From Gaza and Israel, where war has been ongoing for the eighteenth day in a row, to the UN Security Council, tensions have quickly erupted.

At a special meeting of the UN Security Council, UN Secretary-General António Guterres spoke of “clear violations of international humanitarian law” in the Gaza Strip and called for a ceasefire to meet the humanitarian needs of the Palestinian people.

He added, "At a crucial moment like this, it is important to be clear that war has rules, starting with the basic principle of respecting and protecting civilians."

The Secretary-General of the United Nations continued: “It is also important to realize that the Hamas attacks did not occur in a vacuum. The Palestinian people have been subjected to 56 years of stifling occupation.”

He added: “But the grievances of the Palestinian people cannot justify the horrific attacks launched by Hamas. These horrific attacks cannot justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people.”

A statement that did not please Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen, who addressed Guterres and asked, “Mr. Secretary-General, what world do you live in?”

 Cohen said, holding up pictures of children kidnapped by Hamas in the October 7 attack: “This is certainly not our world... How can you agree to a ceasefire when someone has sworn to kill and destroy your existence?”

Cohen continued that the Hamas attack on October 7 is “worse than the crimes of ISIS,” adding that “the civilized world must stand behind us to defeat Hamas just as it united to defeat ISIS, and I send a message to the world that the West is the next target of Hamas after us.”

The Israeli Foreign Minister called for the immediate release of the hostages in Gaza, and said, “The war in Gaza was imposed on us and we will win in the end,” adding that “Hezbollah is targeting our citizens.”

Cohen was joined by the Israeli representative to the United Nations, Gilad Erdan, who described Guterres’ speech as “shocking.”

Erdan wrote on the “X” platform (formerly Twitter): “His statement that the Hamas attacks did not occur in a vacuum expresses an understanding with terrorism and murder.”

He added: “It is truly sad that the head of the organization that emerged after the Holocaust holds such terrible views,” he said.

For the eighteenth day in a row, Israel continues its violent bombardment of the Gaza Strip, which has killed more than 5,000 people.

Following Hamas' announcement of the release of two Israeli hostages, on Monday evening, Washington demanded that it release all the people it kidnapped during the attack it carried out on the seventh of this month, before any discussion about the truce.

US President Joe Biden said, “The hostages must be released, and then we can discuss.”

The release of the two Israeli hostages came three days after the release of an American woman and her daughter.

Israel counted about 220 hostages, including Israelis, foreigners and dual nationals, who were kidnapped by members of Hamas in the Gaza Strip after their surprise attack.