“Sign of solidarity”: Nehammer flies to Israel on Wednesday

2023-10-24 13:04:00

There the Chancellor will meet Israel’s President Yitzhak (Isaac) Herzog, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the family of an Austrian-Israeli hostage who was kidnapped by the terrorist organization Hamas.

Nehammer met Israeli Ambassador-designate David Roet in the Federal Chancellery on Tuesday to talk to him about the current situation. “We are firmly on Israel’s side and the Israeli population can rely on Austria,” said the Chancellor. “There is no justification for Hamas’s brutal and barbaric terrorist attack on Israel and we are expressing this clear condemnation with our visit tomorrow.”

The joint visit by the heads of government of Austria and the Czech Republic takes place shortly before the EU summit, where developments in the Middle East will be discussed. “Hamas’ terror must end and this requires all forces to join forces to prevent a possible conflagration,” said Nehammer. “We will all do our part to achieve this.”

Biden, Scholz and Macron also show solidarity

Hamas carried out a major attack on Israel on October 7th, killing around 1,400 people. Four Austrian-Israeli dual citizens were also killed and another is still missing. During their attack, the Islamists also kidnapped more than 220 people hostage in the Gaza Strip. Since then, Israel has been carrying out air strikes against the terrorist organization in the Gaza Strip. According to the Hamas Ministry of Health, almost 5,800 people were killed. However, these numbers cannot be confirmed.

Numerous international politicians have visited Israel since October 7 and expressed their solidarity. Among them are US President Joe Biden, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French head of state Emmanuel Macron.