(MENAFN) A senior Russian diplomat has accused Israel of disregarding the historical lessons of the Holocaust and breaching international law through its plan to take control of Gaza City. Speaking at an emergency UN Security Council session on Sunday, convened after Israel’s government approved the move, he warned that the decision has faced widespread international criticism.

“We firmly condemn the Netanyahu government’s intention to seize Gaza,” he stated, stressing that Israel had once again dismissed global appeals as well as requests from families of Israeli hostages captured by Hamas.

Roughly 50 hostages remain missing in Gaza, with only about 20 believed to be alive, following the October 2023 Hamas attack on Israel that left approximately 1,200 people dead—most of them Israelis—and saw 251 people abducted.

The diplomat accused Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar of showing “crocodile tears” for the captives while being fully aware that the cabinet was preparing to authorize the operation. He argued that this move destroyed any realistic chance of rescuing them alive.

He further expressed disbelief that a people who endured the Holocaust could now place Palestinians “in ghettos” and seek their total destruction, calling it an example of how quickly “the lessons of history can be forgotten.”

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