Israel will not rest until Hamas is destroyed, security returned to the natives and hostages are freed, said Tammy Ben-Haim, the Consul General of South India for Israel with consular jurisdiction over the states of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and the Union Territory of Puducherry.
Ben-Haim is a diplomat with 18 years of experience in Government of Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
In an interview to IANS, she thanked the Government of India and the people for support. Excerpts from interview:
IANS: Israel is at war. As the Consulate General in charge of South India what’s your comment?
Ben-Haim: Israel, the citizens and people in Israel, have been brutally attacked by the Hamas terror organisation on October 7, in the early hours of morning. Barrages of rockets (so far over 6,300) were fired from the Gaza Strip into Israeli territory, over 1000 Hamas terrorists infiltrated Israel from a number of different points, from land, sea, and air. More than 1,300 people were killed, 3300 injured, and dozens kidnapped by Hamas.
This heinous terror attack was aimed at families going to Jewish temples, in their homes, and their towns. It was aimed at babies, children, women, and unarmed civilians.
As part of the attack, and still going on at the moment, the terrorist organisation is firing missiles towards cities in the south and center of Israel and towards Jerusalem -- indiscriminate fire intended to hit civilians.
The terrorists massacred civilians, tortured innocent people, burned babies and families alive, desecrated bodies; and are still now, as you are reading these lines, torturing and brutalizing the babies, children, and women they have kidnapped and taken hostages.
We have known terror attacks and wars and this is the most barbaric brutal attack we have experienced.
Israel will not rest until safety and security is returned to our people and our country, until the hostages are freed, and until the Hamas terror organisation is destroyed.
IANS: Hamas is a terror outfit and the manner in which they attacked civilians within Israel on October 7 is a clear example of it. Your comment?
Ben-Haim: Correct. Hamas has not been shy and has been public about its one and only goal -- to annihilate and destroy Israel and Israeli and Jewish people; it is even listed in its charter. It has been on this mission since its inception. It aims to destroy civilians on the Israeli side while using the civilian population in Gaza as human shields. Hamas is designated internationally as a terror organisation; no one is thinking otherwise.
IANS: Your country has been facing these war-like situations for the past several decades. How are you managing this never ending conflict?
Ben-Haim: Israel has known wars and terror attacks since gaining our Independence 75 years ago; the Jewish people have known struggles for several millennia. We will overcome this attempt to destroy us as well; and this time we must make sure that the Hamas terror organisation is destroyed and will not be able to attack us again.
IANS: India has openly said that Hamas is a terror organisation. What do you feel as an Israeli officer working in India?
Ben-Haim: We appreciate the very clear stance of PM Modi, the Government of India, friends, and Indian people in general who have approached us with strong condemnations of the heinous terror attacks and a clear stance about their support for Israel. India and Israel have a flourishing relationship and our Prime Ministers had an update call this past week; the support of India strengthens us in Israel and it also aids in sending a united clear message against terrorism and terror organisations.
IANS: There have been reports of Iran, China and Russia supporting Hamas in this attack. What is your opinion?
Ben-Haim: The regime in Iran is the main funder and backer of the Hamas terror organisation. It also funds and supports Hezbollah and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. It not only funds Hamas, it also provides it much military assistance, including rockets and weapons of all kinds and assistance bringing it into Gaza, they train their terrorists, and share information with them. In the past few years this support and connection have become stronger and closer, including syncing of messaging. They are in constant steady contacts with the Hamas leadership in Gaza and out of it.
IANS: Will the Gaza issue be solved once and for all?
Ben-Haim: What Israel aims to do in the war that we have declared against Hamas -- the first and foremost is to ensure the safety and security of Israel and of the people living in Israel; we will also free the babies, children, women, and men who have been kidnapped by Hamas into Gaza.
The last goal is to destroy Hamas. For years Israel has retaliated with restrained power against Hamas's terror attacks and rocket barrages at our civilian population; obvious to everyone now this has not harmed them enough and they keep attacking us.
The current horrible attack is a clear example of this. Israel will now ensure that Hamas has no capabilities, no infrastructure, no weapons and rocket storage. Israel has so far attacked around 2,000 known Hamas targets, including what has been mentioned here, strategic areas, and their main operatives and commanders.
IANS: Israel is a country with the most modern technologies in Agriculture. Do you feel that this technology could be incorporated in India?
Ben-Haim: Israel has one of the most technologically advanced systems in the world when it comes to water, the use and reuse of it, and agriculture. Israel is 70 per cent desert, yet we have made it bloom, we grow enough vegetables, fruits, and even flowers to use at home and export abroad. We have been sharing the technology with India for years, and the joint Centers of Excellence spread throughout most of the Indian states are a great example of that.
So are the IDE water desalination plant in Maharashtra and the Netafim drip irrigation manufacturing facility in Tamil Nadu. There is always more we can do together as the partnership makes us smarter, stronger, and better; we are talking of having a water excellence centre in a leading university as well as other joint research projects and working with farmers. The two countries working together have much to offer for both the people of Israel and India, and also many others around the world.
We are praying for peace and security to return and thanking the Government of India and the people of India for their steadfast support of Israel.
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