During a United Nations General Assembly discussion calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, Gilad Erdan, Israel’s Ambassador to the UN, displayed a picture of Yahya Sinwar, leader of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), accompanied by what he believed to be Sinwar’s personal phone number. Erdan claimed that Sinwar had the power to end the conflict. However, it turned out that the number belonged to a government call center in Gaza. In response, Hamas retorted by circulating Erdan’s number, leading to the Ambassador receiving a barrage of insults, personal attacks, and threats against his family through his phone.
The Jerusalem Post reported that Erdan was inundated with abuse, particularly from an Indonesian phone number. The owner of that number threatened the Israeli Ambassador, promising to kill him and his family. One of the messages began cordially, stating, “Hello, why did you try to expose what you said was our leader’s number?” The tone quickly shifted as it continued, “We can kill you and your family soon.”
After Erdan publicized Sinwar’s number, the Channel 13 Israeli news studio attempted to contact it on Tuesday night. Journalist Gil Tamary took on the task but found that the number was either disabled or the phone was turned off, as calls were immediately diverted to voicemail. Tamary left a voicemail for Sinwar stating, “Yahya Sinwar, if I ever meet you and this is indeed your number, it would be better for you to surrender.” Another added, “Return the hostages.”
The UN General Assembly adopted a resolution by a majority of 153 members, with 10 opposing and 23 abstaining, demanding a humanitarian ceasefire, the immediate release of all hostages, and ensuring that humanitarian aid reaches Gaza.
