New Delhi [India], November 8 : Ahead of Diwal,i Israel's ambassador to India has urged Indians to light a 'Diya of Hope' for the hostages from his country who are being held by Hamas since last month's assault.
Condemning Hamas for its October 7 onslaught, Israel's Ambassador to India Naor Gilon has said that if the country is able to eliminate Hamas terrorists, it will also decrease chances of a ripple effect.
Gilon posted a video on X and said that just as Lord Ram's return is celebrated on Diwali by lighting Diyas, a diya (lamp) must be lit in the hope of having our loved ones return.
"240 of our loved ones have been held hostage by #HamasTerrorists for a month. Every #Diwali, we celebrate Lord Ram's return by lighting Diyas," Gilon said.
"THIS #Diwali2023 we invite you to light a Diya in the hope of having our loved ones return Tag us and share your photos using the #DiyaOfHope," he said.
He said that Israel waited for weeks and asked civilians to evacuate to the south, but Hamas used civilians as human shields.
"If we are able to eliminate Hamas, if we get the time, it will decrease the chances that it will have a ripple effect. You see, we were waiting for weeks and asked civilians to evacuate to the south," the Israeli envoy said.
"But Hamas used civilians as human shields. They hid in the hospital. There is international pressure on them," Naor said on being asked about the future of West Asia amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.
Naor further underlined how the Hamas infiltrated Israel on October 7, penetrated 30 Israeli communities and killed 1400 people.
"I think that if we are able to, to eliminate Hamas as we hope to do. If we get the time to do it as we hope to do it, it will decrease the chance, significantly that there will be a ripple effect...They went on October 7, penetrated 30 Israeli communities, killed 1400 people abducted 240 people, injured many and we didn't speak about the rockets. They are firing close to 10000 rockets by the way by the way. The hospital short firing of the rocket was not the only one. Their average is 20 per cent," Gilon said.
"So we can assume that there are about 2000 rockets so far close to that that fell short inside Gaza...We waited almost three weeks until we went to the ground for the ground operation. And all that time, we said we were going into North Gaza first, evacuated to the south, and they were putting pressure even threatening and even shooting people in order to prevent them because they needed them as human shields...," he said.
The Israeli Ambassador also took a jibe at various Arab countries and said that the world is divided as a result of the ongoing situation.
He said, "What happens here is against what people think. Americans did understand and sent their carriers. They now have a submarine. What's happening is you can see the world dividing. It's about the world struggling for power. Russia is going with Iran. You can see two Mmuslim brotherhoods Qatar and Turkey. It's not about Jihad or Non-Jihad. We are a small country pulled in the games of other countries."
Meanwhile, the Israeli Defence Forces today released pictures of various weapons recovered from Hamas terrorists during their operations. According to the IDF, some of the weapons found on Hamas' terrorists on October 7th include; 1,493 hand grenades and explosives, 760 RPGs, 427 explosive belts, 375 firearms, 106 rockets and missiles.
"These are just a few of the weapons used to massacre over 1,400 Israeli civilians. Weapons used for the killing of innocents" the IDF said.
Earlier, Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel will have "security responsibility" over the Gaza Strip for an indefinite period following its war against Hamas.
"The situation in Gaza post-war remains uncertain, with concerns about how Israel plans to manage it. I think Israel will for an indefinite period have security responsibility," Netanyahu told ABC News.
"We've seen what happens when we don't have that... security responsibility, what we have is the eruption of Hamas terror on a scale that we couldn't imagine" he added.
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