'This is Israel's 9/11', UN envoy tells Security Council of Hamas attack

Palestinian envoy appeals for response that won't lead to more Israeli and Palestinian civilians killed

Pro-Israeli and pro-Palestinian demonstrators held opposing rallies in New York's Times Square on Sunday. Adla Massoud / The National

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Israel’s top envoy to the UN has called the Hamas attack “Israel’s 9/11", likening the strikes against Israeli soldiers and civilians to the 2001 Al Qaeda attacks against the US that reshaped the course of the 21st century.

The comments by the ambassador, Gilad Erdan, came before an emergency session of the UN Security Council, where the Palestinian envoy pleaded for Israel to abandon its forceful response that he said was sure to lead to the deaths of civilians on both sides.

Mr Erdan showed journalists graphic pictures of Israeli civilians being taken captive by Hamas.

“This is Israel's 9/11 and Israel will do everything to bring our sons and daughters back home,” he said.

“These are war crimes; blatant, documented war crimes.

“Now is the time to obliterate Hamas's terror infrastructure, to completely erase it, so that such horrors are never committed again.”

Apart from killing nearly 3,000 people in New York, at the Pentagon and in Pennsylvania, the September 11 attacks also mark one of America's greatest intelligence failures.

Saturday's Hamas attacks also seem to have blindsided Israeli and US intelligence services.

Mr Erdan appealed to the international community to give Israel its full support and to condemn the actions of Hamas.

Also addressing reporters was Palestinian ambassador to the UN, Riyad Mansour, who implored the international community to pressure Israel to abandon its use of force and embrace a path to peace “where neither Palestinians nor Israelis are killed".

“This is not a time to let Israel double down on its terrible choices,” he said. “This is a time to tell Israel it needs to change course, that there is a path to peace where neither Palestinians nor Israelis are killed.”

Mr Mansour said Israel should be held to the same standards as Palestinians when it comes to violence.

“You cannot say, 'Nothing justifies killing Israelis', and then provide justifications for killing Palestinians. We are not subhumans,” he said.

Mr Mansour, questioning the absence of international protection when Israel breaches international law, challenged the unequal treatment, asking: “Aren't Palestinian lives worth saving?”

Saudi-Israel deal

Mr Erdan spoke about prospects of a deal that would see Israel and Saudi Arabia establish formal relations for the first time.

The agreement has been in the works for months and some analysts say Hamas's attack on Saturday was partly aimed at derailing it.

“There doesn't seem to be any compelling reason why normalisation between Israel and Saudi Arabia should be off the table,” Mr Erdan said.

“There are moderate countries in our region that seek peaceful coexistence, and Saudi Arabia is undoubtedly among them.”

He went on to accuse Iran of actively working to hinder the chances of a deal.

Before the closed-door Security Council meeting, US deputy ambassador Robert Wood called for condemnation of the Hamas attack.

“I expect to hear from the other council members very strong condemnation of these heinous acts of terrorism committed against the Israeli people and their government,” Mr Wood told reporters.

After the Security Council session on the crisis, ambassador Lana Nusseibeh of the UAE stressed the need for all council members to use international and bilateral channels to promote calm and de-escalation, with a primary focus on protecting civilians on both sides.

Ms Nusseibeh said a few council members raised the necessity of addressing the need for a political path forward.

Russia's UN ambassador Vasily Nebenzya said the Security Council did not consider any joint statement as some member states, including Moscow, were seeking a broader agenda beyond condemning Hamas.

"My message was to stop the fighting immediately and to go to a ceasefire and to meaningful negotiations," Mr Nebenzya said.

Meanwhile, across town, demonstrators in New York's Times Square voiced their support for the Palestinians, chanting “Free Palestine".

On the other side of the street, Israelis, separated by a metal fence installed by police, displayed their opposition by waving flags and shouting, “Shame on you.”

New York's Governor Kathy Hochul criticised Manhattan's Palestinian solidarity rally as "abhorrent and morally repugnant", and ordered landmarks in the US state to be illuminated in blue and white, the colours of the Israeli flag

Mounir Attalah, a member of the Palestinian youth group who was among the demonstration's organisers, told The National that he joined the protests because the people of Gaza “refuse to die quietly and we're here to support the right of an occupied people to resist their occupation".

"What we saw yesterday was the people of Gaza breaking out of their open-air prison," Mr Attalah said.