United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres stated on Wednesday that the civilian casualties in the Gaza Strip indicate a significant issue with Israel’s military operations against Hamas Palestinian militants. Israel has pledged to eradicate Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, following an attack on October 7 in which they killed 1,400 people and took over 240 hostages.
Israel has employed air strikes, imposed a siege, and launched a ground invasion in Gaza.
Guterres emphasized that there have been violations by Hamas using human shields, but the high number of civilian casualties is a cause for concern.
Palestinian officials have reported 10,569 deaths in Gaza, with 40% of them being children.
Guterres also urged Israel to consider the global public opinion and its humanitarian impact on the Palestinian people.
Israel’s U.N. Ambassador, Gilad Erdan, rejected Guterres’ remarks, arguing that the Gaza health ministry’s death toll could not be trusted and that Israel is working to limit civilian casualties while Hamas targets civilians. He compared the situation to World War II, where he questioned if Guterres would say something was “wrong” with U.S. and UK military operations due to higher civilian casualties in Germany.
