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Topics: News, World News, Politics
Charisa Bossinakis
The Israeli Ambassador to the UN says the recent Hamas attack is Israel's version of ‘9/11’.
Gilad Erdan appeared on Fox News to condemn the ‘unprecedented’ attack on the Middle Eastern country, where civilians and soldiers have been taken hostage.
"Babies, women, and the elderly were dragged outside of their homes, were taken hostage. Civilians were shot and most were massacred in cold blood walking on the streets. This is something that, I mean, is truly unprecedented,'' he said.
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Mr Erdan went on to compare the horrifying event to September 11.
''We already suffered 250 fatalities [which is] like having here, 7,500 fatalities. We already have 1,500 casualties. It's like 50,000 casualties here in the United States. This is our 9/11,” he told Fox News' Eric Shawn.
“We are committed to change the equation, to shatter the old paradigm.
"These animals will pay a heavy price and they will learn that these atrocities cannot be committed again against our civilians."
On Saturday (October 7), Hamas launched a range of rocket attacks while fighters stormed into Israel in the biggest escalation since the 1948 Arab–Israeli War.
According to AP News, over 1,100 civilians were killed, with thousands wounded on both sides.
The Guardian reported more than 100 civilians, including children, were abducted at gunpoint by Hamas and taken to Gaza.
The attack saw troops breaking through the Gaza–Israel barrier and forcing entry into Gaza border crossings.
The fighters rampaged for hours, gunning down civilians at a techno music festival in southern Israel.
One witness spoke to Channel 12 and said the attack was like ‘four-five hours of a horror movie'.
A medic present at the festival told Kan News: "It was a massacre.
"I've never seen anything like it in my life. It was a planned ambush. As people came out of the emergency exits, squads of terrorists were waiting for them there and just started picking them off.
"There were 3,000 people at the event, so they probably knew it. They had intelligence information."
The Israeli Defense Forces have now declared ‘a state of alert for war’.
IS President Joe Biden confirmed military aid was ‘now on its way to Israel with more to follow over the coming days’ after speaking with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“We’ll make sure that they have the help that their citizens need, and they can continue to defend themselves,” he said, as per Sky News.
“My administration’s support for Israel’s security is rock solid and unwavering.”
The Guardian reported that Saudi Arabia has called for both sides to de-escalate the war, adding the situation had exploded ‘as a result of the continued occupation [and] the Palestinian people being deprived of their legitimate rights’.