NEW DELHI: As the war between Israel and Hamas enters the 19th day, Israel says it hopes India, which has also been a victim of terrorist attacks, declares Hamas to be a terrorist organisation.
"We have communicated this to India (that they should declare Hamas a terrorist organisation) after the attack on October 7th. We are in dialogue with the government, it's a friendly talk," said Israel’s Ambassador to India Naor Gilon.
Israel has been very appreciative of the fact that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was amongst the first leaders to tweet against the Hamas attack.
"Deeply shocked by the news of the terrorists attacks in Israel. Our thoughts and prayers are with the innocent victims and their families. We stand in solidarity with Israel at this difficult hour," said PM Modi.
Ambassador Gilon also said that the current attack on Israel was worse than 9/11.
"If you compare the size of our country and its population, then the numbers that have died in this attack are really high for us," Ambassador Gilon added.
Meanwhile, retired Israeli Major General Amos Gilead said India can understand what Israel is going through as it has been witness to terrorist attacks like the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks. He also blamed Iran for being instrumental in funding and training Hamas.
"We have been able to destroy a major part of the infrastructure that was created by Hamas. In addition, I must state that we cannot let fuel be offloaded in Gaza as it would be used by Hamas to exercise more military offences and not reach the local population," said Maj General Gilead, adding that India knows what it means to be living in a troubled neighbourhood as it has to deal with Pakistan and China.
"The attack on October 7th was strategic, unexpected, unfathomable. Vast majority of areas are safe in Israel, but Hamas may try and infiltrate so we will destroy Hamas in its entirety," said Israeli Defence Force (IDF) spokesperson Lt Col Peter Lerner. Israel has recruited 300000 reservists to fight the war.
Israel has reiterated that a ceasefire is not something they will consider at this stage as they have to destroy the enemy and the international community should be part of the solution and not the problem.
The IDF wants to locate and bring back the 222 hostages that have been held captive by Hamas. Four hostages have been released so far.
Meanwhile, Israel’s Ambassador to the UN, Gilad Erdan said that they would deny visas to UN officials after remarks by Secretary General Antonio Guterres that appeared to justify the Hamas attack.