Israeli Ambassador Brings Cake to UN to Mark First Birthday of Baby Hamas Hostage Kfir Bibas

The Israeli ambassador to the United Nations marked the first birthday of Kfir Bibas, an infant who remains in Hamas captivity as its youngest hostage, by bringing a cake before the General Assembly in New York on Tuesday.

Ambassador Gilad Erdan displayed the pastry featuring a photo of Kfir's toothless, smiling face at the lectern, as he slammed his international counterparts for calling for a ceasefire in Gaza — a move Israel has long held would only aid Hamas.

"Kfir, this birthday cake is for you. You are the reason Israel is fighting day and night," Erdan said during his presentation, garnering a muted applause – reportedly the first ever received by an Israeli ambassador before the multinational body.

"I only wish for you for your first birthday that next year, God willing, you will celebrate your birthday surrounded by the love of your family and that we will live in a world where the suffering of Israeli babies is important – important to the UN."

Kfir, who turns 1 on Jan. 18, was abducted with his father Jordan, mother Shiri, and 4-year-old brother Ariel from Kibbutz Nir Oz during Hamas' Oct. 7 attack on Israel.

The young brothers are the only children who were not released by Hamas during the week-long ceasefire in November.

Hamas has claimed the brothers and their mother were killed by Israeli airstrikes, while the Israel Defense Force has said it is investigating the claim.

"Kfir, little baby Kfir, has become a symbol of the vilest, cruelty known to man – the cruelty of Hamas," Erdan said on Tuesday. "And tragically, Kfir is about to spend his first birthday as a hostage of Hamas ... a quarter of Kfir's life has been spent as a hostage."

He added: "The UN, an organization that remains silent when babies are taken hostage and women are viciously raped, has become an accomplice of terrorists. And if the UN is complicit to terrorists, it has no justification to exist."

In a report released Monday, UN officials found Hamas' attacks on women in Israel during their October raid were war crimes and may constitute crimes against humanity.

Israel is also facing accusations of wrongdoing of its own.

South Africa has sued Israel in the International Court of Justice for genocide in the Gaza Strip amid the ongoing war's high civilian death toll. Israel said called that a “baseless” claim that it intends to litigate in the coming weeks at The Hague.