‘Their time will come if we…’: Israel’s stern warning to those supporting Hamas

Israeli Ambassador to India. (ANI video screengrab)


Israeli Ambassador to India, Naor Gilen on Sunday issued a stern warning to those backing Palestinian militants who attacked Israel, saying their time will come. Speaking to reporters in India, said that their first priority is Hamas and those supporting the Islamic militant group will be dealt with later.

“We will reserve for ourselves the decision when and how to react. First of all, we are going to react to the perpetrators…For the time being, Hamas is the issue, and others supporting their time will come if we will find out that they were behind it… And this is our DNA. It’s not something that we did once,” he told reporters.

The Israeli Defence Forces are engaged in a fierce gun battle with Hamas militants to regain control of the captured areas in southern Israel near the Gaza Strip border. More than 600 Israelis have been killed and 100 taken hostage by Hamas militants after a surprise attack on Saturday. On day two of the Israel-Palestine war, Israeli Defence Forces launched retaliatory air strikes and struck several Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip.

According to a report citing Hamas leaders, the Palestinian militant attack on Israel was backed by Iran. On Saturday, a spokesperson of the Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei congratulated Palestinian fighters for launching the biggest attack on Israel in a generation.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, according to local media reports, has spoken with the leader of Palestinian militant groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad (PIJ) after Israel launched a counter offensive. However, the details of Raisi’s conversations with Palestinian militant leaders have not been disclosed.

Hamas is backed by Iran and the Islamic nation provides funds, weapons and training to its militants. The Iranian government also funds Hezbollah, a Lebanon based political and militant outfit. Hezbollah militants also fired rockets towards Israel from Lebanon earlier today.

Hezballoh, who fought a month-long war with Israel in 2006, has openly announced its support to Hamas militants in their fight against Israeli Defence Forces. In a statement released earlier today, Hezbollah said that its attack was in solidarity with the Palestinian people.

Israel responded to Hezbollah attack with artillery strikes and warned the Iran-backed outfit not to get involved in the fighting.