United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday rejected accusations by Israel that, in a statement to the Security Council, he had justified attacks by the Palestinian militant group Hamas on Israel.

“I am shocked by the misrepresentations by some of my statement … as if I was justifying acts of terror by Hamas. This is false. It was the opposite,” he told reporters, without specifically naming Israel.

He said that in his statement to the Security Council on Tuesday he “condemned unequivocally” the October 7 Hamas attacks that killed 1,400 people, saying: “Nothing can justify the deliberate killing, injuring and kidnapping of civilians – or the launching of rockets against civilian targets.”

But he had pleaded for civilians to be protected in the war between Israel and Hamas, voicing concern about “clear violations of international humanitarian law” in the Gaza Strip.

He told the 15-member UN Security Council that it was vital to be clear that war has rules, starting with the fundamental principle of respecting and protecting civilians.

“It is important to also recognise the attacks by Hamas did not happen in a vacuum. The Palestinian people have been subjected to 56 years of suffocating occupation,” Guterres said.

“But the grievances of the Palestinian people cannot justify the appalling attacks by Hamas. And those appalling attacks cannot justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people,” he said.

“Protecting civilians does not mean ordering more than one million people to evacuate to the south, where there is no shelter, no food, no water, no medicine and no fuel, and then continuing to bomb the south itself,” the UNSG told the council.

Israel’s UN Ambassador Gilad Erdan described Guterres’ speech as “shocking” and called on Guterres to resign immediately, while Israel’s visiting Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said he would not meet with Guterres as planned.

Guterres instead met with family representatives of the hostages held in Gaza.

Erdan responded on social media platform X posting that Guterres’ comments meant he was “not fit to lead the UN”.

“I call on him to resign immediately,” Erdan wrote. “There is no justification or point in talking to those who show compassion for the most terrible atrocities committed against the citizens of Israel and the Jewish people. There are simply no words.”

The UN chief’s remarks also angered Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen, who pointed his finger at Guterres and raised his voice to recount graphic accounts of civilians, including young children, who were murdered on October 7.

“Mr Secretary-General, in what world do you live?” Cohen said. “Definitely, this is not our world.”

Posting on platform X, Cohen said, “After the October 7th massacre, there is no place for a balanced approach. Hamas must be erased off the face of the planet!”

Meanwhile, the Security Council was to vote late on Wednesday night Cyprus time on rival proposals by the United States and Russia for action on the conflict between Israel and Palestinian militants Hamas in the Gaza Strip, diplomats said.

Both countries seek UN Security Council resolutions to address shortages of food, water, medical supplies and electricity in Gaza. But the US has called for pauses to allow aid to enter Gaza, while Russia wants a humanitarian ceasefire.

The votes come after the council twice voted unsuccessfully last week – only five members voted in favour of a Russian draft resolution on Oct. 16 and then the US vetoed a Brazilian draft text on October 18, which had received 12 yes votes.

The United States proposed its own draft text on Saturday that initially shocked some diplomats with its bluntness in stating Israel has a right to defend itself and demanding Iran stop exporting arms to militant groups.

It has since toned down the overall draft, removing direct references to Iran and to Israel’s right to self-defence.

But Russia announced on Tuesday that it could not support the US plan for action and put forward its own text.

Israel has vowed to wipe out the Hamas Islamist group that rules Gaza, after its gunmen burst through the barrier fence surrounding the enclave on October 7 and rampaged through Israeli towns and kibbutzes, killing 1,400 people.

Israel has since pounded Gaza from the air, imposed a siege and is preparing for a ground offensive. Palestinian authorities say more than 5,700 people have been killed in the enclave among them over 2,000 children. The UN says some 1.4 million are homeless.

Gaza’s 2.3 million people have been running out of food, water and medicine since Israel began its siege of the territory following the attacks. A third small aid convoy entered Gaza on Monday carrying only a tiny fraction of the supplies aid groups say is necessary.

The United Nations warned aid distribution would soon grind to a halt when it can no longer fuel trucks inside Gaza with Israel’s barring the entry of fuel.