Israel to refuse visas to UN representatives | First Thing

Ambassador vows to teach the UN a lesson' after remarks by the secretary general. Plus the carrot wars of Cayama Valley

Good morning.

Israel's ambassador to the UN, Gilad Erdan, has vowed to teach the UN a lesson after the organisation's secretary general, Antonio Guterres, said in a speech that the appalling attacks" by Hamas against Israel on 7 October that killed 1,400 people could not justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people".

The Palestinian Authority's foreign minister, Riyad al-Maliki, a rival of Hamas, denounced inaction by the UN security council. The ongoing massacres being deliberately and systematically and savagely perpetrated by Israel - the occupying power against the Palestinian civilian population under illegal occupation - must be stopped. It is our collective human duty to stop them," he said.

Meanwhile, the US and Russia put forward rival plans at the UN to help Palestinian civilians. While both countries seek UN security council resolutions to address shortages of food, water, medical supplies and electricity in Gaza, the US, which opposes a ceasefire, has called only for pauses to allow aid to enter.

Hospitals in Gaza are ceasing to function because they are running out of water and fuel for generators, while being overwhelmed by huge numbers of casualties and civilians seeking shelter from Israeli bombing.

Israel has dropped leaflets in Gaza offering rewards and protection for information in its latest effort to free more than 200 people seized during the terrorist attacks on 7 October.