The United Nations Security Council on Thursday will hold a landmark session on Resolution 2474, which addresses the return of the remains of missing persons held by hostile parties during armed conflict.
The session, which will take place at 3:00 p.m., marks the first such discussion since the October 7 massacre. It was initiated by the United States and supported by Israel, following an official request from the American delegation to this month’s Security Council president, the ambassador of Greece.
The discussion centers on a cause long championed by Israel’s Ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon: the moral and international demand to return the bodies of hostages to Israel. For the first time, this demand will be at the center of an official Security Council debate.
Israel is expected to call on the international community to apply direct pressure on Hamas, which is holding the remains of dozens of IDF soldiers and Israeli civilians, including Hadar Goldin, who was kidnapped and killed during Operation Protective Edge and has been held by Hamas for over a decade.
During the session, Ruby Chen, the father of hostage soldier Itay Chen, is expected to brief the Security Council and share his personal story. Before the meeting, a press statement will be delivered at UN headquarters in New York, featuring Danon and Leah Goldin, the mother of Hadar Goldin, who is flying in from Israel for the occasion.
Ambassador Danny Danon's statements on the importance of the issue
Ahead of the discussion, Danon said, “The fact that the Security Council is convening for the first time since October 7 to discuss Resolution 2474 is the result of a determined and uncompromising diplomatic struggle. For months, we have been crying out on behalf of the families, and the world can no longer remain indifferent. Hamas has turned the abduction of bodies into an actual industry. Respect for the dead is a sacred value in every religion and every culture."
He continued, "One cannot demand human rights on one hand, while accepting the holding of bodies by a Nazi-like terrorist organization on the other. Israel is demanding something basic, moral, and humane – to bring our sons and daughters home. If the Security Council cannot even meet this obligation, it loses its relevance. The time has come for the UN’s grand declarations to be translated into action. We will not rest, we will not be silent, and we will not give up – until the last of our sons returns.”
The meeting comes just days after another session focused on the humanitarian situation in Gaza – part of an especially intense week in the diplomatic arena. Israel is using this moment to sharpen its positions on two key issues: opposing the flow of aid into Hamas’s hands, and demanding the immediate return of all hostages.