'Israel' detains UN official after Gaza visit

•  UN Deputy Secretary General Giles Michaud was detained for more than 45 minutes at Ben Gurion airport.
• Airport authorities reportedly confiscated his passport and questioned him over a Gaza visit.
• The United Nations later cancelled all official meetings in ‘Israel’.

Gilles Michaud, the United Nations Deputy Secretary General for Safety and Security, was briefly detained at Ben Gurion airport in ‘Israel’ following a visit to the Gaza Strip, according to reports.

Michaud was reportedly held for more than 45 minutes after airport authorities confiscated his passport and transferred him to a waiting area for questioning regarding his recent visit to Gaza.

Airport officials later described the incident as a “case of mistaken identity.”

Commenting on the incident afterward, Michaud said the treatment he received was “unusual” and unlike anything he had experienced previously in any other country.

Following the incident, the United Nations announced the cancellation of all official meetings in ‘Israel’.

The detention has drawn renewed attention to previous confrontations involving UN personnel in the region.

On April 7, a Spanish peacekeeper serving with the UN was detained by ‘Israeli’ forces after a UN logistics convoy was stopped in southern Lebanon. The soldier was reportedly held for more than one hour before being released.

In a separate incident in 2024, the ‘Israeli’ army stopped a UN convoy heading toward northern Gaza despite prior coordination with the organization. The convoy was transporting polio vaccines intended for children in Gaza.

According to the UN, troops stopped the convoy at gunpoint and threatened to detain the entire team before eventually releasing the staff and redirecting them to a UN base.