Israel has officially barred UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres from entering the country, declaring him “persona non grata,” according to a statement from Foreign Minister Israel Katz on Wednesday.
“I have declared UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres persona non grata in Israel and banned him from entering the country,” Katz said.
In recent months, several UN officials have also been barred from entering Israel, including Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur for Palestinians, who has been accused of favoring the Palestinian side, and the head of the UN humanitarian office in the occupied Palestinian territories. The latter had his visa denied in August after a UN report accused Israel of violating Palestinian children’s rights.
Israel has further criticized the credibility of UNRWA, the UN agency responsible for Palestinian refugees.
The foreign minister justified the move by stating that Guterres failed to “unequivocally condemn” Iran following Tuesday’s missile attack on Israel and had not classified Hamas as a “terrorist organization.” Iran launched around 180 missiles at Israel, claiming it was in retaliation for the recent assassinations of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, and an Iranian Revolutionary Guards commander.
Israel condemned the missile strike, calling it a “severe, dangerous escalation” and vowed to retaliate at a time of its choosing.
Tensions in the region have sharply increased due to Israel’s nearly year-long offensive on Gaza, which has killed over 41,600 people, predominantly women and children, following a Hamas attack last October. The conflict has also spilled into Lebanon, where Israeli strikes have killed more than 1,000 people and injured nearly 3,000 since September 23.
