On Friday, Israel strongly criticized a United Nations humanitarian official for urging the U.N. Security Council to take action to “prevent genocide” in Gaza, where severe hunger is growing after Israeli restrictions on aid have lasted over two months.
During a recent briefing to the 15-member Security Council, the UN official, Tom Fletcher, posed a pointed question: “Will you act – decisively – to prevent genocide and uphold international humanitarian law?”
In response, Israel’s Ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, issued a letter accusing Fletcher of making a politically charged statement and misusing the term “genocide” in reference to Israel’s actions. Danon questioned Fletcher’s authority to make such a statement and called it “deeply irresponsible,” arguing that it undermined the UN’s neutrality.
“You stood before the Security Council and invoked genocide without evidence or proper mandate,” Danon wrote. “This was wholly inappropriate and shattered any perception of impartiality.”
Fletcher’s office did not immediately reply to requests for comment on the letter.
According to international law, genocide involves the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group, and can include acts such as killings, inflicting serious harm, or deliberately creating conditions meant to lead to the group’s destruction.
The ongoing conflict in Gaza began on October 7, 2023, when fighters from Hamas attacked southern Israel, killing around 1,200 people and taking approximately 250 hostages, based on Israeli reports. Since then, Israeli military operations have resulted in over 53,000 Palestinian deaths, according to health officials in Gaza.
Israel has accused Hamas of seizing humanitarian supplies, a claim the group denies. Since March 2, Israel has halted all aid into Gaza, stating that no assistance will resume until all hostages are released.
A global hunger organization warned earlier this week that approximately 500,000 people—about a quarter of Gaza’s population—are now at risk of starvation.
U.S. President Donald Trump also commented on the crisis, stating Friday that “a lot of people are starving in Gaza.”
