Israeli foreign minister claims Tel Aviv 'never targeted people'

WASHINGTON/NEW YORK

Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen claimed Tuesday that his country is acting under international law, and never target civilians.

When asked by Anadolu about US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s remarks at a UN Security Council meeting where he said "humanitarian pauses must be considered” to get civilians “out of harm's way,” Cohen responded: “We never targeted people.”

“Israel is working according to international law. We give humanitarian aid, water, food and medicine. We never targeted people,” he said. “We are only targeting Hamas terrorists.”

Cohen said Israel “will have to make an assessment” regarding relations with the UN.

“We have been complaining for a long time,” he said, accusing UN representatives in Israel of distorting reality.

“They don't report what is really happening, they take things out of context,” he said.

He also accused UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres of not representing “the most important” members of the UN, such as the EU, the US, Germany and France -- countries that have designated Palestine resistance group, Hamas, a terror organization and are working to release the hostages.

The remarks came after Cohen announced he would cancel his meeting with Guterres after he told the Security Council that Palestinians had been "subjected to 56 years of suffocating occupation," adding: "It is important to also recognize the attacks by Hamas did not happen in a vacuum."

Israel has continued a relentless bombardment campaign on the Gaza Strip following a cross-border attack by Hamas on Israeli border towns on Oct. 7 that killed 1,400 Israelis.

Nearly 5,800 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the bombardment began, including more than 2,000 children, according to the Gaza-based Health Ministry.