GENEVA, July 10. /TASS/. Israel is not committing genocide, and the figures alleging that the number of victims in the Gaza Strip is approaching 60,000 are misleading, Israel’s permanent representative to the UN in Geneva, Daniel Meron, told reporters.
"Number one, Israel is not committing a genocide anywhere. We are not a genocidal country. <...>. Number two, the figures that you quoted, I refute," he said in response to a journalist’s question about Israel’s moral authority as the number of alleged genocide victims in the Palestinian enclave approaches 60,000.
The discussion took place during a meeting on a report by independent Israeli experts regarding sexualized violence committed by the Palestinian group Hamas against victims of the October 7, 2023, attacks in Israel, as well as against Israeli hostages held by the militants.
The report, based on the testimony of 15 released hostages and 17 eyewitnesses, is part of a project called Dinah. Its authors aim to hold accountable those responsible for the October 7 crimes, which they describe as part of a genocide campaign.
According to the latest figures from the Gaza Ministry of Health, more than 57,500 Palestinians have been killed and nearly 136,900 wounded in the fighting in Gaza.
The Times of Israel reports that Hamas is still holding 49 of the 251 Israeli hostages abducted on October 7, 2023. The Israeli government believes that 20 of them are still alive, while the condition of two others is a matter of grave concern. The publication notes that Hamas has released 140 hostages since the start of the conflict. The Israeli military has rescued eight hostages and recovered the bodies of 49 others in Gaza.