role the United States has played in improving access to aid in Gaza. A global hunger monitoring agency stated in August that Gaza was experiencing famine. He said, "The United Nations has good cooperation with the United States in the field of humanitarian aid, and I hope that this cooperation will continue and develop."

The United Nations has long complained of obstacles to the delivery and distribution of aid in Gaza, blaming Israel and the state of lawlessness for these obstacles. Israel criticizes UN-led operations, accusing Hamas of stealing aid, which the group denies.

Ukraine Situation Far From Resolved

Guterres indicated that talks to end the Russian-Ukrainian conflict seem to be stalled, and that a resolution to the conflict should respect international law and the territorial integrity of countries. "Will that happen? Probably not," he said. "I think we are very far from a solution."

Guterres added, "Violating these rules is extremely dangerous because it makes people around the world feel that they can do whatever they want, because international law no longer matters. So, I hope that the negotiations that end the conflict will respect these principles, although I realize that this is not easy."

The Russian-Ukrainian conflict broke out in February 2022, leading to the biggest confrontation between Moscow and the West since the Cold War. The United States is trying to mediate an end to the conflict.

Trump and the United Nations

U.S. President Trump has described the United Nations as having "tremendous potential" but said it has not lived up to it. He has sharply reduced U.S. foreign aid and hopes to further cut U.S. funding for the United Nations.

Guterres described the United Nations' approach to the Trump administration: "Not making any concessions that shake our loyalty to the values we defend, but also not engaging in pointless arguments."

He added, "I am not interested in getting into any arguments with the US government. What I am interested in is preserving the values of the United Nations, and preserving those values that I believe enable us to build a more just world, respectful of international law and capable of overcoming enormous inequalities."

He said that the U.S. cuts had "created an opportunity" for him to push for UN reforms, but had had dire consequences on the ground: "As we see now, the drop in levels of humanitarian aid leads to the deaths of many."

Venezuela Issue

Regarding the US strikes on ships near Venezuela, Guterres said the United Nations had made it clear that these operations were not in accordance with international law.

Since early September, the US military has carried out at least 21 strikes in the Caribbean and Pacific on ships suspected of carrying drugs, killing at least 83 people, as Trump escalates a military build-up against Venezuelan President Maduro's government. He said, "I don't think military confrontation is the solution to the problem.""