United Nations Secretary-General Ant\u00f3nio Guterres condemned Israel\u2019s military operations in Gaza as \u2018clearly wrong\u2019 on Wednesday, citing Hamas-provided civilian death tolls.<\/p>\n
Guterres made the comments in an interview with Reuters, saying Israel was doing itself no favors with regard to \u2018global public opinion.\u2019 Israel has vowed to destroy Hamas in Gaza, and its leaders have rejected international calls for a cease-fire.<\/p>\n
\u2018There are violations by Hamas when they have human shields. But when one looks at the number of civilians that were killed with the military operations, there is something that is clearly wrong,\u2019 Guterres said.<\/p>\n
\u2018It is also important to make Israel understand that it is against the interests of Israel to see every day the terrible image of the dramatic humanitarian needs of the Palestinian people,\u2019 Guterres said. \u2018That doesn\u2019t help Israel in relation to the global public opinion.\u2019<\/p>\n
The Hamas-led health ministry in Gaza has claimed more than 10,000 people have been killed by the Israeli offensive, 40% of them children. However, those figures cannot be independently verified and Hamas does not distinguish between civilians and terrorist fighters. \u00a0<\/p>\n
Guterres told Reuters the thousands of children said to be killed in Gaza is greater than the highest number of killings of children by state actors in conflicts around the world reported annually to the U.N. Security Council.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018We have in a few days in Gaza thousands and thousands of children killed, which means there is also something clearly wrong in the way military operations are being done,\u2019 he said, describing the humanitarian situation in Gaza as \u2018catastrophic.\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n
Israel on Wednesday denied that there is a humanitarian crisis within Gaza, despite reports from on the ground indicating otherwise.<\/p>\n
Fox News foreign correspondent Trey Yingst interviewed an Israeli military spokesman who made the claim on Wednesday. Yingst, who has been on the ground in Gaza and spoken with doctors and other sources there, contested the spokesman\u2019s claim.<\/p>\n
\u2018We know, and I can say for sure, there is no humanitarian crisis in Gaza,\u2019 the official said. \u2018Obviously, the situation is not easy.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u2018I would push back on that, sir. You\u2019re saying there\u2019s no humanitarian crisis in Gaza?\u2019 Yingst pressed.<\/p>\n
\u2018I am saying once again: There is no humanitarian crisis in Gaza,\u2019 the official repeated. \u2018I know the situation is not easy, but we are in a war.\u2019<\/p>\n
Yingst spoke with a medical director of a Gaza hospital earlier Wednesday who stated that they had almost completely run out of supplies, particularly those for cancer patients.<\/p>\n
The United Nations has been working to increase humanitarian aid deliveries to Gaza. Guterres said that in the past 18 days, only 630 trucks had been able to enter via the Rafah border crossing from Egypt. The United Nations also wants to be able to use the Kerem Shalom border crossing, controlled by Israel.<\/p>\n
\u2018We are in intense negotiations with Israel, with U.S., with Egypt, in order to make sure that we have an effective humanitarian aid to Gaza,\u2019 Guterres said. \u2018Until now it has been too little, too late.\u2019<\/p>\n
Fox News\u2019 Anders Hagstrom and Reuters contributed to this report.<\/p>\n