Israel will not stop the bombardment of Gaza, and still plans a ground offensive to “eradicate Hamas’s capacity” and free about 200 Israeli hostages taken by the group during terror attacks on October 7, said Israel’s Ambassador to India Naor Gilon.
Thanking Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his statements, Mr. Gilon said on October 19 that he hopes India, which has not so far designated Hamas as a terror group, would do so. Despite calls from neighbouring Arab countries for an immediate ceasefire, the envoy said that continuing with the operation was necessary for Israel’s “future”.
“The instructions that were given by the Prime Minister (Benjamin Netanyahu) were that we have to make sure that Hamas does not retain the capacity to execute such atrocities again, and to bring back the hostages… For that a ground operation is needed,” Mr. Gilon told The Hindu in an interview.
