The UN Sec-Gen Antonio Guterres rejected accusations by Israel that in his statement to the Security Council he had justified attacks by Hamas on Israel.
"I am shocked by the misrepresentations by some of my statements... as if I was justifying acts of terror by Hamas. This is false. It was the opposite," he told reporters.
Following his statement, Israel canceled Guterres' visit and began other punitive measures against the United Nations.
The United Nations News account on the X platform said that misinterpreting Guterres' speech made it appear that he was justifying acts of terrorism committed by Hamas.
The Sec-Gen said during a session of the UN Security Council on Tuesday that it was important to recognize that the attacks by "Hamas did not happen in a vacuum."
In his speech, Guterres noted that the "Palestinian people have been subjected to 56 years of suffocating occupation."
"All hostages must be treated humanely and released immediately and without conditions," he said, adding that he was deeply concerned about the "clear violations of international humanitarian law that we are witnessing in Gaza."
He asserted that the aid must be delivered without restrictions, noting that: "to ease epic suffering, make the delivery of aid easier and safer, and facilitate the release of hostages, I reiterate my appeal for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire."
"Some humanitarian relief is finally getting into Gaza," said the Sec-Gen, describing it as "a drop of aid in an ocean of need."
UN fuel supplies in Gaza will run out in a matter of days, which would be another disaster.
Guterres expressed deep concerns about the clear violations of international humanitarian law in Gaza.
"Let me be clear: No party to an armed conflict is above international humanitarian law.|
However, the statement angered the Israelis, so the government canceled his planned visit to Tel Aviv and began other punitive measures against the UN.
Political sources in Tel Aviv reported that the withdrawal of travel visas for UN officials was among the sanctions.
Israel's UN Ambassador Gilad Erdan described Guterres' speech as "shocking" and called on Guterres to resign immediately, while Israel's visiting Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said he would not meet with Guterres on Tuesday as planned.
However, Israel did not find a single country that supported its stance.
Meanwhile, Germany expressed its support for Guterres on Wednesday, rejecting calls for his resignation.
The Israeli government is annoyed with the UN's activity in the field, especially since they monitor operations on both sides. During wars, they publish a daily report on the situation.
In its daily report on Wednesday, the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, warned that it would be forced to stop all its operations in Gaza by Wednesday night unless fuel was delivered.
The report noted that since October 11, the Gaza Strip has witnessed a complete power outage, forcing hospitals and water facilities to rely on backup generators.
It warned that "only one-third of UNRWA clinics in the South and Middle Areas are operational," and fuel stocks in the functional UNRWA primary healthcare centers are about to run out.
The UN also expressed concern about the estimated 1.4 million displaced persons in Gaza, with nearly 600,000 internally displaced people sheltering in 150 UNRWA facilities.
Overcrowding is a source of increasing concern, given that the average number of displaced people in each shelter center is 2.6 times more than its capacity, and the most overcrowded centers are 11 times more than their intended capacity.
Notably, Israeli governments used to disdain the UN and established bad relations with it, which caused severe crises between the two parties.
However, the Israelis reported an improvement in the UN's dealings with Israel, and diplomats have been elected to senior positions there.
They viewed Guterres as a moderate person but turned against him because of his recent statement, in which he tried to draw attention to the fact that the ongoing conflict is the cause of all the calamity the region is witnessing.
