Israel has demanded the resignation of United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres from his position over his remarks against the Israeli counteroffensive in Gaza after terror attacks by Hamas on October 7.

The Israeli envoy to the UN, Gilad Erdan called Guterres “unfit” to lead the UN and called for his resignation.

“The @UN Secretary-General, who shows understanding for the campaign of mass murder of children, women, and the elderly, is not fit to lead the UN. I call on him to resign immediately. There is no justification or point in talking to those who show compassion for the most terrible atrocities committed against the citizens of Israel and the Jewish people. There are simply no words,” he stated on social media platform X.

This came after the UN chief said that the attacks by Hamas “did not happen in a vacuum” further adding that the attacks cannot justify the “collective punishment of the Palestinian people”.

“It is important to also recognize the attacks by Hamas did not happen in a vacuum. The Palestinian people have been subjected to 56 years of suffocating occupation. They have seen their land steadily devoured by settlements and plagued by violence; their economy stifled; their people displaced and their homes demolished. Their hopes for a political solution to their plight have been vanishing,” the UN chief said at the General Assembly.

He added, “The grievances of the Palestinian people cannot justify the appalling attacks by Hamas. And those appalling attacks cannot justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people”.

Addressing the UN General Assembly session on Israel-Gaza crisis, Cohen said, “Mr Secretary General (Guterres), in what world do you live? Definitely, this is not our world”.

In a fiery response, Eli Cohen announced that he won’t be meeting the UN Secretary General.

“I will not meet with the UN Secretary General. After October 7th there is no room for a balanced approach. Hamas must be erased from the world!” Cohen posted on X.

Also read: Why ‘Brother’ Turkey wants to save Hamas for another day