The calls for the resignation of Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, have been intensifying since he made comments that were perceived as downplaying an ongoing Hamas attack against Israeli forces. Guterres made the remarks on Wednesday, saying, “I condemn the indiscriminate launching of rockets from Gaza into Israel and I urge an immediate de-escalation of tensions. This endless violence must stop.” In response, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his foreign minister, Gabi Ashkenazi, accused Guterres of mixing “unwarranted moral equivalence” between Hamas and Israel and refusing to unequivocally condemn the terrorist organization Hamas. Netanyahu said Guterres’s comments constituted a “shameful acceptance” of Hamas’s attacks and called for his resignation. Other officials in the United States have also echoed Netanyahu’s call, leading to growing international pressure against Guterres and increasing demands for him to resign.
