Minister of Foreign Affairs Gideon Sa’ar’s today (Tuesday, 5 August 2025) addressed a special UN security council meeting he initiated on the issue of the hostages.
FM Sa’ar: “I ask here, at the United Nations Security Council: Do you know what Secretary-General Guterres tweeted after the horrible images of Evyatar and Rom were released? Not a word. Deafening silence.”
FM Sa’ar also referred to the twisted anti-Israel agenda of so much of the international media: “I read the New York Times the day after Hamas released the distorted video of Evyatar David. I looked – but could not find Evyatar on the front-page. And then – I couldn’t find his picture in all of the paper. I call on the international media: Put Evyatar and Rom front and center! Is this not news-worthy? We are witnessing an upside-down world.”
Full Speech:
“Thank you, Mr. President,
We heard the heartbreaking testimony of Ilay, brother of the hostage Evyatar David, starved by Hamas.
I want to thank the U.S. and other countries for answering our call. Thank you for convening this urgent and important meeting of the UN Security Council.
But we also heard here so many lies, I cannot refer to them all. But it was really funny to hear the Russian Federation representative after three and a half years of a brutal invasion and a brutal war in Ukraine and bombardments on the civilian population in Kiev and other places speaking here.
I also heard the Palestinian representative. I must say the Palestinians learn propaganda from you, from the Soviet era, you were good teachers.
The Palestinians invented terrorism as a way to promote their means, and it includes all Palestinian factions. Until this very day the Palestinian Authority continues to pay salaries to terrorists and terrorist families, according to the crime the terrorist committed. And this is how they encourage terrorism until this very day.
You spoke about peace. From 1947, you had countless opportunities to reach peace.
You rejected them all.
I come here today, as the Foreign Minister of the State of Israel. The sovereign state of the Jewish people. Fighting for its existence for almost two years – on seven different fronts.
I am here today because our hostages are still there. Starved. Tortured by Hamas and Islamic Jihad in the dungeons of Gaza.
****
On October 7th, Hamas invaded with no reason into Israel.
It committed evil crimes like the Nazis and ISIS did.
They murdered and raped women.
Killed children in front of their parents – and parents in front of their children.
They beheaded people.
Burned whole families alive.
Took 251 hostages into cruel captivity.
50 of them are still there. Starved and tortured.
I want to read from the Dinah Project report. This report describes Hamas’ sickening sexual crimes and atrocities – committed on October 7th, and since then:
Bodies were found with objects inserted into their private parts.
Bodies of naked women were found cuffed onto trees.
Bodies were found with signs of genital mutilation.
Most of the sexually assaulted women were among the 1,166 murdered on that day.
After they were raped – they were murdered.
They are forever silenced.
But sexual violence continued for those taken in captivity.
Amit Soussana was released from Hamas’ cruel captivity.
She described bravely how she was forced at gun point to commit a sexual act on her captor.
This is the pure evil that Israel faces.
*****
Hamas’ crimes are still ongoing.
This past weekend, the whole world witnessed the cruel starvation of Evyatar David and Rom Braslavski.
Tortured at the hands of Hamas and Islamic Jihad.
The world saw their terrible condition.
Bones standing out in their skin. Like living skeletons.
Looking death in the eye.
Evyatar was forced to dig his own grave.
You just heard his brother Ilay.
Hamas and Islamic Jihad use the starvation and torture of hostages as evil tools.
It’s part of a deliberate and well-planned sadistic propaganda campaign.
Its goals:
1. Psychological terror.
2. An attempt to create a link between our starved hostages and their blood libel against Israel.
But it’s a campaign of lies.
Israel facilitated huge amounts of aid into Gaza since the beginning of the war.
In an unprecedented way in the history of wars.
And by the way quantities are growing everyday. You can follow it.
Yet it is still accused of starvation.
The truth must be told:
Hamas sadistically starves our hostages while the terrorists enjoy meat, fish and vegetables.
The world saw the thick, meaty arm of the well-fed terrorist – next to Evyatar, the living skeleton forced to dig his own grave.
Israel is facilitating huge amounts of aid into Gaza.
No other country acts this way in war. On such a large scale.
Under such difficult circumstances.
But Hamas loots the aid and uses it as a financial tool.
We hadn’t heard a word about that from the Palestinian representative.
The distorted Hamas terrorists cruelly decide if and what the hostages will eat.
Mainly – what they will not eat.
Evyatar spoke of entire days when he did not eat at all.
Our sick and starved hostages still have not seen representatives of the Red Cross. Until today.
Despite this being explicitly agreed upon in the hostage deal in November 2023.
The medicine they desperately need to survive – has not reached them.
While the terrorists, the murderers, being held in Israeli prisons receive medical care and nutrition – Hamas and Islamic Jihad torture our hostages.
*****
Terror states and organizations kidnapping civilians is not just our problem.
But Hamas did it on a huge scale on October 7th.
These terror states and organizations do so in order to ensure their own survival and interests.
Terrorists inhumanely kidnap innocent civilians as tools to achieve their goals.
In the case of Hamas – they try to force upon us their conditions: Remaining in power in Gaza.
And don’t delude yourself. They don’t care that someone else will take over the civilian rule of the ruins. They want to remain the dominant military force in Gaza
This dangerous phenomenon could happen tomorrow anywhere in the world.
The world must put an end to the kidnapping of civilians.
The international community must make it not worthwhile for the terrorists.
Today it’s Israel.
Tomorrow it’s you!
****
The world has been turned upside down.
While Hamas run its propaganda machine – a huge part of the international media is both ignoring the truth and buying its lies.
I read the New York Times the day after Hamas released the distorted video of Evyatar David.
I looked – but could not find Evyatar on the front page.
And then – I couldn’t find his picture in all of the paper.
I call on the international media:
Put Evyatar and Rom front and center!
Is this not news-worthy?
We are witnessing an upside-down world.
We are witnessing the twisted anti-Israel agenda of so much of the global media.
Time and again.
They shift the responsibility:
From the kidnappers and rapists – to the attacked country.
They shift the blame:
From the terrorists – to the vitcims.
Instead of standing by Israel – you are blaming the victims.
The victims of an attack from 7 different fronts.
And I ask here, at the United Nations Security Council:
Do you know what Secretary-General Guterres tweeted after the horrible images of Evyatar and Rom were released?
Not a word. Deafening silence.
Yet we all see his endless and obsessive tweets against Israel.
****
Ladies and gentlemen,
What we are witnessing today is the rise of psychotic antisemitism around the world, flamed by modern blood libels, like darkest days in history.
Jews are hunted around the world, simply because they are Jews.
In Melbourne. In Amsterdam. In Paris.
It is not the only war on earth.
But it’s the only case that people are being hunted everywhere because of their nationality.
Do you know of another nation fighting for its life and suffering around the world from hostility and violence?
We are living in an upside-down world.
A world in which Israel is put on the bench of the accused – while it fights for its survival.
There a name for it.
It’s called antisemitism.
80 years after the end of the Holocaust, antisemitism is having its golden age.
Once again.
There are countries that acted – even in this building – to pressure Israel instead of Hamas during sensitive days in the negotiations.
They directly contributed to the assassination of the chances to reach a hostage deal and ceasefire.
They prolonged the war.
This is what they did.
****
So now let us ask the simplest questions:
Who initiated the war on October 7th?
Who is responsible for its continuation?
For the endless suffering?
There is only one clear answer: HAMAS.
Hamas invaded Israel and committed the October 7th atrocities.
Hamas still refuses to release the starving hostages from its dungeons.
Hamas still refuses to lay down its arms.
The call on Hamas to release our hostages must be front and center on the world stage. It must not stop until they all come home.
We call for their immediate and unconditional release of our hostages.
We call on the UN Security Council:
To finally condemn Hamas for its evil crimes.
To hold it responsible.
And to demand the immediate release of our all hostages.
Thank you.”
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