IDF says it is ‘seizing strategic areas’ as it launches first stages of major new Gaza offensive

Israeli envoy slams UN humanitarian chief who called ‘to prevent genocide’ in Gaza: ‘Desecration’ of the term

Israel’s UN ambassador Danny Danon says he is “shocked” by comments made earlier this week by the world body’s humanitarian chief about the situation in Gaza, calling them “deeply irresponsible.”

On Tuesday, before the UN Security Council, Tom Fletcher said Israel was “deliberately and unashamedly imposing inhumane conditions on civilians in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.”

“For those killed and those whose voices are silenced: what more evidence do you need now?” asked Fletcher, the under-secretary for humanitarian affairs.

“Will you act — decisively — to prevent genocide and to ensure respect for international humanitarian law?”

In a letter to Fletcher, made public by the Israeli mission, a furious Danon says he is “deeply shocked and disturbed” by the speech.

“You had the audacity, in your capacity as a senior UN official, to stand before the Security Council and invoke the charge of genocide without evidence, mandate, or restraint,” Danon writes.

“It was an utterly inappropriate and deeply irresponsible statement that shattered any notion of neutrality.”

He accuses Fletcher of offering the council a “political sermon,” not a briefing.

“To weaponize the word ‘genocide’ against Israel is not just distortion — it is the desecration and subversion of a term with unique force and weight,” Danon writes, charging that those who use the term sought to “demonize” their targets.