Israel protested after UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres attempted to explain the motivation behind Hamas's attacks on Israel in a session of the UN Security Council today, Tuesday, regarding the conflict between Israel and Hamas.

Guterres said, “It is also important to recognize that Hamas's attacks did not occur in a vacuum. The Palestinian people have been enduring 56 years of choking occupation. They have seen their lands steadily devoured by settlements and suffer from violence; their economy has been strangled, they have been displaced, and their homes have been demolished. Their hopes for a political solution to their plight have faded.”

Guterres added that “the grievances of the Palestinian people cannot justify the horrific attacks carried out by Hamas, and these horrific attacks cannot justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people.”

According to the "Times of Israel," Israel's envoy to the UN, Gilad Erdan, described Guterres's remarks as “shocking” and “horrific” and “completely detached from the reality of our region.”

Erdan said, “His statements... serve as a justification for terrorism and murder. It is sad that someone with such views is the head of an organization that was founded after the Holocaust.”