Brussels, November 13th, 2018 – Hamas in Gaza, which is recognized internationally as a terrorist group, has fired more than 400 missiles into Israel in the last twenty four hours in what the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have called the largest ever bombardment of southern Israel in a single day. The rockets are deliberately targeted at Israeli civilians, including kindergartens, schools and hospitals, with the ultimate goal of terrorizing all of Israel and causing as many casualties as possible.
In a statement on Tuesday afternoon, ECI Founding Director Tomas Sandell called upon the member states of the European Union to unequivocally condemn the terror attacks and use all means possible to put pressure on the leadership of Hamas to immediately stop the firing of rockets.
“There can be no double-talk as Israeli civilians, including the elderly and children, are fleeing for their lives from missiles and rockets. Hamas terror attacks against Israeli civilians must stop once and for all, and the Hamas terrorist leaders should understand that an attack on Israeli civilians is an attack on the entire free world. Eighty years after “Kristallnacht” in Germany, the European Union should express, loud and clear, that Jews have the right to live in peace and security not only in all of Europe but also within the borders of the State of Israel. Civilian Jewish life in Ashkelon and Sderot is just as precious as in Brussels and Copenhagen,” he said.
The Israeli government has shown a remarkable level of restraint in recent months as southern Israel has been terrorized by fire kites, causing great damage to the Israel border region with Gaza.
“As Israel is faced with the worst ever barrage of missiles from terrorist groups in Gaza, the government simply cannot be expected to any longer remain seated and watch while its citizens are in such danger,” Sandell said.
The IDF is said to have intercepted 100 of the missiles from Gaza with its Iron Dome anti-missile system, but was unable to prevent several buildings being hit in southern Israeli towns. A 40-year-old man named Mahmoud Abu Asbah, a Palestinian resident of the West Bank town of Halhul, north of Hebron, was killed after a house was hit by a missile in Ashkelon late Monday night. Eight others were wounded in the strike, including two women who were in the same building at the time of the attack and are now said to be in critical condition. Over all more than 50 Israelis have been treated for injuries since Monday, most of them for light wounds or stress-related trauma, authorities reported.
“As European citizens, we stand in full solidarity with our Israeli friends at this difficult time. We pray for a speedy recovery of the injured and for peace and security to return to southern Israel”, Sandell concluded.