Aid Denied, Questions Ignored: Israel Keeps Focus on Hostages

By Jennifer Xin-Tsu Lin Levine
UNITED NATIONS, Aug 6 2025 – At the United Nations media stakeout on Tuesday, Israeli officials kept focus exclusively on the hostages, avoiding questions entirely.

Ahead of the Security Council Meeting on the Question of Palestine, Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs Gideon Sa’ar and Israeli Ambassador/Permanent Representative of Israel to the United Nations Danny Danon spoke to the press briefly.

Both spoke at length about the remaining hostages, referring to their captivity as “Islamic Jihad in the dungeons of Gaza.” Foreign Minister Sa’ar also criticized United Nations member states for “attacking Israel” by recognizing a Palestinian state during negotiations, calling it a “free gift” to Hamas and an incentive to continue the war.

The Security Council meeting was called by Israel to discuss the plight of hostages still being held in Gaza.

It comes after Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad released images and videos of two emaciated hostages, Evyatar David and Rom Braslavsky, sparking outrage and condemnation.

Assistant Secretary-General Miroslav Jenča called the condition of the hostages “an affront to humanity itself.”

“The scenes of Evaytar apparently being forced to dig his own grave are appalling,” Jenča said.

“These images, and their own accounts of their treatment, have horrified us all.”

David’s brother, Ilay, participated in the meeting via videoconference.

Jenča said, “I pay tribute to your courage and determination, and I share your dearest wish: for your brother, and all hostages held in Gaza, to be immediately and unconditionally released.”

The Security Council meeting, however, came just hours after news that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu plans to propose a full occupation of the Gaza Strip to his security council to completely defeat Hamas. Arguing that peace talks were unsuccessful and ceasefire discussions have stalled, it is unclear when this will occur.

Israel’s assault on Gaza has remained a deeply contentious debate in the United Nations and globally since Hamas’ attacks on October 7th, 2023. Recently, however, more member states have spoken out against Israel’s tactics—including the starvation of people in Gaza through the withholding of international and nongovernmental aid. The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification’s most recent report classified Gaza as being in the highest phase of starvation, with 20 percent of households facing an extreme lack of food, 30 percent of children suffering from acute malnutrition and 2-4 non-trauma deaths for every 10,000 each day.

Approximately 600 retired Israeli security officials wrote an open letter to United States President Donald Trump, asking him to pressure Israel to immediately end the war in Gaza. Officials said, “Hamas no longer poses a strategic threat to Israel.” This criticism of the war from Israeli citizens is evident in polling numbers: Pew Research Center reported that the number of Israelis in favor of Israel governing Gaza had shrunk by almost 10 percentage points from 2024 to 2025.

Israel has also gained significant criticism from other states on the international stage: The United Kingdom recently announced plans to recognize a Palestinian state in September if Israel does not allow more aid into Gaza, continues to annex land in the West Bank, fails to agree to a ceasefire and refuses a long-term peace process. The UK would join almost 75 percent of UN member states, demonstrating political pressure from international organizations.

However, international pressure has not deterred Israel in the past. Israel is not a member of the International Criminal Court and therefore not subject to its rulings, making any legislation like the arrest warrant for Prime Minister Netanyahu politically damaging at best. The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued arrest warrants citing alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity for Netanyahu, former Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant, and Hamas commander Mohammed Deif.

Amid ongoing rising international concerns, Israeli officials have consistently refused to answer direct questions from reporters regarding civilian deaths, blocked aid deliveries and settlement expansion.

Sa’ar said, “I came here to put the issue of the hostages front and center on the world stage. They cannot be forgotten.”

Neither he nor Danon took questions from the press—despite journalists calling out specific concerns regarding Israel’s plans to reoccupy Gaza.

During the Security Council debate, Jenča called reports of Netanyahu’s plan to expand military operations “deeply alarming.” Contradicting Sa’ar’s claims that only Hamas’s release of the hostages and disarmament will end the war, Jenča said the only path to ending the war was a permanent ceasefire in conjunction with a release of hostages and unobstructed humanitarian aid.

“There is no military solution to the conflict in Gaza or the broader Israeli-Palestinian conflict. We must establish political and security frameworks that can relieve the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, start early recovery and reconstruction, address the legitimate security concerns of Israelis and Palestinians, and secure an end to Israel’s unlawful occupation and achieve a sustainable two-State solution.”

IPS UN Bureau Report

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