Israeli ambassador condemns Houthi strike on Ben Gurion, criticizes U.N. for rejecting Israeli aid-delivery proposal

Israel's Ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Donan, on a U.N. press briefing condemned what he called an Iran-backed Houthi ballistic missile strike on Ben Gurion International Airport and criticized the United Nations for declining to engage with Israel's proposed humanitarian aid-delivery model for Gaza.

"The Houthis attacks were made possible by Iran. Iran funds them, arms them, and orders them," Donan said, and added that the Israel Defense Forces had struck military targets in Yemen, "including infrastructure in Sana'a International Airport." He said the airport attack injured "several civilians." "If the Houthis insist on a fight, we will bring it to their doorstep and end it there," Donan said.

Donan also addressed a dispute over Israel's proposed changes to humanitarian aid delivery in Gaza. "Rather than engage with our proposals or seek constructive alternatives, the United Nations and the Secretary-General chose to walk away," he said. Donan said Israel has been pursuing "constructive discussions to establish secure and effective aid delivery solutions that ensure food, water, and medicine reach civilians, not Hamas terrorists," and repeated Israel's contention that Hamas systematically steals and weaponizes humanitarian assistance.

Donan cited testimony to the U.N. Security Council by Elisarabi as showing that "Hamas steals aid." He said the proposed model is intended to prevent Hamas from "taking advantage of the humanitarian aid," and he added that the Israeli government and cabinet are discussing the model and that he expected government approval when details are finalized.

In response to a question about how the missile strike on Ben Gurion Airport evaded defenses and whether hypersonic weapons were used, Donan said his office was "looking at what happened" and characterized the incident as "a malfunction of, of our system on this specific, missile that targeted our airport." When asked whether Israel had a dispute with the Houthis, he replied, "We have no dispute with the Houthis. They are the one who are attacking our communities, and they will pay the price."

Donan also warned against Iranian involvement in regional tensions elsewhere, responding to a question about India-Pakistan border developments by saying "don't allow Iran to get in between" because "wherever you see the Iranians, you will find a chaos." He repeated Israel's position that 59 hostages remain in Hamas captivity and that Israel will not leave them behind.

No formal U.N. action or vote was announced during the briefing. The remarks consisted of a prepared statement by Ambassador Donan followed by questions from reporters.