Tammy Ben Haim, Consul General of Israel to South India, says Hamas doesn’t follow any norms or guidelines.
CHENNAI
On 21 November, the Israeli government approved a four-day truce in the ongoing conflict with Hamas. The humanitarian truce will see the release of 50 hostages (women and children) held captive by Hamas. Around 240 people were taken hostage by Hamas in their brutal attack on Israel on 7 October and only four have been released by them so far. In this exclusive conversation with The Sunday Guardian, Tammy Ben Haim, Consul General of Israel to South India, talks about the ceasefire, its significance and steps being taken to secure the release of the remaining hostages from Hamas. Excerpts:
Q: A truce has been reached and 50 hostages are to be released. What is the mood like in Israel now?
A: The mood in Israel is still a difficult and sombre one. We are dealing with a terrorist organization whose main goals, as can clearly be seen in their founding charter and their public declarations, are to cause harm and destruction to civilians, people, and to destroy the State of Israel. This is the enemy we are facing and are determined to destroy; but they have shown us again and again over the past 16 years that they have been controlling Gaza and definitely since the 7 October massacre and since, that they have no regard for human life, Jewish or Palestinian. We do not know what the condition of any of the 238 hostages is or of the 38 children and babies that they have brutally kidnapped. Hamas does not follow any norms or guidelines and definitely not the rules of war or humanitarian law. Following the pause in fighting to allow the release of the hostages, Israel and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) will not stop until we have all the hostages back in Israel.
Q: How important is this ceasefire in the ongoing conflict?
A: The ceasefire is important as it seems that this is the way to get at least some of our hostages back home; but it is not an end at all. Israel has three goals in this war that we were surprised with and did not ask for or want. The first goal is to bring back the 238 people who were kidnapped and taken hostage into Gaza; the second is to eliminate Hamas terror organization’s military and terrorist capabilities and make sure it no longer controls Gaza and its population; the third is to ensure that there is no future threat to Israel or her people from the Gaza Strip. The ceasefire will help us achieve the first goal of freeing the kidnapped children and people, but we will make sure to achieve all our three aims.
In addition, the ceasefire will allow for more humanitarian supplies to come in. But we need to be very clear, humanitarian supplies, water, and food have been constantly going into Gaza through the Rafah crossing and Egypt with Israeli coordination. Nearly 25,000 tonnes of supplies have gone in, including 3450 tonnes of medical equipment, 4310 tonnes of water, and 12,220 tonnes of food. In addition, Israel has been streaming water through two pipes into Gaza and 60,000 liters of fuel have been entering each day this week. The international assistance includes India’s second shipment of medical and other supplies that were sent and came in this week. We must ensure that these supplies and fuel are not stolen by Hamas away from the people who need it, for their own terrorist purposes as they have been doing for the past 16 years and since the current war.
Q: What is the humanitarian aid being delivered to Gaza in the four-day ceasefire?
A: As I stated, humanitarian assistance has been flowing steadily in Gaza through the Rafah Crossing and Egypt. Nearly 1500 trucks have come in with supplies of nearly 25,000 tonnes. 12,220 tonnes of food, over 4310 tonnes of water, over 3460 tonnes of medical supplies, over 2060 tonnes of shelter equipment, and over 2600 tonnes of other supplies. The Jordanians have set up a field hospital, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates are in the process of setting up field hospitals and medical centers. There are talks for a medical ship to arrive and be in the Gaza waters. Also, foreign citizens, who were in Gaza, were let out through the Rafah Crossing and sick and injured people, including babies, left through the crossing to be treated in Egypt. The IDF also has daily humanitarian corridors to allow citizens who still did not leave northern Gaza and want to, to move to the south. These are open for a few hours each day; and there have been times in which the Israeli soldiers have had to protect the citizens from Hamas who was trying to stop them by different means.
Q: The Israel-Hamas conflict has been on for six weeks now. Are negotiations still going on to secure the release of the remaining hostages?
A: Talks between the United States, Egypt, Qatar and other countries are going on for a while now. From what we understand, other countries who have also had their citizens kidnapped, have been talking to different entities and trying to see what they can do to free the hostages, as there are over 100 hostages who have foreign or dual nationalities. It makes sense that regular people, governments, countries, people who are like us will do all they can to free these 238 people who have been barbarically kidnapped and are still hostages. This is the commitment of every government towards its people and citizens—to provide them with safety and security and what Israel is doing is exactly what any other country who values human life and takes its responsibilities seriously would do—anything and everything to bring her people back home.