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UN blacklists Israel
The United Nations added Israel to a blacklist for conflict-related sexual violence, prompting Israel to cut ties with UN chief António Guterres, according to Al Jazeera and the BBC.
“The United Nations has “added Israel to the blacklist of sexual violence in conflict zones”, prompting Israel to cut ties with UN chief Antonio Guterres, the country’s ambassador to the UN says”
Israel’s ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, said, “We are done with this secretary-general,” as he denounced the upcoming report from Guterres’s office.
The BBC reported that the UN verified 31 cases of sexual violence perpetrated by Israeli forces against Palestinians from Gaza and the West Bank, and said 13 of the cases had occurred in 2025 and 18 in the two years prior.
The BBC also said the UN’s report should be seen as “indicative of incidents and patterns” rather than comprehensive, because it faced restrictions on investigation.
Israel rejects, UN presses
Israel rejected the allegations and intended to break off relations with the secretary general’s office, while the BBC said the Israeli UN mission would refuse contact with his office as long as he served as head of the international body.
Danny Danon accused Guterres on Thursday of spreading antisemitic lies, and Al Jazeera quoted him saying, “The decision to blacklist Israel and accuse us of using sexual violence as a weapon of war is an outrageous decision,”
The BBC said the UN reported that its attempts to fully investigate the issue had been obstructed by the Israeli government and threats made against detainees to prevent abuse being reported.
In response, the UN’s spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said, “For our part, the secretary-general’s door remains open,” and the BBC described the UN’s listing as based on verified cases involving rape, gang rape, forced nudity, and violence to genitals.
Wider blacklist, next steps
The UN’s annual report also blacklisted Russian armed and security forces for the first time for sexual violence against prisoners of war and civilian detainees during the war in Ukraine, with the BBC saying the report identified 310 instances affecting 280 men, 26 women and four girls.
The BBC reported that Ukraine was not put on the blacklist, while Russia has not publicly commented, and it added that the UN said its attempts to investigate were obstructed in multiple contexts.
Al Jazeera said the UN special rapporteur Reem Alsalem called the listing “long overdue,” writing on X that “This listing could not have come soon enough,” and it described the UN’s annual report on conflict-related sexual violence as customarily presented to relevant states before publication.
The BBC said the UN verified cases were carried out against 14 men, seven women, nine boys and one girl, and it noted that last year Hamas was added to the previous “Conflict-related Sexual Violence” report.
