{"id":85570,"date":"2025-01-23T18:19:27","date_gmt":"2025-01-23T23:19:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/?p=85570"},"modified":"2025-03-21T14:19:41","modified_gmt":"2025-03-21T19:19:41","slug":"very-serious-allegation-un-says-of-reports-hostages-held-at-its-sites-in-gaza","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/very-serious-allegation-un-says-of-reports-hostages-held-at-its-sites-in-gaza\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Very serious allegation,\u2019 UN says of reports hostages held at its sites in Gaza"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>By MIKE WAGENHEIM<\/p>\n<p>(<em>JNS.org<\/em>) \u2013&nbsp;Reports that freed Israeli hostages had been held in U.N. shelters in the Gaza Strip amount to \u201ca very serious allegation,\u201d Farhan Haq, deputy spokesman for U.N. Secretary-General Ant\u00f3nio Guterres, told JNS on Wednesday.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_85571\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/UN7994398_7-20-23_ED_20488_-1320x880-1.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-85571\" class=\"wp-image-85571 size-medium lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/UN7994398_7-20-23_ED_20488_-1320x880-1-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/UN7994398_7-20-23_ED_20488_-1320x880-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/UN7994398_7-20-23_ED_20488_-1320x880-1-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/UN7994398_7-20-23_ED_20488_-1320x880-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/UN7994398_7-20-23_ED_20488_-1320x880-1.jpg 1320w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 300px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 300\/200;\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-85571\" class=\"wp-image-85571 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/UN7994398_7-20-23_ED_20488_-1320x880-1-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/UN7994398_7-20-23_ED_20488_-1320x880-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/UN7994398_7-20-23_ED_20488_-1320x880-1-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/UN7994398_7-20-23_ED_20488_-1320x880-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/UN7994398_7-20-23_ED_20488_-1320x880-1.jpg 1320w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/noscript><\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-85571\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Israeli President Isaac Herzog with Ant\u00f3nio Guterres, secretary-general of the United Nations, in New York City, on July 20, 2023. (Photo by Eskinder Debebe\/U.N. Photo)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cWe call on those who have information on this to share it formally with UNRWA or other parts of the United Nations so that we can investigate it further,\u201d Haq told JNS at the global body\u2019s press conference in New York.<\/p>\n<p>Romi Gonen, Emily Damari and Doron Steinbrecher, who were released on Sunday, said Hamas had held them in U.N. camps that the global body created during the war to protect Gazan civilians and to provide them with food and water.<\/p>\n<p>It wasn\u2019t clear from public records and reporting in which camps they were held, when and for how long. Israeli intelligence, taken from captured Hamas terrorists, assessed that several Israeli hostages were held at the Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza,&nbsp;<em>Fox News<\/em>&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/world\/israeli-intel-indicates-hamas-held-hostages-new-gaza-hospital-un-health-agency-criticized-inaction\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The United Nations and other global groups have criticized the Israeli military extensively for conducting military operations in and around shelters, U.N. camps and Gazan hospitals. The Israel Defense Forces has said that Hamas has a documented history of using such facilities for terror operations. Hamas is known to be embedded in civilian and humanitarian areas.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs you know, any time we\u2019ve received information on the misuse of facilities, we followed up with investigations,\u201d Haq told JNS at the briefing. \u201cIt is unclear at this stage whether the shelters were among those that had been abandoned during the fighting, so we\u2019d need further knowledge about that and other aspects of what happened.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>JNS also asked Haq about a scheduled meeting between Guterres and Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Monday\u2014the first publicly known meeting between the two since the beginning of Israel\u2019s war against Hamas.<\/p>\n<p>Herzog plans to travel to New York at Guterres\u2019s invitation to deliver the keynote address at a special assembly marking International Holocaust Remembrance Day, held annually on Jan. 27. Haq told JNS that Guterres \u201clooks forward to meeting with President Herzog.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat is a solemn event, where we try to work together as a community to learn the lessons from the Holocaust and ensure that the sort of tragedy that happened as a result of this horrific event will not recur,\u201d Haq said. (He added that he had no agenda for the meeting to release.)<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_85572\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/UN7994389.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-85572\" class=\"wp-image-85572 size-medium lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/UN7994389-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/UN7994389-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/UN7994389-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/UN7994389-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/UN7994389.jpg 1200w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 300px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 300\/200;\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-85572\" class=\"wp-image-85572 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/UN7994389-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/UN7994389-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/UN7994389-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/UN7994389-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/UN7994389.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/noscript><\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-85572\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Israeli President Isaac Herzog with Ant\u00f3nio Guterres, secretary-general of the United Nations, in New York City, on July 20, 2023. (Photo by Eskinder Debebe\/U.N. Photo)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Herzog\u2019s office said on Wednesday that the meeting will \u201cfocus on advancing international efforts to secure the release of hostages held captive by Hamas terrorists in Gaza.\u201d It added that the Israeli president plans to meet with other senior officials. (JNS sought comment from Herzog\u2019s office.)<\/p>\n<p>The Israeli president is scheduled to meet in New York with relatives of victims of Hamas\u2019s Oct. 7 attacks, and on Sunday evening, he is slated to attend the dedication of the Altneu, a new Orthodox synagogue on Manhattan\u2019s Upper East Side.<\/p>\n<p>Guterres and the Jewish state have been at odds since the U.N. chief&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.jns.org\/israel-slams-un-chief-for-saying-hamas-attack-did-not-occur-in-vacuum\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">said<\/a>&nbsp;in late October 2023 that Hamas\u2019s terror attacks in southern Israel \u201cdid not happen in a vacuum.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Eli Cohen, then the Israeli foreign minister, was at the United Nations that day for a Security Council session. Cohen immediately canceled his meeting with Guterres, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has since refused to take Guterres\u2019s calls.<\/p>\n<p>Herzog, whose role is outside the political sphere, is the only known Israeli official who has spoken to Guterres during the war, with the two talking on the phone several times. The two last met in July 2023, according to public information.<\/p>\n<div style=\"padding-bottom:20px; padding-top:10px;\" class=\"hupso-share-buttons\"><!-- Hupso Share Buttons - https:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/ --><a class=\"hupso_toolbar\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/buttons\/share-medium.png\" style=\"border:0px; padding-top: 5px; float:left;\" alt=\"Share Button\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" class=\"lazyload\" \/><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/buttons\/share-medium.png\" style=\"border:0px; padding-top: 5px; float:left;\" alt=\"Share Button\"\/><\/noscript><\/a><script type=\"text\/javascript\">var hupso_services_t=new Array(\"Twitter\",\"Facebook\",\"Google Plus\",\"Pinterest\",\"Linkedin\",\"Tumblr\",\"Email\");var hupso_background_t=\"#EAF4FF\";var hupso_border_t=\"#66CCFF\";var hupso_toolbar_size_t=\"medium\";var hupso_image_folder_url = \"\";var hupso_url_t=\"\";var hupso_title_t=\"%E2%80%98Very%20serious%20allegation%2C%E2%80%99%20UN%20says%20of%20reports%20hostages%20held%20at%20its%20sites%20in%20Gaza\";<\/script><script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/js\/share_toolbar.js\"><\/script><!-- Hupso Share Buttons --><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":85571,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[13475,8790,8795,8788,834],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85570"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=85570"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85570\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":86753,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85570\/revisions\/86753"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/85571"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=85570"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=85570"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=85570"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}