What happened to Israel on October 7, 2023, is unparalleled and unique in history, and the international community of nations should take note of the unfortunate and shocking attack perpetrated by Hamas, according to Tammy Ben-Haim, Consul General of Israel to south India. The career diplomat cautioned India and other nations against the evil designs of Hamas terrorists.
In an exclusive interview with The Pioneer on Monday, Ben-Haim described the act of Hamas as treachery of the highest order. “Right now, our top priority is to bring home safely the 129 hostages held by Hamas. Although they had kidnapped 240 people, including the elderly and tiny tots as hostages on October 7, we have managed to get 100 persons released from their custody. The efforts to get the remaining hostages released are in full swing,” said Ben-Haim, a career diplomat with 25 years of experience in the Israeli civil and diplomatic service.
Ben-Haim said the attack by Hamas on Israel is a lesson for the entire world. “This is not an attack based on religion, culture, or economy. It is an act of treachery and materialised only because of the tacit support extended by Iran. The Iranian Government provided Hamas with arms, weapons, billions of dollars, and other logistics. In addition to Hamas, organisations like Hezbollah, ISIS, and
al-Qaeda were receiving all sorts of help from Iran,” said the Israeli diplomat.
She agreed that Israel was caught off-guard by the attacks on October 7. “We had no presence in Gaza since 2005 because we had left the territory, and it was being ruled by Palestinians. Not a single Israeli was there in Gaza. But what happened was that the rulers of Gaza diverted the entire money to Hamas to build tunnels under the province. The tunnels had facilities for the safe and speedy passage of jeeps and armoured vehicles. They had converted schools, hospitals, and mosques into storehouses of weapons and military hardware. The entire money meant for the welfare of people, especially children and women, was diverted to the luxurious lifestyle of Hamas commanders and jehadis.” said Ben-Haim.
For 18 years, Hamas misappropriated and embezzled whatever financial aid was contributed by international development agencies. “It was used to destroy Israel. There was no provocation of any kind from Israel’s side, which always maintained peace with Gaza and other Arab nations. But Hamas was waiting for a chance to strike at us,” she said.
The Israeli diplomat explained how babies were slaughtered, and girls and women in the age group of 18-30 were abused and molested by Hamas jehadis.
“Rapes and brutal murders are their modus operandi. Hamas uses the civilian population as human shields. Even after the October 7 incident, Hamas terrorists continued to shower Israel with rockets. Today, December 18 happens to be the 73rd day of their attacks. They have fired 1,200 rockets during the last 70 days, and the numbers keep on increasing as Israel is facing a difficult situation. We have to get the 129 hostages released from the custody of Hamas, and we have to fortify the nation against further attacks. We are facing attacks from the Lebanon border. Israeli ships in international seas are being attacked. To keep the world in a mode of war, Iran is doing whatever it can do. Terrorists and youngsters are taken to Iran for training in the use of AK-47 rifles and explosive devices. The 1973 Yom Kippur war between Israel and Arab nations that lasted 19 days was won by Israel. But it was a different story. The present battle has seen many civilians losing their lives. The price on the civilian population we pay is too high,” said Ben-Haim.
She said Iran is the root cause of these evil designs. “It is playing the role of the mastermind by bringing together all terrorist organisations. Countries in Europe, the American continent, and Asia should sit together and take note of the situation.” she said.
Ben-Haim said Israel’s focus on Monday was to get the hostages released from Hamas. “The rest of the things we will work out afterwards,” she said.
