Danny Danon, Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations, denies reports of starvation and genocide in Gaza and tells CNN’s Wolf Blitzer how the government will respond to growing efforts to recognize a Palestinian state.

Israel's ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Dano, has denied accusations of genocide in Gaza, stating that Israel has no intention to harm civilians and is taking measures to minimize casualties. The ambassador responded to criticism from international governments and Israeli human rights organizations, which have labeled the situation in Gaza as genocide.

Dano highlighted Israel's efforts to facilitate humanitarian aid into Gaza and attributed distribution challenges to interference by Hamas. He also addressed the ongoing hostage situation, stating that freeing Israeli hostages remains a priority and that military operations may expand if negotiations fail. The ambassador acknowledged international pressure but maintained that Israel's actions are focused on self-defense and the return of hostages.

Israeli Amb. To United Nations: ‘There is no genocide in Gaza’

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is considering expanding Israeli military operations in Gaza as a way of trying to free the remaining Israeli hostages, that according to an Israeli official. Netanyahu has also asked the Red Cross for help in getting aid to those Israeli hostages. The request came after Hamas released this video showing the hostage Eviatar David looking frail and emaciated. Hamas says it wants humanitarian corridors in Gaza to be reopened before it will consider granting access to the hostages. Joining us now, Israel's Ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Dunn, Ambassador, thank you so much for joining us. You're the former Israeli Deputy Defense Minister, a member of the Likud party. I want to begin with the question of Palestinian statehood, which is going to be a big issue at the upcoming next month UN General Assembly, as you well know, and you will be there. Three close U.S. allies, Canada, France, and the U.K., have all now indicated they will formally, officially recognize statehood for the Palestinians at the UN next month. How will Israel, your delegation, deal with this effort? Thank you for having me, Wolf. You know, before October 7th, we had a debate in Israel regarding the idea of a two-state solution. But now, after October 7th, when we have 50 hostages in the tunnels of Hamas, when Hamas is still in power in Gaza, no one in Israel is considering to even think about this idea. So we feel it's detached from reality. It's part of the circus of the UN, you know, detached from reality. We expect the UN to focus on bringing back the hostages. You know, you mentioned the videos. You know, the country, you know, stopped doing whatever we did when we saw those horrible videos, you know, seeing those young innocent Israelis, you know, initiated in the tunnels of Hamas. We are focused now on bringing them back. You know, before we speak about anything else, we want to see them, all of them, the 50 hostages back home and Hamas out of Gaza. Then we can speak about reconstruction or other ideas, but now we are not there. The prime minister, Prime Minister Netanyahu, is considering, we're told, expanding Israel's military operations in Gaza as a way to try to free the remaining hostages. I spoke with the leader of an aid organization last hour who warned that would accelerate the famine and potentially the deaths in Gaza. How do you respond to that? Well, you know, first, in the last week, we allowed the aid to come in from different directions, from the air, with trucks. The humanitarian fund is functioning in Gaza. But you know, we have no choice. We had a framework for a partial deal that Ambassador Witkoff facilitated together with Qatar and Egypt, and we agreed, we made compromises, and we expected that it would take place any minute. And then Hamas came. Basically, the starvation campaign was too successful, and they came with new demands. And basically, they told us, we don't want to have any deal with you. So now we have to recalculate what we are going to do. We are not going to leave the hostages behind. We're going to have to take measures in order to put more pressure and to bring them back home. As you know, Ambassador, the U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff was in Gaza last week and then visited Israel as well. Where do things stand with freeing the remaining hostages in Gaza, the negotiations that were taking place but apparently have dropped out? Well, I think there is a lot of frustration, not only in Israel, also in Washington, in Qatar, in Egypt, because many good people worked on this deal and hope that we will be able to see half of the hostages coming back home by now. And the minute Hamas sent the new demands, we realized that there is no partner. And I think it's not only us, it's also our allies in different places understand that we're going to have to put more pressure in order to see the hostages getting out. As you know, Ambassador, several governments around the world, including some longtime U.S. allies, are now considering and condemning Israel's actions in Gaza, blaming Israel for the starvation crisis that's unfolding. How isolated is Israel right now, especially where you are, the United Nations? Well, first, I don't think there is starvation in Gaza. I think it was a campaign, a successful one. We allowed aid to come in. And I think it's very easy to attack Israel, because you cannot actually attack Hamas. You cannot apply pressure on Hamas. You know, last week, many countries signed a declaration here at the UN where they called that Hamas will not be part of the future of Gaza. But who is actually going to fight Hamas? Who is going to push them out of Gaza? It's only us. So, yes, you know, we see the pressure. We feel it. But, honestly, Wolf, I prefer to be where we are today, that we are capable of defending ourselves and we are being criticized for that, rather than the point where we were on October 7th, when we had a lot of support for the international community, when we counted the bodies of 1,200 Israelis who were massacred. So, you know, the best is to have legitimacy and to have the upper hand against our enemies. But if I have to choose, I choose to be where we are today. As you know, the president of the United States, President Trump, says in his words, there is real starvation, real starvation taking place in Gaza. Why is the Israeli government unwilling to acknowledge the hunger crisis unfolding in Gaza? Why the children are starving, as we've all seen in the videos and the pictures? Well, I think there is suffering in Gaza. And for us, any suffering of civilians is a tragedy. For Hamas, it's a strategy. And today, when you look at the amount of aid that actually entered Gaza in the last few weeks, you understand there is no shortage of aid. You have issues with distribution. You have issues with Hamas taking over those trucks, threatening the drivers. And that is the problem. You have areas where it's very hard for the aid agencies to distribute the food. But when you look at the amount of aid, you have more than enough in Gaza today. Very quickly, before I let you go, Ambassador, a quick question. Two Israeli human rights organizations, B'Tselem and Physicians for Human Rights Israel, are calling what's happening in Gaza right now genocide. Genocide, a powerful word. And they're citing the United Nations definition of genocide. What's your reaction to that? Well, first, I tell you that I am proud of our democracy. You know, during a time of war, I'm not familiar with so many democracies that would actually allow radical organizations to criticize and to attack the military or the government. So that's part of our strength. But when you look at the facts, that's a lie. There is no genocide in Gaza. You know, in order to prove a genocide, you have to prove intention. And everyone knows that we have no intention to harm civilians. On the contrary, this war is so long, it's too long, because we take measures to minimize civilian casualties. Otherwise, we would have been able to eliminate Hamas by now. But we take it very seriously. We act with responsibility. And we pay a heavy price because we do that. Ambassador Danny Dano and Israel's ambassador to the United Nations, thank you so much for joining us. Thank you very much.

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