The UN is adding Israel to its so-called “blacklist” of countries that have committed abuses against children in armed conflict.

Al Jazeera says confirmation of this comes from Israeli Ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan, who said he received official notification of the decision by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

Posting on X, Erdan condemned the move saying, “This is simply outrageous and wrong because Hamas has been using children for terrorism and uses schools and hospitals as military compounds. I responded to the shameful decision and said that our army is the most moral in the world. The only one being blacklisted is the Secretary-General who incentivizes and encourages terrorism and is motivated by hatred towards Israel. The Secretary-General should be ashamed of himself!”

The decision however has been welcomed by Senior Palestinian official Riad Malki who said, “Now, faced with the catastrophe in Gaza that the world sees with its naked eyes with the genocide that specifically targets children and women, the UN secretary general no longer has excuses not to place Israel on the blacklist.”

The UN’s report is set to be presented to the UN Security Council on June 14th and then officially published a few days later.

Thousands of Palestinian children have been killed in the Israeli military’s continued assault on the Gaza Strip.