Israel moves to limit visas for U.N. employees

Israel said Tuesday that it would stop automatically issuing visas to United Nations employees, an escalation of tensions between the two over the war in the Gaza Strip.

Instead, Israel will consider each visa on a “case-by-case” basis, Eylon Levy, a government spokesperson, said at a news conference.

The Israeli government has rejected the U.N.’s calls for a cease-fire and has accused the international body of ignoring the atrocities committed by Hamas in its Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel, including reports of sexual violence against Israeli women.

Top U.N. officials, including Secretary-General António Guterres, have denounced Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks but as Israel’s bombardment and invasion of Gaza have progressed have also sharply criticized Israel’s attacks on Gaza’s hospitals and accused it of violating international law by cutting off supplies of food, water, medicine and other aid to the enclave’s 2.2 million inhabitants.

Israel says that Hamas operates out of hospitals, schools and other civilian areas protected by international humanitarian law, rendering them fair targets — a claim that Hamas has rejected.

On Tuesday, Levy accused the U.N. of enabling Hamas’ actions.

“In failing to condemn Hamas for hijacking aid, in failing to condemn it for waging war out of hospitals, they have been complicit partners in Hamas’ human shield strategy,” he said.

Representatives for Guterres did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

More than 20,000 Palestinians have died since the start of the war, according to Gaza’s health ministry, which does not make a distinction between civilians and combatants. It estimates that women and children make up about 70% of the dead.

This month, Israel canceled the visa for Lynn Hastings, the U.N.’s humanitarian coordinator in the Palestinian territories, citing her refusal to condemn Hamas. Stéphane Dujarric, the chief spokesperson for Guterres, said at the time that the U.N. deeply regretted Israel’s decision and that Hastings had been “acting with independence, neutrality, and impartiality.”

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.