Ukraine condemns Hamas attacks, supports Israel and advocates political settlement - MFA

Ukraine firmly supports Israel in its right to defense and in its efforts to counter terrorist acts, but considers it crucially important that the confrontation does not lead to an increase in civilian casualties on both sides.

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs said this in a statement published on its website, Ukrinform reports.

The MFA in its statement confirms its strong condemnation of the terrorist rocket attacks and attacks by armed groups of Hamas against the population of Israel, as a result of which several thousand people, including citizens of Ukraine, have already died and been injured.

The MFA considers the acts of violence deliberately directed by Hamas against the civilian population to be categorically unacceptable, including numerous brutal murders and hostage-taking. Those guilty of these crimes should be held to the strictest punishment, the ministry stresses.

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“We firmly support Israel in its right to defense and in its efforts to counter terrorist acts,” the statement says.

The MFA also emphasizes that it is critically important that the ongoing confrontation does not lead to an increase in the number of casualties among the civilian population on both sides of the conflict in both Israel and Palestine.

Thus, the MFA believes that the Middle East peace process remains the basis of any efforts aimed at restoring regional stability and security.

“Ukraine consistently supports the implementation of the principle of two states, Israel and Palestine, which will live side by side in peace and security, and advocates the settlement of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict with the help of political and diplomatic means,” the statement says.

The MFA underscored that a just, comprehensive and sustainable peace in the Middle East can be realized within the framework of unconditional implementation by the parties of relevant UN Security Council resolutions and other international agreements.

As reported, on the morning of October 7, the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas launched an attack on Israel. Militants stormed into the country, simultaneously launching a massive rocket attack. Nearly 1,400 people have been killed in Israel since then, and hundreds of people have been taken hostage by the militants. Israel officially declared a state of war and mobilized 300,000 reservists to respond to the terrorist attack and invasion of Hamas, and began to destroy the military facilities of this movement.

On the night of October 13, the Israeli military warned the UN that the entire population of Gaza north of Wadi Gaza should relocate to the southern part within the next 24 hours. About 1.1 million people live in this region. Currently, people are leaving the region. Hamas militants are obstructing the evacuation of civilians.

The USA, the EU, Ukraine, and a number of other countries have condemned the attacks on Israel.