UN head Guterres doubles down on denouncement of Israel's Jenin violence

UN head António Guterres stuck by his denouncement of Israeli violence during a two-day raid on the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank last week, according to a spokesperson.

The large-scale operation claimed the lives of at least 12 Palestinians, plus an Israeli soldier. Heavy damage was also inflicted on the already-impoverished camp.

Israel's UN ambassador Gilad Erdan has urged the body's secretary-general to take back criticism of the the assault, Turkish state news agency Anadolu reported.

On Monday, Guterres' spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said: "It is not the first time in history, even in recent history that a secretary general and this secretary general has made a statement in which certain member states have asked them to withdraw and he has not.

"He's just stating what his opinion is."

Guterres spoke out on Thursday against Israeli forces' conduct in Jenin.

He said: "I strongly condemn all acts of violence against civilians, including acts of terror."

Following a question about whether this rebuke applied to Israel, Guterres added: "It applies to all use of excessive force, and obviously in this situation, there was an excessive force used by Israeli forces."