Italian President Sergio Mattarella on
Saturday strongly condemned the "traitorous attack" unleashed by
Hamas against Israel in which several dozen people are reported
to have died and hundreds have been injured.
"I have learned with deep consternation the news of the attack
that since dawn this morning has involved several regions of the
State of Israel," said Mattarella in a message to his Israeli
counterpart President Isaac Herzog.
"In these dramatic circumstances, let Italy's expressions of
solidarity reach you, Mr. President, and all Israeli citizens.
We sincerely sympathise with the bereaved families of the
victims and wish the many injured a speedy and complete
recovery," he continued.
"I would also like to reiterate my firmest and most convinced
condemnation of this traitorous attack, which attacks Israel's
security and distances the prospect of a lasting peace - hoped
for and felt to be necessary by all - between Israelis and
Palestinians," concluded Mattarella.
On Saturday afternoon the emergency first aid service Magen
David Adom reported that more than 40 Israelis had been killed
by the rocket shower from the Gaza Strip and other attacks by
armed groups linked to Hamas.
The same source said 740 people have also been injured in the
attacks, which Israeli Premier Benyamin Netanyahu has described
as "a war".
"Citizens of Israel, we are at war and it is not just an
operation, it is really a war," said Netanyahu, adding that he
had given the order to the army to call up reservists and to
"respond to the war with impetuosity and on a scale that the
enemy has not known until now".
"The enemy will pay a price it has never had to pay. We will
win," he added.
Meanwhile, the health ministry in Gaza said that so far 161
Palestinians had been killed and 931 injured.
Gaza sources say these numbers include Hamas fighters who
entered Israel at the start of the attack and were killed in
fighting with the Israeli army.
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