Israeli diplomats lashed out in visible anger on Thursday at British UN Under-Secretary-General Martin Griffiths, who is in charge of coordinating humanitarian operations, for declaring that Hamas is “not a terrorist organisation” but a “political movement”.

“Shame on him,” Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz gushed via X (formerly Twitter), calling Hamas a “Nazi organization.”

Mr. Griffiths said, during an interview he gave to the Sky News television network last Wednesday, that “as you know, for us Hamas is of course not a terrorist organization. It’s a political movement.”

The British diplomat also pointed out in the interview that the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip is the worst he has ever seen. “The reason I say the situation in Gaza is the worst is that people cannot escape. He’s trapped,” he explained.

Asked about the Israeli military leadership’s stated goal of “eliminating” Hamas, Mr Griffiths said this would be “difficult unless there is a negotiated solution” that satisfies the Palestinians’ core aspirations.

Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, Gilad Erdan, commented via X that “the UN’s pro-Hamas stance is finally revealed on live TV”, accusing the UN of “condoning terrorism”, “promoting Hamas”, “blaming the victims”. and “has lost every last ounce of credibility.” He accused Mr Griffiths of being a “co-terrorist”.

Israel, the US and the EU label Hamas a “terrorist organization”.