What’s happening

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz has launched a strong critique against UN Secretary-General António Guterres, accusing him of presenting a distorted image of reality and unjustly vilifying Israel. Katz’s accusation comes amid claims that the UN is minimizing the significant volume of aid Israel has allowed into Gaza.

Why it matters

The UN’s portrayal of Israel’s efforts in Gaza impacts global public opinion and policy towards Israel. Misreporting affects Israel’s international image and undermines its humanitarian initiatives. This intervention by Katz aims to highlight the alleged discrepancies and seek rectifications from the UN to correct the prevalent narrative.

Details

In an unprecedented move, Foreign Minister Katz detailed his accusations in a letter addressed to Guterres, made public for the first time. Katz argues that Guterres and his administration have willfully ignored or selectively reported the extensive aid facilitated by Israel. Katz keyed in on over 8,999 aid trucks that reportedly entered Gaza from Israel, which were not accounted for by the UN. This includes 4,880 trucks that alone were omitted in May.

Aid statistics

The UN reports have ignored humanitarian supplies passing through the Erez Crossing and the American sea pier, focusing only on those entering via the Kerem Shalom gateway. Such selective reporting, according to Katz, is misinformative and grossly undermines Israel’s humanitarian efforts.

Further accusations

Moreover, Katz highlighted other instances where the UN’s reporting was deemed flawed. He accused the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) of arbitrary reductions in reported Palestinian casualties, attributing these revisions to the “fog of war.” Katz demanded a rectification and a formal apology from the UN for disseminating incomplete and misleading data.

This story was first published on ynetnews.com.