Hostages’ families meet UN chief, accuse him of not doing enough to free them

Representatives of families of Israelis held hostage in Gaza met overnight with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres in New York.

Hebrew media outlets describe the meeting as tense, with relatives pressing the UN chief to do far more to ensure the return of the abductees, and criticizing him for comments seen as offering justification for Hamas’s October 7 attacks and for the fact that he has not visited Israel since war broke out.

According to Channel 12, Ye’ela David, whose brother Evyatar is held in Gaza, told Guterres: “If you want peace that’s fine, but you can’t say something that justifies the massacre… Look me in the eyes. You need to come to the kibbutzim and the location of the [Supernova] party, to visit Israel and see what our loved ones went through. That’s what a real leader does.” Others shared similar sentiments.

On conducting a visit, Guterres asserted he had made overtures but was not receiving a response from the Israeli government.

Guterres told the families he expresses “full solidarity” with them, calling their abduction “a terrible crime,” but said he unfortunately does not have the power to return their loved ones. He said he was nevertheless making every effort through his channels to sue for their release, and that this must happen as soon as possible.