Visiting UN Geneva office with hostages’ families, Eli Cohen calls on Guterres to resign

Foreign Minister Eli Cohen calls on UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to resign, during a visit to the UN offices in Geneva as well as meetings with the International Committee of the Red Cross and the World Health Organization.

“[UN Secretary-General Antonio] Guterres does not deserve to lead the United Nations. Guterres did not promote any peace process in the region… Guterres, like all the free nations, should say clearly and loudly: ‘Free Gaza from Hamas,’” Cohen tells a press conference at the UN in Geneva.

His comments come against the background of strong criticism leveled at Israel by Guterres last month, when he said while nothing justifies the crimes committed by Hamas, they did not occur in a vacuum.

Cohen also demands that the International Committee of the Red Cross “work through all channels” to secure visits to the hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, in a meeting he held with ICRC president Mirjana Spoljaric Egger.

“We expect the Red Cross to put the issue at the top of the organization’s priority list, to use all levers of pressure, and not rest until it visits all the hostages, assesses their condition, and makes sure they are receiving the medical care they need,” says Cohen.

Also present in the meeting were Israeli Health Minister Uriel Buso as well as several family members of the hostages being held by Hamas.