The Israeli Community of Lisbon (CIL) on Tuesday condemned Hamas’s attack from Gaza involving hundreds of kidnappings. Portugal asked Portugal to “maintain and strengthen its support for the State and people of Israel.”
In a message sent to LusaCIL President David Joffe Botelho said that “there is no justification for this level of inhumanity and cruelty” and that the organization “mourns the victims of the despicable terrorist attacks in Israel and expresses its total solidarity with their families on this time of immense suffering and sorrow.”
CIL affirms that it is “united and in solidarity” and calls on the Portuguese State to maintain and strengthen its support for the State and people of Israel, who “have the unequivocal right to defend themselves against this and future attacks and to utilize the full capacity of its security forces to protect its territorial integrity and the defense of its people.”
Therefore, Joffe Botelho says that “CIL stands in solidarity with the people of Israel and with all those whose lives have been stolen or affected by terrorist actions.”
“We are extremely concerned about the situation of all the people who have been abducted” and “we hope that they can survive this unimaginable ordeal and these acts of violence and terror,” the leader added. in the message sent to Lusa.
Now the CIL hopes that the hostages can “return safely to their families and that their lives are not interrupted in the name of unreasonable and senseless barbarism” so that “justice prevails and it is possible to quickly return to a desired situation of peace.” “.
CIL is promoting today at 9 p.m. at Alto do Parque Eduardo VII, in Lisbon, a solidarity vigil for the victims of the attacks, “despicable acts of terror that have devastated Israel and victimized hundreds of people, some stealing their lives, others right to the future, which affects thousands of families and forever marks an entire people.”
‘Terrorism will not prevail’
It is in this area that CIL celebrated Hanukkah, a Jewish ceremony symbolizing the victory of light over darkness.
According to David Botelho, “although this is not the time for Chanukah, it is certainly the time to reaffirm the values of life, the right to peace and security and to nourish the sense of hope.”
“We will hold a vigil for the victims and for Israel, remembering those who have fallen at the hands of terrorism, which deserves unequivocal condemnation and struggle, but which will not triumph or demobilize the State and people of Israel in the defense of its sovereignty. territorial integrity and population,” he said.
The vigil has the support of the Israeli embassy in Lisbon and will be attended by the community’s rabbi, Ruben Suiza, who will deliver a “lecture in memory of the victims and a call for peace,” the initiators say.
The Islamist group Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israeli territory on Saturday, dubbed Operation ‘Al-Aqsa Storm’, with the launch of thousands of rockets and the incursion of armed militiamen by land, sea and air.
In response to the surprise attack, Israel bombed several Hamas facilities in the Gaza Strip from the air, in an operation it dubbed “Iron Swords”.
Israel declared all-out war, vowing to punish Hamas as never before, and the mobilization of 300,000 Israeli reserves raised the prospect of a ground invasion or even a reoccupation of Gaza. The Israeli army claims to have killed hundreds of militants and bombed numerous Hamas targets.
The latest report from the Palestinian Health Ministry records at least 560 deaths from Israeli airstrikes in Gaza – including dozens of minors and women – raising the total number of deaths on both sides following the armed clashes that began on Saturday.
Source: DN
