U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres, in an attempt to vilify Israel for its campaign to wipe out the terrorist group Hamas, which murdered 1,200 Israelis on October 7, claimed, “We are witnessing a killing of civilians that is unparalleled and unprecedented in any conflict since I have been secretary general.”
“We are witnessing a killing of civilians that is unparalleled and unprecedented in any conflict since I have been Secretary General”- UN chief @antonioguterres pic.twitter.com/cj3EZgbSoE
— UN News (@UN_News_Centre) November 20, 2023
Guterres’ false claim — which also ignored the fact that Hamas has blocked Palestinians from escaping Gaza and has used them as human shields — was quickly refuted online, with others pointing out that he was conveniently ignoring facts that might impede the anti-Israel narrative.
“Secretary Guterres took office in 2017, considered to be deadliest year for civilians in Syria, with over 10,000 killed. Although the Yemen War began before Guterres took office, its death toll reached 377,000 in both direct and indirect deaths during his tenure,” community notes on X, formerly known as Twitter, pointed out.
“Syria: 500,000 killed (Syrian Observatory for Human Right, 2021) Yemen: 377,000 killed Afghanistan: 176,000 killed Darfur: 300,000 killed Iraq: 400,000 killed Ukraine: 500,000 killed Congo: 860,000+ killed, these are UN figures, just FYI,” writer Hen Mazzig responded.
Oof this community note. https://t.co/C9nTPYTLLV
— Noam Blum (@neontaster) November 21, 2023
Syria: 500,000 killed (Syrian Observatory for Human Right, 2021)
Yemen: 377,000 killed
Afganistan: 176,000 killed
Darfur: 300,000 killed
Iraq: 400,000 killed
Ukraine: 500,000 killed
Congo: 860,000+ killedThese are UN figures, just FYI…
— Hen Mazzig (@HenMazzig) November 20, 2023
Others weighed in on the secretary’s false claim:
You are a shameless liar!
These are the figures of the casualties in the Syrian war only since 2017 when you became Secretary-General of the @UN.#GuterresStepDown pic.twitter.com/av1mwHQCJt
— Emrah Erken 🔥🎺 (@AtticusJazz) November 20, 2023
You have been in office since 2017.
Let me remind you of one of many tragic conflicts: the Tigray war in East Africa (2020-2022): 600,000 people died.
— Michal Maayan 🎗🇮🇱 (@MichalMaayan) November 20, 2023
Guterres has been vilifying Israel for weeks. In late October, he suggested that Israel was ultimately to blame for the massacre perpetrated by Hamas, stating, “Nothing can justify the deliberate killing, injuring and kidnapping of civilians — or the launching of rockets against civilian targets. All hostages must be treated humanely and released immediately and without conditions. I respectfully note the presence among us of members of their families. Excellencies, it is important to also recognize the attacks by Hamas did not happen in a vacuum. The Palestinian people have been subjected to 56 years of suffocating occupation.”
Guterres referred to the “relentless bombardment of Gaza by Israeli forces,” claiming there were “clear violations of international humanitarian law that we are witnessing in Gaza.”
As part of a comprehensive report dealing with the United Nations’ long-term hostility toward the Jewish state — given by Hillel C. Neuer, Executive Director of United Nations Watch, to the U.S. House of Representatives — he noted, “From its creation in June 2006 to June 2023, the Council has adopted zero resolutions on serial human rights abusers such China, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Zimbabwe and Cuba. It adopted 2 condemnatory resolutions on Sudan, 3 on Venezuela, 12 on Eritrea, 14 on Iran, 16 on North Korea, 42 on Syria — and 103 on Israel.”