Guterres Criticized for not Condemning Hamas After Murder of Hostages
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres is facing a wave of criticism for not explicitly decrying Hamas after the group murdered six hostages, including an American citizen, in Gaza, Fox News reports.
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) were reportedly attempting to rescue the hostages, including Israeli-American Hersh Goldberg-Polin, from a tunnel system beneath Rafah city, but discovered all six had been murdered by Hamas. According to Israel’s Ministry of Health, the hostages were killed between Thursday and Friday morning.
“I will never forget my meeting last October with the parents of Hersh Goldberg-Polin and other hostage families. Today’s tragic news is a devastating reminder of the need for the unconditional release of all hostages and an end to the nightmare of war in Gaza,” Guterres posted on X in response to the news.
Guterres’ statement, which did not explicitly condemn Hamas, drew sharp criticism from Israel’s former UN ambassador Gilad Erdan. Erdan accused Guterres of downplaying the severity of the murders by labeling the news as merely “tragic” and avoiding a condemnation of Hamas.
Erdan, who had previously called for Guterres’ resignation in October after the UN chief allegedly blamed Israel for a Hamas massacre, pointed to the UN’s history of antisemitism and anti-Israel bias.
The UN has faced accusations of bias in its reporting on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, with critics arguing that the organization consistently favors the Palestinian narrative.
