UN secretary-general says he “personally mourns” the loss of Oct. 7th victims, who were “killed in cold blood.”
By World Israel News Staff
Six months after the October 7 massacres sent shockwaves throughout Israel and the world, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres posted a video condemning Hamas for its horrific attacks, which left some 1,200 people dead.
“The 7th of October is a day of pain for Israel and the world. The United Nations and I personally mourn with the Israelis for the 1,200 people, including many women and children, who were killed in cold blood,” Guterres said in the video, which was posted to his X account.
“Nothing can justify the horror unleashed by Hamas on October 7th. I once again condemn the use of sexual violence, torture and kidnapping of civilians, the firing of rockets towards civilian targets, and the use of human shields, and I call for the unconditional release of all the hostages still held by Hamas and other armed groups,” he added.
Notably, Guterres statement comes after he has repeatedly criticized Israel for its military efforts to remove the Hamas terror group from power in the Gaza Strip.
Just two weeks after Oct. 7, Guterres appeared to suggest that the terror attacks, the deadliest in Israeli history, were understandable because of alleged Israeli oppression of Palestinians.
“The attacks by Hamas did not happen in a vacuum,” Guterres said.
“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,” he added.