Israel calls out UN chief's 'blatant lies', says 'IDF never targets civilians'

Tel Aviv, June 28 (IANS) Israel's Foreign Ministry on Saturday slammed United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres's remarks on the humanitarian aid sent to Gaza, blaming Israel for the UN's "failure" and Hamas's deeds.

The ministry also stated that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) does not attack civilians.

This comes after Guterres had called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, stressing that the humanitarian crisis has reached "horrific proportions" and said, "People are being killed for simply trying to feed themselves and their families. The search for food must never be a death sentence."

Referring to the alleged attacks on the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), the UN Secretary-General said, "We don't need a report of that nature to acknowledge that there have been messy violations of international law and indeed when there is a violation of international law, there must be accountability."

Talking to X, the ministry said, "In response to the remarks of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres: Blaming Israel for the UN's failures and for Hamas's deeds is a deliberate tactic. The GHF has so far provided more than 46 million meals directly to Palestinian civilians, not to Hamas. Yet the UN is doing everything it can to oppose this effort."

Israel further said that by doing so, the UN is "aligning itself with Hamas," which the foreign ministry said is also trying to "sabotage the GHF's humanitarian operations."

"The IDF never targets civilians, and anyone claiming otherwise is blatantly lying. It is Hamas that is deliberately targeting and murdering GHF aid workers -- a crime the UN has never condemned -- and is also targeting civilians who are trying to collect aid from the GHF," it added.

"The UN must now decide: Does it prefer to preserve its monopoly and a system that benefits Hamas -- thereby prolonging the war -- or is it interested in delivering humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza?" the ministry questioned.

Additionally, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz delivered a joint statement on Friday, stressing that the IDF was given clear instructions to avoid harming innocents.

"The State of Israel absolutely rejects the contemptible blood libels that have been published in the Ha'aretz newspaper, according to which 'IDF Soldiers Ordered to Shoot Deliberately at Unarmed Gazans Waiting for Humanitarian Aid," the statement read.

--IANS

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