Hamas 'Plays' With Gaza's Death Toll, Counts Terrorist Casualty As Civilian: Israeli Ambassador Naor Gilon
Israeli envoy Naor Gilon also claimed that Hamas did not want to reach a hostage deal since it will no longer be left with any "human shields".
Israeli Ambassador to India Naor Gilon said that Israel's operation in Gaza is aimed at ensuring that Hamas does not control the Gaza strip anymore and is not left in a position to launch attack at Tel Aviv again in future. He also alleged that Hamas manipulated casualty figures to mount international pressure on Israel and spread misinformation. He also claimed that Hamas did not differentiate between terrorists and civilians and counted every casualty as civilian.
The revelations were made during an exclusive interview with news agency ANI. In the interview, Gilon also said that he has raised questions over the estimated death toll that was announced by the Hamas run Health ministry in Gaza. Hamas "plays" with the numbers to mount international pressure on Israel, he said.
Calling the October 7 2023 attack as the "worst thing" against the Jewish community since the Holocaust, the outgoing Israeli envoy said: "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."
On October 7, Hamas had stormed into Israel, breaching the borders and killing 1200 Israelis. Around 250 others were taken hostage, out of whom 120 are said to be in the captivity of Hamas.
In response to this, Israel had launched a counter offensive as it carried military operations in the Gaza strip against Hamas, to "completely eliminate" the group.
'Hamas Is Afraid It Won't Have Any Human Shields': Israel On Hostage Deal
Giloni emphasised that Israel is working towards bringing back all the people who have been held hostage by Hamas. He also said that the country wants to ensure that Hamas, which has been classified as a "terror" organisation by Israel and some EU nations, would not be able to launch an attack again.
The Israeli operations in Gaza have claimed the lives of over 38,000 Palestinians, which has led to an international criticism and calls for reaching a ceasefire deal.
Commenting on Israel's stance on a potential ceasefire deal, the Israeli envoy said that Hamas does not want to reach a hostage deal as it would mean that it will no longer be left with any "human shields".
"There are two main targets of this operation...The first one is to make sure that Hamas does not control Gaza anymore, it does not have the ability to build its force in Gaza in order to attack Israel. The second is to bring back the hostages," Gilon stated.
He further said: "We were able to, through military operation, release a few (hostages). The biggest tranche was released through a deal with Hamas, with international countries mediating. Now, we are discussing another deal. The main problem from Hamas point of view is that if they give up the hostages, they are afraid they don't have any human shield anymore."
'Trying To Minimise Collateral Damage'
On facing criticism for the "collateral damage" being caused in the military offensives in Gaza, the Israeli envoy stressed that Tel Aviv wants to minimise the civilian casualties, but Hamas is the one that hid behind the civilian population, ANI reported.
"I don't know what is collateral damage...I think the goal has to be achieved. Collateral damage, we are trying to minimise anyhow...our biggest problem is Gaza is the most densely populated area in the world. Secondly, Hamas had the tactic, doing something to Israel...and hide behind the civilian population. From their point of view, any Palestinian dying, is someone else creating pressure on Israel to stop the war. That's what they are aiming at doing," the Israeli Ambassador said.
'Hamas Doesn't Differentiate Between Civilians, Terrorists'
Gilon also claimed that Hamas did not differentiate between civilians and terrorists, and counted every casualty as civilian.
"We have conflicting interests. Ridiculously, while we have the interest in protecting the Palestinian population, they (Hamas) have the interest of not protecting them, and on contrary sacrificing them," he said.
"The only figures we get of the dead are the figures given by so called Ministry of Health of Hamas in Gaza...for them everyone is a civilian, they never differentiate terrorists and civilians. From their point of view, everyone dead is a civilian," Gilon added.
"We have to take that into account that they are playing with the figures," the Ambassador asserted.
Gilon has been serving as the Israel Ambassador to India since 2021 and his tenure is set to end in August this year. The Israel Embassy in India had also hosted a farewell dinner last month for departing diplomats, including Ambassador Gilon.
On the occasion, he had called the bond between Israel and India "unique" and said that it was built on mutual respect and shared values.
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