US, Europe stand with Israel in denouncing Hamas
President Trump's Mid-East envoy tweets 'all Hamas can offer is terror,' while the Irish foreign minister says that while he continues advocating for Gaza's citizens, 'Hamas-led violence undermines Palestinian cause'; France reiterates 'commitment to Israel's security.'
France also denounced the hostilities perpetrated by the Palestinian terror groups, reiterating its "unconditional commitment to Israel's security."
Three soldiers were wounded lightly to moderately as a result of shrapnel from the barrage, while a civilian was lightly wounded running towards a shelter.
Reprehensible – mortars fired from Gaza at a kindergarten and community in Israel! Hamas has failed – all it can offer is terror. Palestinians in Gaza need real leaders to work on Gaza’s real problems with its water, its economy and so much more.
— Jason D. Greenblatt (@jdgreenblatt45) May 29, 2018
In all, Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip fired more than 70 rockets and mortars into southern Israel on Tuesday, the largest barrage since 2014's Operation Protective Edge.
President Trump's envoy took to Twitter to voice an unequivocally denunciation, writing, "Mortars fired from Gaza at a kindergarten and community in Israel – reprehensible! Hamas has failed – all it can offer is terror. Palestinians in Gaza need real leaders to work on Gaza's real problems with its water, its economy and so much more."
A spokeswoman for the French Foreign Affairs Ministry published a statement on the day's incidents Tuesday afternoon, saying, "France unequivocally denounces fire at civilian populations that only luckily did not claim any victims. France is unconditionally committed to Israel's security."
"France denounces the resumption of violence," the spokeswoman added, "which is not congruent with a peaceful resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict."
Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney weighed in as well, tweeting, "I strongly condemn firing of rockets from Gaza at Israel today. I continue to advocate strongly for people of Gaza who live in impossible conditions, but this Hamas-led violence undermines Palestinian cause + is counterproductive to political progress."
Earlier Tuesday, Emanuele Giaufret, the EU envoy to Israel, tweeted, "As kids were preparing for school this morning a barrage of rockets from Gaza fell on southern Israel. One landed outside a kindergarten. I know the resilience of communities in southern Israel but indiscriminate attacks are totally unacceptable and to be condemned unreservedly."
As kids were preparing for school this morning a
— Emanuele Giaufret (@EGiaufretEU) May 29, 2018
barrage of rockets from Gaza fell on southern Israel. One landed outside a
kindergarten. I know the resilience of communities in southern Israel but
indiscriminate attacks are totally unacceptable and to be condemned
unreservedly.
The United Nations' envoy to the Middle East Nikolay Mladenov also denounced the attack, saying such attacks on Israel were "unacceptable and interrupted the international community's attempts to improve the situation in Gaza."
"All parties should show restraint and avoid escalation," he advised.
The international chorus of condemnation was possibly cajoled by Israel itself, who called on world governments to condemn rocket and mortar fire from the Gaza Strip.
Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon said the government expected "decision makers around the world" to issue "unilateral condemnations of the terror attacks."
The Foreign Affairs Ministry also sent a telegram to all of Israel's diplomats in the world, urging them to work with leaders and media outlets in the countries in which they are stationed.
The telegram instructed them to stress that the campaign was "an attack by terror groups on civilians, which has unfortunately already led to casualties, hence our right to self defense."
The ministry also had Israeli representatives underline that Israel considered Hamas responsible for the escalation.
Working on the same point, the IDF sent a message to the isolated enclave's civilian population. Head of the IDF Spokesperson's Unit's Arab media division Maj. Avichay Adraee tweeted a caricature showing the strip covered with an Iranian flag and the symbols of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
An overture to the people of Gaza was above the caricature, saying, "Don't let them push you to escalation!" with the links between Hamas and Islamic Jihad and Iran explained.
