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No Casualties, no truth: Exposing the UN’s anti-Israel narrative

2 min Oren Levi

Once again, the United Nations Human Rights Office has issued unverified and inflammatory accusations that fuel hatred toward Israel and bolster the propaganda machine of a designated terrorist organization—Hamas.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk © Mena Today 

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk © Mena Today 

Once again, the United Nations Human Rights Office has issued unverified and inflammatory accusations that fuel hatred toward Israel and bolster the propaganda machine of a designated terrorist organization—Hamas.

On Tuesday, UN rights office spokesperson Jeremy Laurence suggested that Israel may be committing war crimes by allegedly impeding access to food and attacking civilians near aid sites. These statements were based on reports from “local health authorities” in Gaza—an entity that, in reality, operates under the authority of Hamas.

Let’s be clear: these sources are neither independent nor impartial. They are arms of a regime that has made deception, manipulation, and martyrdom part of its political arsenal. 

The so-called “Ministry of Health” in Gaza does not serve the civilian population—it serves Hamas. Repeating its claims without verification is not human rights work; it is dangerous disinformation.

The facts tell a different story. Since the start of this week, there have been no civilian casualties near the food distribution centers run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF)—a U.S.-backed, independent organization. 

GHF itself confirmed that 21 truckloads of food were safely delivered on Tuesday with no incidents. Any suggestion to the contrary is based on staged or manipulated reports designed to provoke international outrage.

Hamas has a long track record of exploiting suffering—real or fabricated—for strategic gain. The group has staged videos, inflated casualty numbers, and used civilian deaths as weapons in its information war. It is no coincidence that graphic narratives emerge just as international attention or pressure begins to waver.

And yet, instead of exercising caution, the UN continues to parrot Hamas-fed data, knowing full well that it fuels a global media echo chamber. In doing so, it discredits its own institutions, diminishes real war crimes worldwide, and encourages further manipulation of facts.

Worse still, this pattern of behavior undermines efforts to deliver humanitarian aid. It puts actual aid workers at risk, escalates tensions on the ground, and emboldens those who use lies as cover for violence.

The question is no longer whether the United Nations is being misled—it’s whether it wants to be. For years, critics have pointed to a systematic anti-Israel bias in various UN bodies. These latest allegations, based on zero verified evidence and disseminated with full knowledge of their source, only confirm this concern.

If the UN truly wants to protect civilians, it must stop being a megaphone for terrorist propaganda. It must verify before it vilifies. And it must hold Hamas accountable for its cynical use of civilians as human shields and its sabotage of aid meant for its own people.

There is a real humanitarian crisis in Gaza. But blaming Israel without facts—and ignoring Hamas’s central role in creating and exploiting this crisis—is not just irresponsible. It’s immoral.

Oren Levi

Oren Levi

Oren Levi joined Mena Today earlier this year. Based in Tel Aviv, he has worked for several Israeli newspapers and television channels. He covers news in Israel and the Palestinian territories

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