New Delhi: World leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, have reacted with shock and outrage to the attacks by Hamas, the Palestinian militant group in control of the Gaza Strip since 2007, which started on Saturday morning with a massive rocket barrage and ground attack codenamed ‘Operation Al-Aqsa Flood’.
Modi expressed his solidarity with Israel and denounced the Hamas strike as “terrorist attacks”. Other BRICS countries, such as Brazil, China and South Africa, also voiced their concern over the escalating conflict between Hamas and Israeli defence forces.
Joining Modi, the Chinese foreign ministry Sunday too announced in a statement that Beijing was “deeply concerned” over the current escalation of violence between Palestine and Israel and called for a two-state solution — a call that saw support from several other countries, including Russia, Brazil and South Africa.
Strong condemnation of the two-front attacks by Hamas also came from the G7 countries. US President Joe Biden spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Saturday and expressed his support for Israel’s right to self defence. He also warned other hostile parties not to exploit the situation. France, Germany, the UK and Canada also voiced their solidarity with Israel and denounced the violence initiated by Hamas.
During the early hours of Saturday, Hamas launched a barrage of artillery fire — reportedly 5,000 rockets — at Israel, while gunmen affiliated with it entered various parts of southern Israel in an unprecedented ‘surprise attack’, as ThePrint reported earlier.
A stunned Israel responded with strikes against Gaza and reportedly launched artillery at Lebanon Sunday after Hezbollah targeted three Israeli positions in Shebaa farms — a disputed territory controlled by Tel Aviv since 1967.
The violence, Israeli media outlets and Palestinian officials say, has claimed the lives of at nearly 600 Israelis and more than 300 Palestinians. Further, unverified videos circulating on social media suggest that Hamas has taken a number of Israelis hostage.
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Russia, Brazil, China, South Africa bat for ‘two-state solution’
Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman for the Russian foreign ministry, said on Telegram Saturday: “Russia is gravely concerned over a sharp escalation of the Palestinian — Israeli conflict. In this regard, we would like to reaffirm our principled and consistent stance that this conflict, which has continued for 75 years cannot be resolved by force.”
She added that the only way to end the conflict was “exclusively” through “political and diplomatic means” that would create an independent Palestinian state within the “1967 borders with a capital in East Jerusalem that co-exists with Israel in peace and security”.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in a statement posted on ‘X’ (formerly Twitter) said he was “shocked” by the “terrorist attacks carried out against civilians in Israel”.
The statement, originally published in Portuguese and translated, further added, “In expressing my condolences to the families of the victims, I reaffirm my rejection of terrorism in any of its forms.” Lula also called for a negotiation that guarantees the existence of an “economically viable Palestine state” that co-exists peacefully with Israel.
A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson, in its statement, echoed the calls for the implementation of a two-state solution and the establishment of an independent State of Palestine.
The South African foreign ministry Saturday called for the “immediate cessation of violence, restraint, and peace between Israel and Palestine [sic].”
“The new conflagration has arisen from the continued illegal occupation of Palestine land, continued settlement expansion, desecration of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and Christian holy sites, and ongoing oppression of the Palestinian people,” its statement added. It also demanded a peace process that would deliver a “two-state solution and a just and comprehensive peace between Israel and Palestine”.
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G7 condemns ‘terrorist attacks’ by Hamas
The G7 powers broadly condemned the attacks by Hamas on Israel. In a call between US President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier Saturday, Biden condemned the “terrorist attacks” in Israel.
“The United States unequivocally condemns this appalling assault against Israel by Hamas terrorists from Gaza…Terrorism is never justified. Israel has a right to defend itself and its people. The United States warns against any other party hostile to Israel seeking advantage in this situation,” a readout of the call between the two leaders said.
French President Emmanuel Macron too condemned the attacks.
I have spoken to President Herzog and Prime Minister Netanyahu.
I condemn the attacks carried out from Gaza on Israel, its soldiers and its people.
France stands in solidarity with Israel and the Israelis, committed to their security and their right to defend themselves.
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) October 7, 2023
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz also took to X to describe the news of the attacks as “terrifying”. He condemned the attacks by Hamas and later posted an image of the iconic monument in Berlin — the Brandenburg Gate — lit up in the colours of the Israeli flag.
In Solidarität mit #Israel.
In solidarity with #Israel. pic.twitter.com/HxVAYA5aUd
— Bundeskanzler Olaf Scholz (@Bundeskanzler) October 7, 2023
Scholz’s British counterpart Rishi Sunak went further and called the attacks by Hamas “cowardly and depraved,” adding that the UK stands in solidarity with Israel.
As the barbarity of today’s atrocities becomes clearer, we stand unequivocally with Israel.
This attack by Hamas is cowardly and depraved.
We have expressed our full solidarity to @netanyahu and will work with international partners in the next 24 hours to co-ordinate support.
— Rishi Sunak (@RishiSunak) October 7, 2023
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also condemned the “terrorist attacks” by Hamas and declared his support for Israel, adding that Canada “fully support its (Israel’s) right to defend itself”.
(Edited by Richa Mishra)
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