JNS
The Security Council held its first meeting dedicated to the hostages' plight since their capture by Hamas on Oct. 7.
Israel's U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon on Wednesday called on the Security Council to condemn Hamas and demand the immediate release of the hostages the terror group is holding in the Gaza Strip.
He spoke during the Council's first official deliberation on the hostages since Hamas's Oct. 7 attack. The meeting came at the "urgent request" of Danon and days after the murder of six of the hostages, whose bodies were found in a tunnel in Rafah on Saturday.
"Today, Israel mourns the six murdered hostages, but our fight is far from over. There are still 101 hostages who remain the clutches of Hamas, and we will not rest until they are brought home," said Danon.
"I call on this Council to direct its energy where it is most needed—to support Israel, pressure Hamas and for once issue a clear and unequivocal condemnation of the barbaric terrorist organization that continues to hold innocent lives," he continued.
He then thanked the Council members "who have demonstrated their moral clarity and their humanity for the hostages," while emphasizing that words are not enough and that action is needed. He called for the UNSC to adopt a resolution condemning Hamas and its atrocities, designating them as a terrorist organization and demanding the immediate release of the hostages.
"I cannot understand why all of you cannot raise your hand and vote for this language," Danon said in concluding his 13-minute statement.
Dr. Efrat Baron-Harlev, deputy director of Schneider Children's Hospital in Petah Tikva, briefed the Council on the condition of the children who had been held captive by Hamas, at the request of the Israeli delegation.
The Council agreed to hear the Israeli representative if they also heard from Yuli Novak, CEO of the anti-Zionist human rights NGO B'Tselem, who spoke about the condition of the Palestinians in Gaza.
Rosemary DiCarlo, an American diplomat serving as the U.N. under-secretary-general for political and peacebuilding affairs, opened the session, which lasted nearly 3 hours, by calling for the immediate release of the hostages and condemning Hamas for the murder of the six abductees.
In her briefing, she also praised the coordination between the Israel Defense Forces and U.N. agencies in administering the polio vaccination in Gaza.
U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield spoke about Israeli-American hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin, one of the six hostages murdered by Hamas, and criticized the terror group.
"I had the honor of getting to know Hersh through his parents. On Oct. 7, Hamas stole their son’s future. Every person kidnapped is a world who wants peace and wants to live. Today, I want to speak to the hostages who remain in the hands of Hamas: We’re doing all we can to bring all the hostages home. The U.S. strongly condemns Hamas’s brutality. It is long past time this Council do the same," she said.
The representatives of the United States, the United Kingdom and France called the meeting. The three countries are among the five permanent members of the Security Council, along with China and Russia. Ten non-permanent members are elected for two-year terms by the General Assembly.
