In a statement, Israel's Foreign Minister Israel Katz called
Guterres an "anti-Israel secretary general who lends support to
terrorists".
Writing on social media site X, formerly Twitter, after Iran
fired about 180 missiles into Israel, Guterres said he condemned "the
broadening of the Middle East conflict with escalation after escalation"
and said these "must stop".
He said the region "absolutely" needed a
ceasefire, but did not specifically mention the Iran attack.
In a statement on Wednesday, Katz declared the UN secretary
general persona non grata, saying that anyone who "cannot unequivocally
condemn Iran's heinous attack on Israel does not deserve to step foot on
Israeli soil".
He specifically criticized Guterres for "his
anti-Israel policy since the beginning of the war".
Tuesday's attack by Iran is the latest in a series of
escalations, starting almost a year ago with attacks on Israel by Hamas, and
recently involving increased fighting between Iran-backed Hezbollah and Israel.
Israel launched a military campaign in Gaza in response to
the unprecedented attack on southern Israel on October 07, 2023 by Hamas
gunmen, during which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage
Since the attack, a military campaign in Gaza has now killed
a total of 41,689 people, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
Over the course of the conflict, there have been a number of
clashes between Israel and the United Nations about the situation in Gaza and
the West Bank.
There has also been friction between Israel and the UN over
the role of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA.
In January 2024, Israel alleged that a number of the
agency's staff members had been involved in the October 07 attacks.
In response to this, the agency launched an investigation -
with a number of its international funders withdrawing support for it, before
later reinstating it. In August, nine staff members were dismissed over
potential involvement in the attacks.
During the conflict, UNRWA has criticized Israel for air
strikes in Gaza which have killed its staff members.
