Israel’s Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant briefed 31 foreign Ministers of Defense on Thursday morning (October 12, 2023) at the NATO meeting of Defense Ministers held in Brussels.
Gallant spoke of the atrocities committed by Hamas against children, women, men and the elderly, and discussed Israel’s Operation Iron Swords, the war declared by the Jewish State against the Gaza-based Iranian proxy.
“We have been hit hard. Yet make no mistake – 2023 is not 1943. We are the same Jews, but we have different capabilities. The State of Israel is strong. We are united, and powerful,” Gallant said.
During his briefing, the minister presented an uncensored video of some of the horrific acts committed by Hamas against Israeli civilians and soldiers, as well as foreign nationals who were either kidnapped or killed.
Here’s the full text of his remarks.
“October 7th, 2023: Remember this date.
Shabbat morning at 7 am, on the holiday of Simchat Torah, Palestinian Hamas launched a war against children, women, families.
Thousands of terrorists crossed our southern border while also launching thousands of rockets.
This week I visited the south. I walked down the streets of Kibbutz Be’eri. This kibbutz was built by Holocaust survivors. They worked the land and built beautiful, peaceful communities.
I walked from house to house and saw the bodies of our pioneers, the Holocaust survivors, burned alive.
Children were tied up and shot. Yes, I repeat – Children tied up and shot. Young girls were raped violently and kidnapped or killed. They were dragged to Gaza to the sound of cheering while blood was dripping down their legs.
A peace music festival with 3,000 young people became a bloodbath. Dozens of citizens from your countries have been murdered or kidnapped.
An event of this kind has not happened to the Jewish people since 1945.
Over 100 kidnapped. Over 1,000 murdered. Over 3,000 injured. Over 5,000 rockets fired, and counting.
Hamas is the “ISIS” of Gaza, a savage organization funded and supported by Iran. Hamas is ISIS.
We have been hit hard. Yet make no mistake – 2023 is not 1943. We are the same Jews, but we have different abilities.
The State of Israel is strong. We are united, and powerful. Our brave soldiers and civilians fought and killed hundreds of terrorists.
Our heroes are:
The female battalion commander who ran out of ammunition, took a grenade from the body of a terrorist and threw it at incoming terrorists.
The General who lost his mother, jumped into battle and killed 14 terrorists on his own.
The soldiers and civilians who saw their loved ones fall and kept fighting, defending their homes.
We have begun to respond. Our Air Force has destroyed Hamas command centers weapon factories, and terror infrastructure.
This is a war for our future. We will change reality on the ground. The “ISIS” of Gaza will not exist on our borders. The IDF will destroy Hamas and we will hunt down every last man with the blood of our children on his hands.
It will be a long and difficult war, but we will prevail and despite the difficult events, we are prepared to defend our citizens against any threat.
I would like to express how deeply moved I have been by your solidarity — Israel’s flag shown across Europe, public statements by leaders, personal calls I continue to receive from my colleagues.
And to the United States, and my dear friend Secretary Austin, you have shown us what it means to be an ally, a brother, a friend.
My friends, this is not just our war. This is a war on freedom. This is a war on the values of humankind. This is a war that we must win — we. will. win.
