Tel Aviv [Israel], October 9 : Calling Hamas a "terror organisation", Lior Haiat, the spokesperson of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that the only way to fight the terror group is to make everyone involved in the attack "pay the price".
He also reiterated the allegation that Iran is the "main financer" of the terror organisations in the Middle East.
Speaking to ANI, Haiat said, "Hamas is a terror organisation...The only way to fight it is to get each and every terrorist and have him pay the price - not only the ones that participated but also the ones that sent them, the ones that financed them and the ones that are behind them. We know that Iran is the main financer of the terror organisations in the Middle East and they are also deeply involved in what happens in the Gaza Strip...There will be consequences for this attack for each and everyone responsible..."
He also emphasised that the Hamas attack will not be impacting the India-Israel relations, affirming hope that the relations will continue to flourish.
"I don't think the war will have an impact on the relations between Israel and India. I do hope that the initiatives will continue to flourish. This is not just for Israel but the entire region...I do believe that the strong relations between Israel and India will continue and get even stronger," Haiat said.
In a major escalation on October 7, Hamas launched a "surprise attack" on Israel, firing a barrage of rockets into the southern and central parts of the country.
According to Israeli local media cited by The Times of Israel, the death toll in Israel has jumped to 800 Israelis since Saturday's attack. According to Israeli government, over 2400 people have been injured as well.
The spokesperson said that Israel is receiving support and solidarity from many countries and also thanked India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the support.
"We saw a huge support and solidarity that we received from many countries and leaders in the Middle East and the entire world, including the European Union and the US. We really appreciate the support. Israel will defend itself," Haiat said.
He added, "We appreciate the support from the Prime Minister of India, from other leaders in India and also from the people of India in general. We got thousands of messages of support...We will remember who stood with us and supported us".
The Israeli spokesperson further said that Israel is working towards achieving peace in the Middle East, further adding that they won't evacuate from Israel as it is the only place the people have.
"Israel is doing a lot in order to achieve peace in the Middle East. We signed the Abraham Accords three years ago. We are working in order to include other countries in the circle of peace. Unfortunately, this attack was not just against Israel, it was against the peace in the Middle East," Haiat said.
He added, "We are evacuating people from that area, in the south of Israel to the centre of Israel. We are not evacuating people from the state of Israel, especially because this is the only place we have. We have no other place to go to. We will stay here, we will defend ourselves and we will win this war against terror".
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