On the 13th, UN Deputy Secretary-General Spokesperson Farhan Haq stated regarding the brief detention of Under-Secretary-General for Safety and Security Gilles Michaud at an Israeli airport that Michaud has received an apology from the Israeli Foreign Ministry, which attributed the incident to human error.
In an email to Xinhua News Agency, Haq said that Michaud's trip to Jerusalem was to discuss the obligations of Israel in ensuring the safety of UN personnel in Gaza, the West Bank, and the broader region. The safety of UN staff and humanitarian workers is a necessary prerequisite for the UN to carry out its work.
According to a report on the Israeli "Yedioth Ahronoth" website on the 12th, Michaud was briefly detained and questioned by the Israeli side after arriving at Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv.
The report said that Michaud’s passport was temporarily held by Israeli authorities during the security check. He was taken to a waiting area where he was detained for about 45 minutes and was questioned about an official visit to Gaza scheduled for August 2025. Michaud was stopped and checked by the Israeli Security Agency (Shin Bet).
The report noted that Israeli officials indicated the incident was due to "mistaken identity." Michaud stated that such treatment is unusual for a senior UN official, and he has never experienced something similar in other countries before.