Israel's envoy to the United Nations has called on the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to resign over comments he made to the Security Council this morning.
Opening a debate on the deepening crisis in the Middle East, Mr Guterres said he unequivocally condemned the 7 October Hamas attacks in Israel.
"Nothing could justify the deliberate killing, injuring and kidnapping of civilians," he said.
Mr Guterres then went on to say it was important to also recognize the attacks by Hamas "did not happen in a vacuum" and that Palestinian people "have been subjected to 56 years of suffocating occupation".
His comments immediately drew the ire of the Israeli representation to the United Nations.
Ambassador Gilad Erdan called the comments "unfathomable" and that they expressed "an understanding for terrorism and murder".
Writing on social media, Ambassador Erdan called for the UN chief’s immediate resignation.
Soon after, Israel’s Foreign Minister, Eli Cohen, cancelled a meeting with the Secretary-General, scheduled to take place at UN headquarters today.
Speaking to reporters, Mr Cohen said "there is only one side" to take and that is standing with Israel against Hamas which he called "the new Nazis". He was joined in a news conference by several family members of Israelis taken hostage by Hamas.
Ambassador Erdan said Israel would be reassessing its relationship with the UN.
"We have been complaining for a long time how the UN representatives stationed in Israel distort reality," he told reporters.
"Every number, every argument that comes out of Gaza, the UN takes at face value," Ambassador Erdan said.
He said the UN chief’s comments amounted to "supporting terrorism."
The UN Secretary-General's spokesperson issued a statement in response to the meeting’s cancellation.
"This afternoon at 4.30pm, the Secretary-General will meet with family representatives of the hostages held in Gaza," the statement read. "They will be accompanied by a representative of the Israeli Permanent Mission to the United Nations," it stated.
In his address to the Security Council, the Palestinian foreign minister Riyad Al-Maliki criticised the Security Council over its failure to unite and act.
How many child and civilian casualties are enough for the Security Council to call for a ceasefire, he asked.
"Every family in Gaza is a bereaved family," he told Council members.
"No one is spared, no one is safe, where is the solidarity with them?" Mr Al-Maliki said.
When Anthony Blinken, the US Secretary of State took the floor he said he was here today because the United Nations had "a crucial role to play in addressing this crisis."
He accused Iran of supporting Hamas and called on Council members "not to throw fuel on the fire".
The Council also heard from the UN’s humanitarian coordinator in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Lynn Hastings, who described the mounting civilian casualties.
Ms Hastings also told Council member the number of internally displaced had swelled to 1.4 million in Gaza.
Nearly 600,000 people are sheltering in UN facilities in increasingly dire conditions, she said.
She described the aid getting into Gaza as a "drop in the bucket". Without fuel deliveries, the UN’s humanitarian operation on the ground would grind to a halt, she said.
"The world is looking to the Member States around this Council to play its part in leading the way," she told Council Members.
