Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike in Rafah, Gaza, on May 30.
Abdel Kareem Hana/AP
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has added Israel’s military to a global list of offenders who have committed violations against children, UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said Friday. Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad were also added.
The list will appear in an upcoming annual report on children in armed conflict, which will be sent to the UN Security Council next Friday, Dujarric said at a media briefing.
Israel leaks phone call: Dujarric said the secretary-general’s chief of staff called the Israeli UN mission Friday to give it a “heads up” about the inclusion on the list — a courtesy afforded to newly listed countries.
Israel’s ambassador to the UN, Gilad Erdan, made a video recording of the call and leaked part of that on social media.
In the video, Erdan can be heard expressing his outrage at the UN decision, saying Israel has “the most moral army in the world,” and that the move “incentivizes terrorism and acts out of hatred for Israel.”
Dujarric said it was “shocking and unacceptable” that Erdan had published the private call, saying it was “something he had never seen in my 24 years serving this organization.”
Some context: Israel’s inclusion on the list comes after eight months of devastating Israeli bombardment and fighting with Hamas in Gaza. In that time, more than 15,500 children have been killed, according to the Ministry of Health in the enclave.
The UN’s “blacklist” has previously included countries such as Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.
The official report will be published June 18, and discussed at a debate in the Security Council on June 26. Asked about ramifications for Israel, the UN spokesperson said it will be up to the council’s members to decide any action.
Dujarric encouraged everyone to read the entire report.
