UN chief says Netanyahu has been refusing to take his calls since Oct. 7

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says in a wide-ranging interview with Reuters that he has not spoken to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu since the October 7 Hamas terror assault last year, as the premier has been refusing to answer his calls.

The two met in person last September at the annual meeting of world leaders at the UN General Assembly, and Guterres says he would be willing to do so again later this month — if Netanyahu were to ask.

“I have not talked to him because he didn’t pick up my phone calls, but I have no reason not to speak with him,” Guterres says. “So if he comes to New York and he asks to see me, I will be very glad to see him.”

When asked if Netanyahu planned to meet with Guterres on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, Israel’s UN Ambassador Danny Danon says that the prime minister’s schedule hasn’t been finalized yet.