"There is ISIS-Daesh connection here...": Israel envoy Naor Gilon on Hamas attacks on Israel
New Delhi: On possible involvement of Islamic State in the Hamas attack on Israel, the Ambassador of Israel to India, Naor Gilon has said that as the terrorist group continues to kill innocent civilians mercilessly, this is exactly Daesh.
In an exclusive interview with ANI, Gilon said, "Yeah, we are looking into it...We have evidence for that. It's not only the mode of operation, as I said...decapitating, killing people in terrible ways, torturing whole families without any mercy, without any thinking. This is exactly Daesh."
"And we also found flags of Daesh with the equipment of the Hamas people who were under attackers. So there is an ISIS Daesh. We call it connection here..." he said.
Notably, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi formed the Islamic State, also known as Daesh, with its origins in Iraq and Syria in 1999. It rose to prominence in 2014 when it seized sizable regions in eastern Syria and northwestern Iraq.
Speaking further on how the Israel-Hamas war will be a game-changer for the Middle East, the envoy said that all the negative forces in the Middle East are trying to destabilise the region.
"I think if people understand what happened here, this is a game changer to the Middle East. It's not about Israel...it's not only about Israel. Of course, we are the victims here. ISIS is involved, Iran is involved. All the negative forces in the Middle East that were trying to destabilize the Middle East are now part of the reasons. I believe that the motivations they had here, they saw that the Middle East is going in a good direction. Three years ago, after the Abraham Accords, gulf countries getting closer to Israel," he said.
He also talked at length on I2U2 which is a grouping of India, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States.
"I2U2 is an economic forum coming out of its whole, cooperation started. India was very much involved. India is also involved in the idea of creating transportation and communication and connection between India and the Mediterranean through the Gulf countries, Saudi Arabia and Israel. So all of that, these people didn't want it to happen and they didn't want Israel and Saudi Arabia to get closer. How far will we go in understanding that a huge change to the Middle East? I think we will go very far because if not, it will harm all the moderate regimes in the Middle East," the envoy told ANI.
I2U2 is also referred to as the West Asian Quad aimed to encourage joint investments between the member states in six mutually identified areas - water, energy, transportation, space, health and Food security.
Meanwhile, Naor Gilon, as he talked further, argued that terrorism is terrorism, and attempting to provide context aims to portray the victims as oppressors.
Expressing his concerns, Gilon said, "I see it very bad for two reasons. First...I saw some people across the world trying to give it context. There is no context to killing 1,200 people. More than 1000 civilians. Decapitating, raping, and whatnot. There is no context to that. Because if you try to do that, but,...you try to justify terror. You are a supporter of terror if you do that".
He also pointed out that the approaches of Israel and India are similar with regard to terrorism.
"Our approach, also of India and all peace-seeking countries is that terror is terror. It can't be justified, don't put the context, don't blame me...you turn the victim into the one who committed the crime," he added.
Gilon also raised concerns that Hamas might try to present themselves as 'victims' and use civilians as 'human shields'.
"Now, what will happen next is Hamas crying we are the victims, and you will see human shields, and probably...people abducted from Israel as human shields also. This is going to be very complicated," Gilon said.
The death toll in Israel since the Hamas attack on October 7 has jumped to 1,300 and some 3300 have been injured, including 28 in critical condition and 350 in serious condition, The Times of Israel reported.
The fate of an estimated 150 people abducted and taken to the Gaza Strip during the attack by Hamas is still unclear, the report said.
Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said the military has so far notified families of 97 hostages who were being held by terrorists in the Gaza Strip, The Times of Israel reported.
