Leaders react to Gaza rockets
Terrorists in the Gaza Strip have fired some 700 rockets at Israel in the last two days, killing three people and wounding several others. Israelis have been asked not to attend the funerals of the victims amid the dangerous escalation in the south. Israel has responded to the intensive barrage with retaliatory air strikes, resulting in the deaths of eight Palestinians.
Photo by Kobi Richter/TPS
World Jewish Congress President Ronald S. Lauder said in response to the attacks: “Hamas and its accomplices in the Gaza Strip have laid siege to the State of Israel, indiscriminately terrorizing its citizens and snuffing out innocent lives in an unprovoked attempt to destroy the Jewish state and subvert any efforts to live in peace and coexistence.”
“We call on the international community to face the murderous reality on the ground caused by Hamas and not be taken in by Hamas’ perverted bid to draw international sympathy for its own tyrannical cause and contemptuous disregard for human life. It is beyond time for the UN Security Council and the entire international community to unequivocally condemn Hamas in the strongest terms possible and hold it completely responsible for the loss of life and continued provocation in the territory under its control,” Lauder said. “Every second that passes without such condemnation gives Hamas carte blanche to persist with its cynical violence, threatening and exploiting the lives of both Israelis and Palestinians. This is terror, plain and simple, and must be not be tolerated or condoned in any way.”
The Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ) condemns the actions of Hamas, Islamic Jihad and other terrorist groups in Gaza which over the last two days have fired more than 700 rockets, mortars and other explosive projectiles targeted at civilian population centres in southern Israel, including the cities of Ashkelon, Ashdod and Beer Sheva.
Parents in Ashdod put their children to sleep in the bomb-safe room tonight as the city continues to be under rocket fire from Gaza. (Photos by Tommy Shapiro/TPS)
The attacks have claimed the life of Moshe Agadi, a 60-year-old Israeli man, who was killed after a rocket hit his home. More than 80 Israeli civilians have been injured. Israel’s Iron Dome air defence system has intercepted some of the rockets, and thus averted an even higher casualty count.
Whilst we deplore the death and injury of innocent civilians on both sides, the responsibility for the outbreak of violence lies squarely with the terrorist groups in Gaza and primarily the Hamas rulers of the territory, whose Charter calls for Israel to be “obliterated”, and who deliberately target Israeli civilians while cynically using the people of Gaza as human shields.
Our prayers and sympathies go out to the family of Moshe Agadi. We stand in solidarity with the people of Israel, who regularly face murderous attacks from the terrorists, and wish them strength and steadfastness in the face of the attacks to which they have been subjected.
In the wake of the nearly 700 rockets fired into Israel over the weekend, killing 4 and injuring dozens of Israels, the Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council (AIJAC) today condemned Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad for their “callous, obscene contempt for human life” and “overt opposition to peace and human rights”, while also pointing a finger at Iran for its cynical manipulation of events to foster its own imperial ambitions.
“Once again, these terrorist organisations have both killed and wounded innocent Israeli civilians and been responsible for death and suffering amidst the people they purport to lead.
“All fair-minded people will stand with Israel, as that country endures the largest barrage of rocket, mortar and missile attacks from the Gaza Strip since the 2014 Gaza War.
“Hamas bears full responsibility for this escalation, which has already cost the lives of at least four Israeli civilians and injured dozens more, during intense rocket barrages on its towns, villages and cities, including Beersheva, Ashkelon, Ashdod and others,” AIJAC’s Executive Director Colin Rubenstein said.
“Furthermore, Hamas’ cowardly targeting of an Israeli civilian vehicle with a Kornet anti-tank missile shows the extent to which the terror group is prepared to go in order to further escalate the situation.
“The increased role of the Iranian-backed Palestinian Islamic Jihad and the flow of Iranian money to fuel Gaza’s war machine further exposes Iran’s role behind the scenes in igniting this escalation.
“While attempts are being made to orchestrate a ceasefire, with Israel having no desire to continue a conflict it never sought, there should be no doubt that there can be no rewarding of Hamas or Islamic Jihad for initiating this violence. Israel will defend itself. Hamas must put an end to attacks on Israel emanating from territory under its control immediately, and unconditionally,” he concluded.
