Israel refuses to extend UN envoy's visa over Gaza

Israel has notified the United Nations that it will not renew the visa of its humanitarian coordinator for the Palestinian territories, a UN spokesman said on Friday, over the diplomat's position on Israel's onslaught of Gaza.

In December 2020, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres named Canada's Lynn Hastings as his deputy special envoy for the Middle East peace process and the resident coordinator for the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

"We've been informed by the Israeli authorities that they would not renew the visa of Miss Hastings past its due date at some point later this month," Guterres' spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters.

Dujarric declined to specify if Hastings, who is based in Jerusalem, will be replaced or if she will continue her work from another base of operations.

He highlighted that Guterres retains "full confidence" in Hastings.

"You've seen some very public attacks on Twitter against her, which were utterly unacceptable," the spokesman said.

In late October, the Israeli foreign ministry lashed out at Hastings on X, saying: "According to UN ethics, she is supposed to be impartial and objective, but unfortunately she is neither."

Israel has also criticised other officials, including Guterres, since the start of its war on Gaza, which has killed over 12,000 Palestinians, including 8,000 children.