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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider 'We're not occupying Gaza' — Israeli envoy

'We're not occupying Gaza' — Israeli envoy

Published Oct 25, 2023 09:56 am

"We are not occupying Gaza."

Israeli Ambassador to the Philippines Ilan Fluss made it clear on Wednesday, Oct. 25, that Israel is not taking away Gaza from the Palestinian people despite military actions it is taking against Hamas, including a possible ground invasion of the northern part of the Palestinian territory.

At a roundtable discussion with the Manila Bulletin, Fluss said that Israel is not going to occupy Gaza and it has no plans of doing so once Israeli troops are able to go in.

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Arnold Quizol/MANILA BULLETIN

Rather, he said: "We are going in to destroy terror facilities and we would like to get back the hostages."

For Fluss, doing so is Israel's responsibility for its people as building terror facilities and holding hostages are illegal.

"What Hamas is doing is against international law. No plans for occupation," he said.

Fluss once again denied that Israel is targeting the civilian population after his Palestinian counterpart in Manila, Ambassador Saleh Mohammad, accused Israel of committing war crime by bombing civilian facilities.

On Oct. 20, an Israeli airstrike reportedly hit a Greek Orthodox church in Gaza, killing a number of people.

Fluss said that every time Israeli is launching an attack on a facility, such is "identified as Hamas facility" and that it "knows what is there."

"There's an explanation why there;s attack there. We don't fire indiscriminately into Gaza. That's not the case," he said.

Israel's earlier advise for the civilians in northern Gaza to evacuate south proved that Tel Aviv was not interested in harming Palestinians and foreigners alike.

"IDF (the Israeli Defense Forces) is working in a very responsible way, and high level officers are briefed what they are allowed to do and what they are not allowed to do," he said.

"So, there's a clear guidance of what is allowed," he added.

As the number of people killed in the Israel-Hamas war continues to rise, Fluss said Israel "is trying to minimize any collateral damage and any suffering." But he said it also has the responsibility to protect itself from the terror group.

"There are two purposes of the war now. One is to make sure that there's no more facilities and infrastructure that can attack Israel again. With this cycle of violence... we cannot let it happen again," he said.

"Secondly, they have more than 200 hostages, and our goal is to get them back home—Israelis and foreigners safe," he added.

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Ilan Fluss Gaza Israel-Hamas war
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