Israel is breaking all contact with United Nations chief Antonio Guterres, the country’s ambassador has announced, saying it was “outrageous” Israel is being blacklisted over alleged sexual violence in conflict zones.
“We are done with this secretary-general,” Ambassador Danny Danon said in a video posted on X.
“The decision to blacklist Israel and accuse us of using sexual violence as a weapon of war is an outrageous decision,” he said, referring to an upcoming report from Guterres’ office.
“The secretary-general and his team continue to spread lies against Israel. To put us and Hamas terrorists on the same list, that’s unacceptable.”
His remarks came as Israeli and Russian security forces have been added to a United Nations blacklist on sexual violence in conflict.
Published annually by the U.N., the list includes dozens of state and non-state groups credibly suspected of having engaged “systematically” in sexual violence in countries such as Sudan, Haiti, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Myanmar, Syria and Mali.
Regarding Israel, “in 2025, patterns of sexual violence against Palestinians detained in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory continued to be documented,” the report said.
It noted that the cases verified by the U.N. are indicative of multi-year trends but are not “comprehensive” given the denial of access to Israeli detention centers.
Consequently, in 2025, the U.N. confirmed multiple cases dating back to 2023 of sexual violence, “including as a form of torture,” against 14 men, seven women, nine boys, and one girl in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.
These violations included rape with an object, gang rape, physical violence against the genitals, forced nudity, and body searches conducted “without apparent security justification.”
The perpetrators are identified by the U.N. as members of the Israeli military, security forces, and prison services.
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on May 28 he had ordered the country’s military to take control of 70 percent of the Gaza Strip, in defiance of the terms of a fragile ceasefire that took effect in October 2025.
“We are currently squeezing Hamas. We now control 60 percent of the territory in the strip,” he said at a conference in an occupied West Bank settlement.
He said the military had controlled 50 percent of Gaza under the terms of the ceasefire, adding: “My directive is to move to... 70 percent.”
