US Israel Complain UN Staff Bias Gaza War Amid Protests Geneva

The United States and Israel have lodged formal complaints with United Nations leadership, criticizing UN staff for perceived partiality in the Gaza conflict. This backlash follows a protest by hundreds of UN workers outside the organization's European headquarters in Geneva, where they honored over 370 aid workers killed in Gaza, with placards and white roses symbolizing the losses. Nathalie Meynet, president of the UN refugee agency staff council, emphasized the call to end the killings of UN colleagues. Israel's ambassador to the UN in Geneva denounced the protest as politically charged and urged disciplinary action against involved staff, while organizers maintained the event was meant to honor their fallen colleagues, not to make a political statement. These tensions underline the strained relationship between the UN and its top funder, the US, which has withdrawn from the UN Human Rights Council citing anti-Israel bias. The situation highlights broader debates about neutrality and political activism within the UN amidst the ongoing Gaza war.