India

New Delhi: Israeli Ambassador to India, Naor Gilon, said that Israel, through its ongoing operation in Gaza, wants to ensure that Hamas doesn't control the strip anymore and is not in a position to attack Tel Aviv again. In an exclusive interview with ANI, Gilon also alleged that Hamas in its attempt to mount international pressure on Israel manipulated casualty figures to spread misinformation and propaganda. The Israeli envoy has raised questions on the estimated death toll announced by the Hamas run Health ministry in Gaza and alleged that Hamas "plays" with the numbers to mount international pressure on Israel. The outgoing Israeli envoy termed the October 7, 2023 attack when Hamas stormed across the border into Israeli communities as the "worst thing" against the Jewish community since the Holocaust. "It's the worst thing that happened to Jewish people since the Holocaust in second World War. On October 7 morning, it was a Jewish holiday...there was infiltration of Hamas terrorists, thousands of them to 20 Jewish communities around Israel. They murdered 1200 people on the way, they raped, they burned people alive...Now, we are in a situation, where still 120 people held hostage, some of them are dead," Gilon said. Over 2000 Hamas terrorists breached Israeli borders on October 7, killing 1200 Israelis and taking around 250 as hostages, out of whom around 120 still are in Hamas captivity, with many of them feared dead. Following this, Israel launched a strong counteroffensive, carrying out military operations against Hamas in the Gaza Strip with the aim of "completely eliminating" the group. The Israeli envoy emphasised his country through its operation in Gaza Strip wants to ensure that it is able to safely bring back all the peopl ...