Mattarella recalls October 7 attack in Israel: "Let's renew our commitment against anti-Semitism"

In the anniversary message of October 7, the President of the Republic firmly condemns terrorism and anti-Semitism, remembering the victims of the Hamas attack against Israeli civilians. The head of state also recalls the suffering of the Palestinian population and the devastation caused by the war in Gaza

Three years after the attack carried out by Hamas on 7 October, the President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella recalls the memory of a day marked by death, kidnappings and violence against numerous Israeli civilians. "Today marks the tragic anniversary of the ignoble attack perpetrated by Hamas against numerous Israeli civilians. Many young people, including those of other nationalities, were cowardly attacked, taken hostage or deprived of their lives while they were gathered for a festive occasion. Others were brutally killed or kidnapped in their homes, without any mercy for children and the elderly. Acts of terrorism can never be justified or dismissed. They will remain, for all peoples, a painful warning to be forever condemned and firmly rejected, in the Middle East and throughout the world, the barbaric and uncivilized plagues of terrorism, anti-Semitism and every form of ethnic and religious hatred".

The condemnation of violence and the call for peace

Mattarella underlines how the events of October 7th ushered in a new phase of instability, marked by suffering that continues to affect both Israelis and Palestinians. "The repugnant acts which, with extreme and inhuman cruelty, were committed on 7 October 2023 have reopened a dramatic phase of instability and violence in the region. Added to the atrocious suffering caused is that which, even more since then, weighs on multitudes of Palestinians. The military operations conducted by Israeli forces in Gaza have caused human and material devastation of intolerable severity. At the same time, the process of erosion of territories attributed to the National Authority is unacceptable Palestinian. The spiral of unprecedented violence must be stopped, instead recreating the conditions, now deeply compromised, of coexistence between Israelis and Palestinians in the "Two Peoples, Two States" perspective, in order to be able to live peacefully, side by side".

Closeness to Israel and appeal to the international community

In his message, the head of state reiterates Italy's closeness to the victims of the attack and their families, hoping for a renewed international commitment to peace in the region. "On this occasion I wish to renew the closeness of the Italian Republic to the people of Israel, to the families of the victims and to those who still bear the wounds of that terrible day, hoping that the determination of the entire international community to build lasting conditions will be strengthened so that there is peace and security for those tormented lands and peoples".