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Israel revokes UN humanitarian official’s visa for not condemning Hamas

Wednesday, 06 December 2023 5:56 AM [ Last Update: Wednesday, 06 December 2023 8:49 AM ]

Lynn Hastings, of Canada, United Nations Deputy Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process and Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, speaks during a news conference in Gaza City on May 23, 2021. (Photo by Getty Images)

Israeli authorities have decided to revoke the residence visa of the UN Humanitarian Coordinator in the Palestinian territories, Lynn Hastings, for not condemning the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas over its October 7 operation into the occupied territories.

Israeli foreign minister Eli Cohen announced the decision in a statement published on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Wednesday.

He stated that Hastings cannot serve in the UN and cannot enter the occupied territories over condemning Israel, which he called “democratic”, rather than condemning Hamas.

“We will no longer be silent in the face of the bias of the UN!” he said.

It came after Hastings harshly criticized Israel’s brutal war on the Gaza Strip, which has killed at least 16,248 people, including 4,885 women and 7,112 children.

Another 43,616 people have been wounded as well. More than 7,600 individuals are reported missing, who may have died or been trapped under the rubble waiting to be rescued.

The Tel Aviv regime has also imposed a “complete siege” on Gaza, cutting off fuel, electricity, food, and water to the more than two million Palestinians living there.

‘No safe zones’ as Israelis intensify bombings on Gaza: UN

UN officials have sounded the alarm once more, saying there are “no safe zones in Gaza” while the situation is getting worse by the hour.

Hastings said in a statement on Monday that the conditions required to deliver aid to the people of Gaza do not exist.

“If possible, an even more hellish scenario is about to unfold, one in which humanitarian operations may not be able to respond,” she said.

“Nowhere is safe in Gaza and there is nowhere left to go,” the senior UN official pointed out.

Israel resumed its military offensive on the Gaza Strip last Friday after the end of a weeklong pause in fighting with Hamas.

The seven-day truce, which began on November 24 and was extended twice, had allowed for the exchange of dozens of captives held in Gaza for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and facilitated the entry of humanitarian aid into the shattered Palestinian territory.

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