Israel prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Hamas' attack on the country was “the worst terrorist attack the world has known since 9/11” during a joint press conference with French president Emmanuel Macron.
“It was the worst terrorist attack the world has known since 9/11, but for Israel, proportionately, it was like twenty 9/11s. It was the worst act of antisemitic violence since the Holocaust...Like Anne Frank, Jewish children hid from these monsters, and they were found and butchered. Hamas butchered, beheaded, burned babies alive, raped and kidnapped hostages...We are doing everything we need to do to destroy Hamas in Gaza,” Benjamin Netanyahu said, adding, “We will dismantle its terror machine. We will dismantle its political structure. We will make every effort to release our hostages, and we'll make every effort to keep Palestinian civilians out of harm's way.”
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“Hamas butchered, Hamas beheaded Hamas burned babies alive. Hamas raped, Hamas kidnapped - hostages, over 200 - babies, children, elderly, Holocaust survivors. We are in a war between barbarism and civilization”, he said.
{{/usCountry}}“Hamas butchered, Hamas beheaded Hamas burned babies alive. Hamas raped, Hamas kidnapped - hostages, over 200 - babies, children, elderly, Holocaust survivors. We are in a war between barbarism and civilization”, he said.
{{/usCountry}}Emmanuel Macron, who is in Israel, called for the expansion of the international coalition which is fighting ISIS in Iraq and Syria, to also fight Hamas as he urged a "decisive relaunch" of the Palestinian peace process.
"You are not alone," he told the Israeli premier.
Countries fighting ISIS “should also fight against Hamas. I propose the coalition against Islamic State [ISIL-ISIS] also fight Hamas. France is ready for the international coalition against Daesh - in which we are taking part for operations in Iraq and Syria - to also fight against Hamas,” he said.
Emmanuel Macron is the latest in a series of Western leaders who made a solidarity visit to Israel. He will also visit the Palestinian Authority headquarters in the West Bank and is expected to meet his Palestinian counterpart Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah.