Israel to skip UN Security Council meeting on Gaza scheduled for Rosh Hashanah

Israel will skip an emergency UN Security Council meeting on Gaza scheduled for Tuesday because of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, its envoy to the UN says, calling the timing “regrettable.”

As a country directly affected by the deliberations of the UN’s top security body, Israel had been invited to address the Council’s discussion of the conflict in Gaza on the sidelines of the UN’s high-level week.

Israeli troops are pressing a major ground offensive to capture Gaza’s largest urban center, as the push to defeat Hamas and free the hostages captured on Oct. 7, 2023.

“I wish to inform you that the delegation of Israel will not participate in this meeting, as it coincides with Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year,” Ambassador Danny Danon says in a separate letter to the rotating Security Council president.

“Despite Israel’s request to the Presidency and Council members to reschedule, the meeting remains set for that date — one of the most significant in the Jewish calendar, marking the start of the High Holy Days.”

“It’s unfortunate that the Security Council will meet without Israel,” says Danon in a statement.