Time for UN to 'acknowledge the truth' on Gaza - Israeli envoy
'The defeat of Hamas is not only an Israeli interest - it is a humanitarian imperative,' Danny Danon tells the UN Security Council
Israel's Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon spoke to the Security Council on Monday in a meeting on the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip.
"The UNRWA workers who were killed last week are Hamas terrorists," Danon charged, referring to an Israeli strike that was condemned by the UN after the death of the agency's employees raised an outcry.
The aid workers-turned terrorists were killed in a building formerly housing a school that had been repurposed by Hamas operatives.
Israel confirmed the terrorists' names, with Danon naming them.
"Each of these terrorists were Hamas military operatives," Danon charged. "Each of them was also employed by UNRWA."
"UNRWA-Gaza has become nothing more than a cartel, fostering hatred and prolonging misery in Gaza."
More than 100 names had been provided by Israel, "yet some here continue to fund this agency as if it were neutral, as if it were part of the solution and not part of the problem."
He added that "With Hamas left in control, no meaningful discussion can take place about Gaza's future. The root of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza is not a shortage of food or medicine - it is that Hamas continues to hold its people hostage in service of their evil ideology."
"Our goal is very clear: to defeat Hamas, to secure the return of all our hostages," Danon concluded. "As long as Hamas holds our citizens hostage, as our families wonder if their loved ones are dead or alive, the real humanitarian work cannot begin. It is time for this council to acknowledge the truth: the humanitarian crisis in Gaza isn't due to a lack of food or medicine. It stems from lack of genuine leadership, poor management, and the grip of a terror organization that values death over life. The defeat of Hamas is not only an Israeli interest - it is a humanitarian imperative."
The meeting was led by Sigrid Kaag, the UN’s Senior Humanitarian and Reconstruction Coordinator for Gaza.