UN secretary general says comments on Hamas attack were 'misrepresented,' as Israel retaliates with visa ban
António Guterres says contentious remarks were meant to condemn Oct. 7 attack
The United Nations' top official said on Wednesday his comments around the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas were not intended to justify the initial attack by Hamas earlier this month, saying instead that his comments were "misrepresented" in a dispute that has led to a ban on visas for UN staff.
UN Secretary General António Guterres spoke on Wednesday, hours after Israel said it would stop issuing visas to UN personnel to "teach them a lesson" over Guterres's initial comments, which were made during a meeting on Tuesday.
"I am shocked by the misrepresentations by some of my statement yesterday in the Security Council as if I was justifying acts of terror by Hamas. This is false, it was the opposite," Guterres said, speaking to reporters in New York City.
"I spoke of the grievance of the Palestinian people and in doing so, I also clearly stated, and I quote, that 'the grievances of the Palestinian people cannot justify the appalling attacks by Hamas.'"
Details on visa ban unclear
During a UN Security Council meeting on Tuesday, Guterres said Hamas's attack on Oct. 7 "did not happen in a vacuum," but after "56 years of suffocating occupation" by Israel.
Outraged Israelis accused the high-ranking official of justifying the Hamas incursion that left 1,400 people dead and 2,700 wounded, with scores more taken hostage.
The action on visas came from Israel's ambassador to the UN, Gilad Erdan, on Wednesday morning.
"Due to [Guterres's] remarks we will refuse to issue visas to UN representatives. We have already refused a visa for under-secretary general for humanitarian affairs Martin Griffiths," Erdan told Army Radio, a national radio station run by Israeli Defence Forces.
"The time has come to teach them a lesson."
In his role at the UN, Griffiths co-ordinates emergency relief for people affected by humanitarian crises. It was not immediately clear whether Israel's decision on visas would affect UN aid personnel already on the ground in Gaza and the West Bank.
Erdan called on Guterres to resign immediately. Israel's visiting Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said he would no longer attend a planned meeting with Guterres on Tuesday.
Instead, Guterres met with family representatives of people held hostage in Gaza.
Guterres did not comment on the visa action Wednesday. He said his original remarks Tuesday "condemned unequivocally" the attacks two weeks ago, saying: "Nothing can justify the deliberate killing, injuring and kidnapping of civilians – or the launching of rockets against civilian targets."
"I believe it was necessary to set the record straight, especially out of respect to the victims and to their families," he said.
Israel imposed a complete siege over Gaza in response to Hamas's incursion, bombarding the territory with devastating airstrikes over the past two weeks. Thousands have been killed and surviving residents have been running out of food, water and medicine.
The UN has said more than half of Gaza's 2.3 million residents are now out of their homes, with almost 600,000 crowded into UN shelters.
Later on Wednesday, the UN Security Council will vote on rival proposals by the United States and Russia for action on the conflict.
Both countries seek UN Security Council resolutions to address shortages of food, water, medical supplies and electricity in Gaza — but the U.S. has called for pauses to allow aid to enter Gaza, while Russia wants a humanitarian ceasefire.
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With files from Reuters