An intense exchange erupted Thursday night in the UN Security Council, when Israel’s ambassador Danny Danon sharply challenged UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Tom Fletcher for discussing Gaza’s humanitarian crisis without mentioning Hamas. Danon told Fletcher that he had spoken about Gaza, criticized Israel, and described obstacles to aid, but had again failed to name what Israel says is the main obstacle. He asked, "Why do you refuse to call the problem by its name?"
Danon said, "The humanitarian situation will not improve, Gaza will not be rebuilt and the war will not end as long as Hamas remains armed." His remarks reflected Israel’s broader accusation that the UN overlooks Hamas’s role in sustaining the crisis in the Strip.
Danon also pressed the UN over the firing of 70 UNRWA employees in Gaza, saying the agency cited "security and safety risks." He argued that if there is no terror problem inside UNRWA, then "what exactly were 70 workers fired for?" Danon said Israel has warned for years that Hamas had infiltrated UNRWA, while the UN denied it, and that even UNRWA was now forced to dismiss its own staff.
The confrontation came amid worsening tensions between Israel and UN institutions. The article notes that UN Special Rapporteur for Palestine Francesca Albanese recently mocked a bereaved mother who lost her daughter in the October 7 massacre. It also says Israel has taken tough steps against UNRWA in recent weeks, including cutting water and electricity supplies to the agency’s Jerusalem offices after evidence emerged of cooperation between some UNRWA workers and Hamas.
