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| 10.19.23

Israel-Gaza War: What People Are Saying

Do you support U.S. intervention?

Updated October 19, 2023, 1:00 p.m. EST

  • King Abdullah II of Jordan is heading to Cairo to meet with Egypt's president to "discuss means of ending the Israeli aggression on Gaza."
  • U.K.'s Prime Minister Rishi Sunak met with Israeli Prime Minister Isaac Herzog. A spokesperson for Sunak said the two leaders "agreed on the importance of getting urgent humanitarian support to ordinary Palestinians in Gaza who are also suffering."
  • U.K. Foreign Secretary James Cleverly is traveling throughout the region to meet with leaders and "prevent the spread of conflict" in the region. He said:

"It is in no one's interests – neither Israeli, Palestinian nor the wider Middle East – for others to be drawn into this conflict. I am meeting counterparts from influential states in the region to push for calm and stability, facilitate humanitarian access into Gaza and work together to secure the release of hostages."

  • Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Sunak:

"Hamas are the new Nazis. We must fight them together."

“The top priority now is a ceasefire as soon as possible, to avoid the conflict from expanding or even spiraling out of control and causing a serious humanitarian crisis.”

Reactions to the Hamas attack on Israel have been swift, with lawmakers and human rights advocates condemning the aggression, proposing diplomatic solutions, urging both sides to respect human rights, or maintaining political distance.

 

What Israel is saying

  • Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that the country is at war:

“We are at war and we will win it.”

“I ask you to stand firm because we are going to change the Middle East. I know you have been through terrible and difficult things. What Hamas will go through will be difficult and terrible … we have only just begun.”

“Attacks on the Gaza Strip will be carried out powerfully and widely, even at the cost of harming Israeli hostages who are in captivity in Gaza."

What Hamas is saying

  • Abu Obeida, a spokesman for Hamas’s Qassam Brigades said:

“Any targeting of innocent civilians without warning will be met regretfully by executing one of the captives in our custody, and we will be forced to broadcast this execution. We regret this decision, but we hold the Zionist enemy [Israel] and their leadership responsible for this.”

What the White House is saying

“The President emphasized that there is no justification whatsoever for terrorism, and all countries must stand united in the face of such brutal atrocities.”

“We unequivocally condemn the appalling attacks by Hamas terrorists against Israel."

What the humanitarian community is saying

“I am deeply distressed by today’s announcement that Israel will initiate a complete siege of the Gaza Strip – nothing allowed in, no electricity, food or fuel. The humanitarian situation in Gaza was extremely dire before these hostilities. Now it will only deteriorate exponentially. The reality is that it grows out of a longstanding conflict with a 56-year-long occupation and no political end in sight. It’s time to end this vicious cycle of bloodshed, hatred and polarisation."

 “The civilians who were injured or killed, they are collateral damage, and then they will be numbers — just numbers, added numbers.”

“Depriving the population in occupied territory of food and electricity is collective punishment, which is a war crime, as is using starvation as a weapon of war. The International Criminal Court should take note of this call to commit a war crime.”

What the world is saying

  • Jeremy Corbyn, the former leader of the U.K.’s opposition Labour Party and a lifelong Palestinian rights advocate, did not condemn Hamas, saying, “ending the occupation is the only means of achieving a just and lasting peace.” 

“You don’t just condemn, as I do, any acts of violence anywhere around the world. You look at the causes as well, you look at the causes of the wars … in Yemen, in Ukraine, and the current terrible situation in Israel and Palestine. The way to end that, I think, is to end the occupation in Palestine, by Israel.”

“Utterly condemns Hamas’s appalling attack on Israel. There is never, never a justification for terrorism. Labour stands firmly in support of Israel’s right to defend itself, rescue hostages and protect its civilians.”

  • Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador says his government does not want to take sides. Over 300 Mexican citizens have been signed up for evacuation flights, with Obrador confirming, "Our diplomats are acting to protect Mexicans."
  • China’s foreign ministry said in a statement that "the fundamental way out of the conflict lies in implementing the two-state solution and establishing an independent State of Palestine."
  • Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan also urged a two-state solution:

"So long as this problem is not resolved in a fair way, our region will continue to live in longing of peace. Lasting regional peace will only be possible by finding a final solution to the Palestinian-Israeli issue. In this regard, as we have always underlined, the preservation of the two-state solution perspective is very important."

  • Evin Incir, a member of the European Parliament, has criticized the decision to suspend European Union aid to Palestinians:

“Hamas does not represent the entire Palestinian population...But I know one thing: to punish the Palestinian people for the terrorist attacks of Hamas would not serve anyone anything good. It will only fuel the ongoing violence.”

Do you support U.S. intervention?

 

-Emma Kansiz

(Photo Credit: NDTV)