New Delhi: On a day when Israel declared UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres as persona non grata and barred him from entering the country, the Israeli military also shared the news that eight soldiers had been killed in combat operations in Lebanon on Wednesday.
In another first, an Israeli army captain, Eitan Itzhak, also lost his life on the war field.
It was the first losses since Israel Defense Forces (IDF) started targeting Iran-backed Hezbollah in Beirut and other parts of Lebanon.
“Captain Eitan Itzhak Oster, aged 22, fell during combat in Lebanon. The IDF announced that seven more soldiers have fallen,” Israel said in a statement.
The unprecedented ban against the UN Secretary General, criticised by several world leaders, followed his failure to “unequivocally condemn” Iran’s massive missile attack on Israel on Tuesday.
“Anyone who cannot unequivocally condemn Iran’s heinous attack on Israel, as almost every country in the world has done, does not deserve to step on Israeli soil,” said a social media post from Israel’s Foreign ministry.
Israel also pointed out that Guterres has not yet denounced the massacre and sexual atrocities committed by ‘Hamas murderers’ on October 7, and neither has he declared Hamas a terrorist organisation.
“A Secretary General who gives backing to terrorists, rapists, and murderers from Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, and now Iran-the mothership of global terror-will be remembered as a stain on the history of the UN. Israel will continue to defend its citizens and uphold its national dignity, with or without António Guterres,” the Foreign ministry added.
Israel had to sound alarms across the country as Iran launched a strong offensive on Tuesday evening, sending civilians rushing for shelter.
Iran’s attack on Israel was a response to the killings of their Guards commander and other leaders including Hezbollah chief Nasrallah.
Israel vowed to retaliate against Iran “at place and time we decide”.
Iran Guards responded by threatening to launch ‘crushing attacks’ if Israel responded to the missile attack.