The United Nations, after months of loudly condemning Israel for targeting terrorists who had buried themselves in hospitals and houses of worship, is now downplaying Iran’s deadly strikes on Israeli civilian sites. 

Over the past week, Iran has sent hundreds of ballistic missiles and drones into urban areas in the center of Israel in retaliation for Israel’s blitz attack on Iranian nuclear and military sites last Friday. Although Israel has been able to intercept and shoot down an estimated 80 percent to 90 percent of the missiles, at least 24 Israelis have died and more than 500 have been wounded in the onslaught. 

Iran’s attacks, according to the UN monitoring group, UN Watch, “violate the basic principles of International Humanitarian Law (IHL), including the principles of necessity, proportionality, distinction, and precautions.” UN Watch noted that Islamic Republic has “not declared any legitimate military aims and instead has targeted its strikes at Israeli civilians using weapons that are by nature indiscriminate.” 

In spite of these clear violations, UN Watch notes, “UN officials and bodies” have remained “overwhelmingly silent.” 

The double-standard was put on full display this week when the UN failed to issue a public statement against Iran for bombing Israel’s main hospital in the south, the Soroka Medical Center, on Thursday morning. The barrage of missiles, which also hit several other civilian sites, left dozens wounded, six seriously, and severely damaged the hospital. 

The attack would have been more deadly if the hospital hadn’t, by some stroke of luck, decided to evacuate its patients as an emergency precaution just hours before the strike. “Many lives were saved,” remarked the head of the Magen David Adom ambulance service. 

The hospital, which is located in the southern city of Beersheva, has more than 1,000 beds and provides services to some one million residents. The mayor of the nearby Bedouin city Rahat, Talal Al-Kernawi, condemned the attack, stating that “50 percent of the staff and patients at this hospital are Arab. Hitting a hospital is a crime. Our heart is with Soroka,” he said. 

Iran justified the attack by claiming that they had targeted a nearby Israeli military site. Their claim was quickly rebuffed by Israeli officials who pointed out that there are no military bases near the hospital. The closest site is the IDF’s Southern Command base which is located more than two kilometers away. 

“The claim of an attack on an intelligence base or the presence of military equipment under the hospital is another lie. We are not so despicable as to endanger civilians,” the IDF stated. “Attacking hospitals is a crime. Fabricating a reason does not justify it.” 

Israel’s health minister, Uriel Buso, called the attack “a war crime by the Iranian regime” and warned that it “crosses a red line.” Defense Minister Katz vowed that Ayatollah Khamenei “will be held accountable for his crimes.” 

Israel’s ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, called on the UN to “immediately condemn this Iranian act of terror.” A day later, with still no statement from the UN, Mr. Danon doubled down on his request, submitting a letter to the president of the Security Council — just a few hours before the council was set to convene — demanding “a clear condemnation of Iran.” 

Mr. Danon in his letter further condemned the UN for inviting Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Aragchi, to speak at a UN Human Rights Council set to take place in Geneva on Saturday. 

In spite of Danon’s efforts, however, the Security Council meeting came and went without any official condemnation of Iran. 

After being probed, a spokesman for the UN Secretary General provided a generic statement: “for the Secretary-General the targeting of hospitals is against international humanitarian law and is to be condemned,” he told the Sun on Thursday.