A delegation of 26 ambassadors to the United Nations visited communities along the Gaza border on Sunday, touring massacre sites and the grounds of the Nova music festival, as well as the Kerem Shalom crossing, where they observed aid trucks entering the Gaza Strip, undergoing security inspections and being unloaded by Palestinian workers. The visit came against the backdrop of repeated accusations against Israel regarding the humanitarian situation in Gaza and was organized as part of an outreach initiative by Israel’s mission to the UN.
UN ambassadors talk about their visit to Israel
(Video: Oz Avital)
The delegation’s trip began in Poland, where the ambassadors visited the Jewish quarter in Krakow, the former ghetto and the Auschwitz-Birkenau extermination camp. On Friday, the tour continued in Jerusalem with visits to the City of David and the Western Wall. On Sunday, the ambassadors arrived at Kibbutz Kfar Aza and other massacre sites in the Gaza border region, including the Nahal Oz military post and the Nova music festival site, where they heard testimonies and stood before burned homes and fields where hundreds were killed.
“We came here to show the reality,” said Israel’s ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon. “While at the UN Israel is accused of starving Gaza, hundreds of trucks enter the Strip every day. Those who accuse are invited to come and see the facts on the ground.” According to Danon, the issue is not the number of trucks but the security reality. “As long as Hamas remains in power, there will be no development and no future in Gaza. The international effort must focus on removing Hamas from the equation,” he said.
Paraguay’s ambassador, Marcelo Ricciardi, said during the visit to the Gaza border communities that “nothing we read gave us a real sense of what happened here. Only when you stand here do you understand. We came to mourn with you and to say — we stand with the people of Israel.”
Romania’s ambassador, Cornel Feruță, added: “It is shocking. It is hard to imagine that human beings are capable of such atrocities. What happened here is inhuman. As an international community, we have a duty to ensure that this does not happen again.”
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The UN ambassadors watch aid trucks entering Gaza via the Kerem Shalom Crossing
(Photo: Oz Avital)
Zambia’s ambassador, Chola Milambo, referred to the number of victims and the human dimension of the Nova festival site. “When speaking about October 7, it is difficult to grasp the numbers. But when you come here, see the pictures and read the stories — you understand the pain. We will never forget what happened here and we will never forget who did it.” He emphasized the importance of preserving the site and commemorating the young people who were killed there, adding that Zambia stands with Israel and shares in its grief.
During the week, the ambassadors are scheduled to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Isaac Herzog and Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, along with other officials.