Israeli ambassador to Budapest: Iran's goal is another war in the region

Fighting between Israel and the Palestinian terrorist organization Hamas is now in its fifth day in the Gaza Strip. The death toll is rising and the war is spreading over a wider area, with the Middle Eastern country now under attack not only by the Palestinian terrorist group, but also by Lebanon's Hezbollah. Israel's ambassador to Budapest, Yacov Hadas-Handelsman, attended a press briefing on Wednesday to give an update regarding the latest developments on the war..

Budapest 20221026 Ilan Mor Izraeli nagykövet Fotó: Árvai Károly Nemzeti Sport Fotó: Nemzeti Sport/ Árvai Károly

– Terrorists behave like animals. They kidnap families and then torture and shoot them during live television broadcasts," said Yacov Hadas-Handelsman, who has provided details on the horrors of the war that's been ongoing between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas terrorist organization since Saturday. Israel's ambassador in Budapest compared the actions of Hamas terrorists to those of the Islamic State (ISIS).

The names are different, but the methods are the same,

– he said.

He pointed out that although 50 years ago, during the 21-day Yom Kippur War in October 1973, Israel was caught off-guard by a joint attack from the armies of Egypt, Syria, Jordan and Iraq, adding however, that the current situation is different: Israel is now under attack by a terrorist organization, whose victims are mainly civilians. The diplomat underlined that the terrorists are not only attacking humans, but also the region's fauna. He described them as indiscriminate, saying they slaughter anyone who gets in their way, whether Israeli, Arab, Palestinian, Jewish or a foreign national.

According to the official tally, over 1200 Israelis have been killed in the first 24 hours, including 169 soldiers.

The Embassy in Budapest said that at least 29 nationals from 29 countries have been killed in the war, including seven Brazilians, two Italians, seven Argentines, two Americans, as well as Britons and Germans. Twenty Thai migrant workers have also been killed, according to figures released so far. Yacov Hadas-Handelsman stressed that Israeli soldiers are also reported to have suffered high casualties. The number of wounded is estimated at three thousand, and the number of hospitalized is over 470. Hamas terrorists have also taken a large number of hostages into the Gaza Strip. So far only 130 people have been accounted for, including entire families, children and babies that are just a few months old, but nothing is known about them.

Házról házra jártak.

Élő embereket gyújtottak fel.

Egész családokat gyilkoltak meg. Gyermekek. Kisbabák...

Nem leszünk csendben.

A Kibbutz Beeri áldozatainak emlékéből fakadjon áldás.

📸: @bokeralmog https://t.co/EiRXryMEur

— IzraelMagyarországon (@IsraelinHungary) October 11, 2023

Fighting is still intense, the ambassador said, adding that the Israeli Defense Forces are fighting on two fronts, as Hezbollah is attacking the country from the north, from Lebanon, in addition to the Gaza Strip. Since Saturday, some 5,300 rockets have been fired at Israel, most of them from Gaza. Israel's priority now is to repel Hamas members from its territory as swiftly as possible, Yacov Hadas-Handelsman explained. 

In response to a question from Magyar Nemzet, the ambassador said that there is no end in sight to the fighting for the time being, but they hope to bring the war to an end as soon as possible.

In recent days, experts have been trying to answer the question of how Hamas has managed to launch such a massive attack on Israel. Yacov Hadas-Handelsman emphasized that authorities will launch a formal investigation, but their first task at hand is to defend the country.

The diplomat said he believes that Iran was behind the Hamas attack, which was designed to create a new conflict in the region.

Explaining the geopolitical background to the Israeli war, the ambassador stressed that Tehran is unhappy with the presence of the US, and is unhappy with the rapprochement between Saudi-Arabia and Israel. Yacov Hadas-Handelsman recalled that under the Abraham Accords of 2020, Israel has normalized relations with several Arab countries, noting as an example that last year more than a million Israelis have traveled to the UAE. There are further visible signs of a rapprochement between Saudi Arabia and Israel, he said, noting that several Israeli politicians had visited the Arab kingdom before the outbreak of the war. The international press has been full of reports that two weeks ago, Haim Katz, Israel's Minister of Tourism, became the first person to pay an official visit to Saudi Arabia since the start of normalization talks.

Cover photo: Yacov Hadas-Handelsman, Ambassador of the State of Israel in Budapest (Photo: Nemzeti Sport/Karoly Arvai)