World leaders condemn surprise attack by Palestinian group Hamas on Israel, urge restraint

Condemnation poured in from global leaders as news of the terrible attack by Hamas terrorists on unprepared Israeli citizens broke on Saturday with several casualties being reported. Britain was joined by the Netherlands, France, Egypt, Turkey as well as the European Union to “unequivocally condemn” the surprise attack by Palestinian Islamist group Hamas on Israel. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said he was shocked by the attacks. “I am shocked by this morning’s attacks by Hamas terrorists against Israeli citizens. Israel has an absolute right to defend itself. We’re in contact with Israeli authorities, and British nationals in Israel should follow travel advice,” Sunak wrote on X (formerly Twitter). British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said in a post on social media, “The UK unequivocally condemns the horrific attacks by Hamas on Israeli civilians. The UK will always support Israel’s right to defend itself.”

I am shocked by this morning's attacks by Hamas terrorists against Israeli citizens.

Israel has an absolute right to defend itself.

We're in contact with Israeli authorities, and British nationals in Israel should follow travel advice.

— Rishi Sunak (@RishiSunak) October 7, 2023

The European Union too released a statement saying it “unequivocally” condemned the attacks. “We follow with anguish the news coming from #Israel. We unequivocally condemn the attacks by Hamas. This horrific violence must stop immediately.” Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan called on Israelis and Palestinians to act with restraint and refrain from hostile acts that could exacerbate the situation. “We call for restraint from all parties,” Erdogan said at a congress for his ruling AK Party in Ankara. “They must refrain from aggressive acts,” he said. Germany’s Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock echoed Erdogan’s comments. Italy said it backed “Israel’s right to defend itself” against the “brutal attack” underway after hundreds of rockets were fired on its territory from Gaza. PM Meloni’s government said it “condemns in the strongest terms the terror and the violence underway against innocent civilians”, adding: “We back the right of Israel to defend itself”. Egypt also warned of “grave consequences” from an escalation in tensions between Israel and the Palestinians in a statement from the foreign ministry carried by the state news agency on Saturday. It called for “exercising maximum restraint and avoiding exposing civilians to further danger”. Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte in a post on social media said, “Just spoke with Prime Minister @netanyahu about the unprecedented attack by Hamas on Israel. I told him that the Netherlands unequivocally condemns this terrorist violence and fully supports Israel’s right to defend itself.”

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Russia too announced it is in contact with Israel, the Palestinians and Arab countries in connection with the escalation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the Interfax news agency reported, citing Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov. “It goes without saying that we always call for restraint,” he said.