In this exclusive interview, Orli Weitzman, the Consul General of Israel to South India, reflects on the significant changes since the October 7 attack anniversary. Weitzman discusses Israel's ongoing struggle against the Axis of Resistance, the challenges faced, and the strategies being implemented to ensure security and stability. Join us as we delve into the current geopolitical landscape and understand Israel's position in this complex conflict.
#Israel #October7 #OrliWeitzman #AxisOfResistance #MiddleEastConflict #Geopolitics #InternationalRelations #IsraelConsulate #SouthIndia #Security #Diplomacy #CurrentEvents
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#Israel #October7 #OrliWeitzman #AxisOfResistance #MiddleEastConflict #Geopolitics #InternationalRelations #IsraelConsulate #SouthIndia #Security #Diplomacy #CurrentEvents
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NewsTranscript
00:00Hello and welcome to One India.
00:03Joining me right now is Israel's Consul General to South India, Olly Whitesmith.
00:08So without wasting a second, let's get straight to the point.
00:11Madam Consul General, first things first, we're recording this interview on 7th of October
00:162024, exactly a year ago, Hamas invaded your southern communities, thereby committing a
00:22horrendous atrocity, which led to the loss of more than 1200 lives, from what we've been
00:28told.
00:29Can you begin with, can you please tell us as to how the lives of Israelis across the
00:34country have been impacted by this incident, and what has been the change thereafter, and
00:39do you consider this change irreversible in any way?
00:42Well thank you, first of all, for having me and for understanding the delicacy of this
00:47day.
00:48It's a day that's very emotional for me, and I hope I'll find it easy to speak because
00:55I've been having a very, since the morning, or since last night even, when I was trying
01:00to imagine, you know, 6th of October in the evening, I was thinking, you know, just a
01:03year ago, young people were getting ready to go to a party, a party celebrating peace,
01:08families were finishing dinners together, not realizing what was about to happen.
01:12And it sort of gave me goosebumps, and I'm since then sort of feeling very, it's a very
01:17difficult feeling for me all throughout the day so far.
01:20I think the 7th of October was one of the most horrible things that I've ever experienced
01:28in my life.
01:29So on a personal level, I don't live down south luckily, but I woke up in the morning,
01:36saw that there were some missiles fired towards southern Israel, and as you know, missiles
01:42have been fired to southern Israel since 2007 on and off, so it took me a while to realize
01:47that this was something different, when suddenly a siren went off in Jerusalem, and I remember
01:51physically going to my 14-year-old son's room, pulling him out of bed, and running with him
01:56to the safe room where my other children were waiting.
02:00And realizing that this is a new situation that we're in, that we're experiencing something
02:04bigger than we've ever before, I was beginning to get WhatsApps from friends who were being
02:10attacked in their houses, who were telling me that there were terrorists outside the
02:14house, and something that I couldn't imagine.
02:18I think this is, like you said, the most horrific attack since World War II, since the Holocaust.
02:24And we in Israel, as children, I remember being brought up on stories about the Holocaust,
02:29about mothers holding children and running and hiding, about fathers being shot in front
02:34of their children, and it was things that I naturally found sad, but it was very hard
02:38to relate to because it was a long time ago, and it was in a faraway place, and we felt
02:43that this could never happen to us.
02:45And suddenly we were hearing the same stories, but this was happening to us now, to people
02:50like me, to my friends, to people I know.
02:53And I think this psychologically is something that changed all of us.
02:58So many people were affected directly.
03:01And this is trauma that I can't even imagine myself, I can't begin to feel how scared they
03:09must have been when this was going on, although we'll probably talk about that later on in
03:15the interview, but when missiles are being fired indiscriminately from Iran, you also
03:19get that very, very scary feeling in your heart.
03:22So I think that what we went through that day was something that will have a mark not
03:28only on the people who went through it, obviously, and the families who still have hostages in
03:34Gaza, 101 people who are still there, and we don't know what they're going through,
03:38and that I can't even begin to think about because I get distressed and can't function.
03:42So I try not to think about it as much as I can, because I really can't function when
03:47I think about it too deeply.
03:49But I think also the rest of the Israeli society is affected.
03:54I see how young children are affected psychologically, but I think in a way, it also brought Israel
03:59together and it gave the true meaning of Israel again, it gave us the understanding of the
04:04true meaning and the importance of Israel.
04:07Israel was found in 1948, after the Holocaust, when the strongest feeling was never again.
04:14And something went wrong, and it happened, I won't say it's not a Holocaust, but something
04:18terrible happened again.
04:19It reaffirmed our faith and our understanding that Israel is an important country to have
04:25its most important thing that's happened to the Jewish nation, and it's something that
04:31is very deep-rooted in our hearts, and it made us realize the importance of this and
04:36our commitment to this country because of these events.
04:39Ma'am, any personal anecdotes you'd like to share with our viewers?
04:44Because personally, I believe it's impossible to even fathom what victims might have been
04:49put through during the course of that time.
04:51Because as I believe that until and unless you felt it yourself, it's very hard to imagine
04:55or be in their shoes or feel like you're in their shoes.
04:58Any personal anecdotes you can share, which can help our viewers understand things better
05:02as to what is the permanent change or the permanent scar that this incident has left
05:06on the entire nation?
05:08So again, I think I'll talk about my personal experience.
05:13So after the attacks on October 8th, when I went back into work, I mean, of course,
05:20people were going, you know, it was a Saturday, so offices were closed, but of course, we
05:24opened, the Foreign Ministry opened, and people were working.
05:27I came back to work on Sunday, the 8th of October, and I started realizing that I was,
05:34I wasn't interactive.
05:36I felt, I think, survivor's guilt, because I wasn't personally affected.
05:39My family was safe, my children were safe, and I felt some, I think, kind of personal
05:45issues like survivor guilt, and I wanted to be, to help more, even though what I was doing
05:50in the Foreign Ministry was important, and the work of a diplomat is always important,
05:54but I was stationed in Israel at the time, and then I asked to work directly with the
05:58families who've been affected.
06:00So I took on a role at the Ministry to try and help families of kidnapped hostages, to
06:08try and get the world to understand what they were going through, and I went with some of
06:12the families to different places around the world.
06:15I went to, mostly to Europe with a few delegations with different families, and I think for me,
06:22that was a profound experience.
06:25I mean, it's something that you can't imagine.
06:28I think, you know, I have children of my own, and I'm sure the viewers have children of
06:33their own, and you know how important it is to feel when you know that your child is home
06:37safe in bed, or if it's older children, you know, if they go out to a party, to know that
06:41they're safe, be back in their house.
06:42I always have my kids text me to say that they've come in, because I'm always worried
06:46about them.
06:47And you're meeting families, people who have kids the same age as my kids, and they don't
06:54know what's going on with them, and for a year, they don't know what's happening to
06:57them, if they're dead or alive, if they're being tortured or not being tortured, if they're
07:00eating or not eating.
07:02And to be with these people, and to see the strength that they have to do what they can
07:05to keep fighting for them, and I don't know where they get the ability, but I then realized
07:10they have no choice.
07:12And to me, it showed something about human strength, and what parenthood is, what family
07:20is, what a society is, the strength that we found within, they find within themselves,
07:26and I'm just really happy that I had the experience to see this strength that people have within
07:33them.
07:34It's something that you can't imagine that exists.
07:36So I pray every day, and I say to many of us, it's just names, but I know the parents
07:41of the names, or the brother, or the aunt, and it's real people.
07:47I think it's hard to relate if you don't actually know them.
07:49It's not just pictures, or not just names, it's real, real people who are out there,
07:53it's people who like to play the piano, or it's people who like to go to the movies,
07:57or it's people who like to dance, or it's an annoying older brother, or it's your mother
08:02that always annoyed you before.
08:04It's real people that you have issues with, and you have relationships with, and you want
08:10them home.
08:11And that's something that I think for me, to see the human strengths from within is
08:17something that I don't think I would have had a chance to see it, I hope I never have
08:21a chance to see it again.
08:22I hope for world peace, and for everybody to live a happier life, but for me that was
08:29a really life-changing experience for the way I see humanity, and what humanity does
08:34for each other, what people that love each other can do for each other.
08:38That's possibly the hardest thing to cope with, right?
08:41Uncertainty lingering over the safety and security of your loved ones.
08:46Coming to the present day scenario, leaders from across the world are obviously piling
08:50pressure on Israel to arrive at a diplomatic solution for the entire scenario.
08:56Considering the fact that, and you've said in as many words in multiple interviews prior
09:00to this, considering the fact that Iran, and Hamas, and Hezbollah, as on date are not ready
09:07to accept that Israel has a right to exist as an independent state, which is fundamental
09:13to the security and sovereignty of the nation that you come from, is there ever a diplomatic
09:19solution that can be around that?
09:21What's the way that you're looking at?
09:22Because if your existence is what is bothering the other party, I mean, what is the discussion
09:29then?
09:30So as you said, I think Iran as being the puppeteer of all, to me, all the evil in the
09:36Middle East, using proxies as Hamas, using proxies like Hezbollah, and these proxies
09:42have no issue using their own people as human shields, so we see a lot of suffering on those
09:48people's behalf as well, which is, it's horrifying to me.
09:51But then, like you said, the diplomatic solution or the diplomatic pressure should be put on
09:56Iran to accept Israel's right to exist, and I'm not saying, I mean, other solutions
10:02have to be then, the details have to be sorted out, there'll be a lot of ironing to do once
10:06that happens, but the basis is to accept Israel's right to exist.
10:11And I think Iran is, the rest I'm not talking about Hezbollah and Hamas are terrorist groups,
10:15they should be eliminated.
10:17Iran is a sovereign country, Iran, the regime in Iran is a regime that promotes hate, that
10:24promotes extreme Islamism, and it's something that until they accept Israel's right to exist,
10:31there can't be a diplomatic solution because diplomacy in its core, a solution found between
10:38countries who respect each other, even if there are differences.
10:41So I think the pressure should be put on Iran to accept the right to exist, and then we
10:46can discuss, we can iron out the details then, but that's like the basic that happened.
10:50So pressure should be put anywhere, it should be put on Iran, who is basically the puppeteer
10:55of this whole situation, and we've been funding terrorist groups, that's their way, that's
11:00what they do.
11:01They fund terrorism, they perpetuate terrorism, and until that's stopped, I don't see any
11:06other solution.
11:07While none can justify or support what happened on the 7th of October, there's a flip side
11:14to it, right?
11:16There's a humanitarian crisis unfolding in Gaza, civilians in Gaza have been suffering
11:20as well for the past year or so, 365 days, to be honest, considering it's the 7th of
11:26October right now.
11:27Any regrets on those lines?
11:28Because there are a lot of communities, there are a lot of leaders across the world who
11:31have also come out and said that Israeli operations could have been the reason why this is unfolding
11:36and the lives of Gazans have also been endangered by certain actions taken by the state of Israel.
11:42What's your response to that?
11:43I think that it's not looking at the reality as it is.
11:46The reality is that there are terrorist groups that are using their own people as human shields.
11:53In 2005, Israel on its own decided to leave Gaza, there were no Israeli forces in Gaza
11:59in 2005.
12:00In 2007, Hamas took over, physically throwing out the Palestinian Authority people.
12:05You can actually see videos of them throwing Palestinian Authority officials from the roofs.
12:10This is the kind of people that we're dealing with, and they took over the Gaza Strip.
12:15Then they decided that their main priority is to eliminate Israel.
12:19Gaza, I remember there were no Israeli forces in Gaza.
12:22If the money coming into Gaza at that point was invested in infrastructure for the people,
12:27schools built, parks built, I imagine amusement parks for children, a movie theater, it could
12:32have been a heaven, it's a small place, it easily could have built, they've got a beautiful
12:39coastline, it could have easily been built up into something very nice, very calm, full
12:45of tourism.
12:46But the Hamas chose that it wanted the money put into infrastructure that its whole dedication
12:52was to eliminate Israel.
12:53So until the Palestinian people are led by other people who want their best interests,
13:00who have their best interests at heart, we have a problem.
13:03If the priority is to try and make war, to try and eliminate Israel, and that's where
13:07the money is going, that's the line that's taken, and they don't mind using their own
13:14people as human shields, as bait even, for this kind of war, then yes, of course they'll
13:19be suffering.
13:20And believe me, it hurts me to see the suffering on the Palestinian people, because I think
13:25they are in a very bad situation.
13:28There's nobody, there's no governing official looking out for their best interests.
13:32They are governed by people, by a terrorist group that's only looking to distract and
13:36has no regard for their human life.
13:38So I think it's a horrible situation, and I feel for them, but I think the solution
13:43is to eliminate the terrorist group.
13:45Ma'am, how do you respond when the United States of America, which happens to be a very
13:49key strategic partner to Israel, also refuses to buy this argument completely, when you
13:55say that civilians being used as shields is the only reason why civilians are suffering
14:02in Gaza?
14:03Joe Biden himself has come out and vocally put out state statements which do not sync
14:10with what Israel is saying at this point in time.
14:11So again, I think America is, I want to be clear, America is a very important and close
14:15ally of Israel, and always has been, and always will be.
14:19And I think that their support has been invaluable throughout this whole year.
14:27But I think they too, despite what you're saying, they too realize that the key to the
14:32solution is eliminating terrorist groups, and the key to the solution is Iran.
14:37In the end, Iran and its attitude is what's making the world a difficult place right now.
14:47I think it's a source of evil, and I think my prime minister has come out really nicely
14:50and said that it's a war now between evil and good.
14:55And if we want good to prevail, Iran has to be stopped and terrorist groups have to be
14:59stopped.
15:00Got it.
15:01What is Israel's endgame in Gaza at this point in time?
15:03What is the logical conclusion that Israel wants to take this matter to?
15:08So the things that have to happen in Gaza is for Israelis to be safe, for Israelis to
15:12be able to go, that's one thing, for Israelis to go to sleep quietly at night and know that
15:16in the morning, terrorists are not going to invade and rape their wives and daughters,
15:20and not going to murder them and burn their houses alive.
15:23So that's a goal.
15:25And also, of course, to get the hostages back.
15:27I can't stress this enough.
15:28There are 101 people still out there.
15:30Real people with real families who miss them, who want to hold their children, hug their
15:34children, hug their loved ones.
15:36And so this is something that these are two things that have to happen.
15:40France was one of the first countries to recognize Israel's right to exist as an independent
15:46state.
15:47And recently, as you might be aware, the president himself has come out very hard, come down
15:51very hard on the state of Israel, saying that Lebanon cannot become the next Gaza.
15:56And he's also spoken against certain operations executed by the Israeli establishment.
16:01So what's your response to a country like France saying what?
16:05I think that all the countries should take more seriously and realize the fact that we're
16:13dealing with terrorist groups.
16:14It's very easy to give advice when it's not your family that are affected, when it's not
16:17your children who are waking up into these horrible situations, who live in their home
16:22and haven't had to live outside of their homes, as tens of thousands of Israelis have had
16:26to leave their homes in the border.
16:28So it's something that, you know, when it's your own people, I think you react differently.
16:33And I think Israel is doing whatever it needs to do in order to make sure that these things
16:37are stopped and that Israelis feel safe again in all the borders.
16:41Ma'am, considering the fact that Israel is now executing ground operations or field operations
16:46in Lebanon, what is the objective in the northern side?
16:51And where does Israel hope to take this?
16:53Because the Hezbollah chief has already been eliminated and from what we've been given
16:58to understand, an entire ring of leadership has also been eliminated, despite that they
17:03still sit on a cache of weapons, which can be very alarming, I get that.
17:07But what is it that Israel seeks to do over the period of the next three or six months?
17:12So I think if you look at what's happening in Israel even today, you'll see that Israel
17:15is, as we're speaking, being bombarded by missiles that Hezbollah is firing from the
17:19north.
17:20So again, the main goal is to have peace, for Israeli citizens to live peacefully in
17:26their homes.
17:27Until that happens, Israel will have to do whatever it has to do in order to make sure
17:32that this is maintained and that there's security.
17:36Israel strives for peace, but if peace is not achievable, then security is a must.
17:41That's something that Israel will not compromise on.
17:44Now there was a UN resolution, the UN resolution 1701, which defined that Hezbollah should
17:50be north of the Litani River.
17:51If that was implemented to begin with, we wouldn't be here today having this discussion.
17:56So I think the diplomatic way of doing it is to make sure that that's implemented.
18:01But since it wasn't implemented, and the whole area of South Lebanon is ridden with missiles
18:07that are inside the civilian communities, Israel has no choice but to make sure that
18:13this threat is eliminated and that Israel's borders are secure.
18:18Two parts to my next question.
18:19There are some security analysts across the globe who claim that Israel is presently implementing
18:25the Dahiya Doctrine, the infamous Dahiya Doctrine, which essentially means bombard civilian establishments
18:31and therefore which leads to the government establishments surrendering.
18:36The second part of my question has everything to do with the recent documentary that Al
18:40Jazeera has put out, titled, you know, the number of times Israel has tried to silence
18:45them while they were reporting on the humanitarian crisis on the Gaza Strip.
18:50So how do you respond to each of them?
18:51Because these are serious allegations being leveled against the state.
18:54So Israel, again, Israel is facing sometimes more propaganda than journalism.
19:02So there are some parties that try to silence other voices, voices that are being heard
19:07by Palestinian people themselves, who are suffering from Hamas, by Lebanese people who
19:14are suffering from Hezbollah.
19:16And these voices are not always being heard because some people have an interest in showing
19:20only a one-sided stories.
19:22And they don't show the civilians who are being coerced to put a weapons in their in
19:27their houses, who are then forced to, who are shot at even sometimes by Hamas in Gaza
19:34when they try to run away and get to the humanitarian corridors that Israel tries to create in order
19:38to keep people safe.
19:40So this is something that Israel is facing all the time.
19:42A narrative by some people or some organizations that want to try and portray a very one-sided
19:53situation that have an interest to try and get Israel to look as if it's trying to purposely
19:58hurt when Israel does everything that it possibly can in order to avoid hurting civilians.
20:03And that's, I think, why we're seeing some of the things that we're seeing.
20:06The elimination of Nasrallah and various senior commandos of the Hezbollah.
20:11How has that altered the dynamics in that particular region and where does it stand
20:16as of date?
20:17So, it's the beginning of eliminating the terrorists.
20:22I think the fact that Nasrallah chose to unprovokingly attack Israel on the 8th of October, we were
20:32so shocked with what was happening on the 7th and on the 8th, we suddenly get a rocket
20:36fired from the northern border.
20:39So this is something, and we tried, you know, it's almost a year since Israel actually dealt
20:43with that.
20:44And so, now Israel has shown that enough is enough.
20:48And this is something that will continue and Israel will not put up with any more of this
20:52and will do what it has to do.
20:54And I think the heads of these organizations are the most problematic people.
20:59They're the ones who lead this mentality of trying to do everything that they can to destroy
21:05Israel by using their own people.
21:07So I think it's a good step in trying to, first of all, protect Israeli civilians in
21:14regard to safety, but also to maybe try and help other people who are being used by these
21:20organizations as human shields and to stop that as well in a much further goal.
21:27Is a peaceful solution to the existing conflict the only thing that Israel is looking at with
21:31respect to Lebanon?
21:32Or are there any territorial ambitions that Israel is holding on to?
21:35Because these questions are being raised in international media.
21:38So Israel's endgame is at peace with everyone.
21:44However, as long as Iran doesn't accept that, and as long as Iran keeps using the northern
21:50borders, Israel will have to, again, I don't know how exactly, and I don't want to comment
21:54on operations, and I don't know...
21:56It would be foolish of me to ask you to divulge those details on Medium.
21:59I wouldn't do that myself.
22:00I don't know exactly how things are going to play out.
22:03But again, Israel is going to have to do what it has to do to make the borders safe.
22:08I don't think Israel has any land aspirations of Lebanon.
22:12But again, if the Lebanese army can't keep the borders safe, then Israel will keep the
22:18borders safe.
22:19Israel will do whatever it has to do to keep borders safe.
22:21But I can't tell you exactly what it's going to be because I don't know myself.
22:24Iran's supreme leader says Israel can never eliminate Hezbollah.
22:29They're that strong in terms of capabilities, military capability, and the amount of ammunition
22:34they're storing.
22:35How does Israel respond to that in terms of the strengths or the capability that they
22:39possess to eliminate Hezbollah as well as Hamas?
22:44So let me answer this this way.
22:46I have no doubt that Israel...
22:49My answer will be in two parts.
22:50I have no doubt that Israel has the capability of dealing with Hezbollah.
22:54We're a strong army and we're fighting for our survival.
22:56We're fighting for the right cause.
22:58We are fighting for freedom.
23:00We're fighting against terrorism.
23:02So I have no doubt.
23:03On the other hand, Iran should be saying Iran has the key to disarm Hezbollah.
23:08If they think that Israel doesn't, then maybe they themselves should do it.
23:11Maybe they should start looking at disarming Hezbollah, realizing that terrorism isn't
23:15the answer, and trying to recognize Israel to have a peaceful solution.
23:18So they hold the key to that.
23:20Ma'am, energy establishments and nuclear establishments have been in the news for the past couple
23:25of weeks, as you must be aware.
23:27On one hand, the outgoing US president warns Israel against attacking any of those.
23:33On the other hand, one of the candidates running for the presidential post, Donald Trump, comes
23:37out and says that should be on the top of your list.
23:41As from an Israeli lens, how do you look at this?
23:45And is that even something that Israel is considering at this point in time?
23:50So Israel, again, I mean, the American officials, different officials have entitled to their
23:56own opinions, and I leave American politics to Americans.
24:02Israel always, the main consideration for Israel is not what one person says or another
24:07person says.
24:08It's what's good for Israel.
24:09What will keep Israelis safe.
24:10I think I'm repeating myself because I think that's the main point, and that really is
24:14what is like our compass.
24:16That's what is going to keep Israelis safe and secure.
24:20And that's the compass when decisions are made, and that'll be the compass when decisions
24:26are made, if and when Israel decides to react to what Iran did when Iran attacked indiscriminately
24:33citizens and civilians of Israel.
24:36So the main thing, our compass is always what keeps Israelis safe.
24:41Should Indians be worried about the security of their loved ones in Israel at this point
24:45in time?
24:46Because that's a concern that is rising as we speak.
24:48So I want to say that just as Iran and other terrorist groups are indiscriminately attacking,
24:58Israel is indiscriminately defending.
25:00Israel developed and put in a lot of money and effort into developing different systems
25:05to protect from missiles of different ranges, and these missiles protect indiscriminately.
25:10They protect Israelis.
25:11They protect Indians, and they protect any other nationality that are in Israel.
25:14Indians have the same access to safe rooms as Israelis do.
25:17There's no difference in that sense.
25:19Israel keeps everybody there the same and hopes for the safety and strives and puts
25:23effort into the safety of everybody there.
25:25The relationship between India and Israel has been cultivated over the past few years
25:29and has only grown multiple folds, right?
25:32Both the prime ministers also share a very good relationship.
25:36Can you can you throw some light or shed some light on how this relationship has grown?
25:40And what sort of a role do you expect India to play in this particular scenario?
25:43So I think the friendship between India and Israel is valuable and kinship and the ally
25:49that India has become, and it's very, very important.
25:52I think there's cooperation going on in so many different fields.
25:55I mean, we have cooperation in fields of innovation and agriculture and water.
26:00And there's so much opportunities for relations between the country, and these opportunities
26:05are being seized.
26:06And it's beautiful to see.
26:08Since I've been here, I've been here for two months and I've seen the cooperation and the
26:11opportunities that have arisen and the things that people want to do together.
26:14And I think that there's it's a wonderful relationship.
26:17And I really hope that it continues to grow and that Israel and India will have or keep
26:22having or growing the relationship beyond the conflict.
26:25I mean, the conflict is only a small part of Israel.
26:28Israel is so much more than that.
26:30There's so much going on and there's so much we can learn from each other and do together.
26:33And I really hope to see that coming up in the future.
26:36Ma'am, my last question to you has two parts.
26:38One, families of hostages, how are they coping with the present scenario?
26:44And are they bound to listen to any good news anytime soon?
26:47I mean, what's the progress with respect to getting them back?
26:51Second part of the question, obviously, is with Israel mobilizing its forces and executing
26:56field operations in Lebanon, there are upwards of 60,000 people from what reports are stating
27:02at this point in time who've been displaced from their habitat.
27:06While you seek to rehabilitate or provide normalcy to the lives of your citizens, there
27:12are citizens of other countries also which are getting impacted at this point in time.
27:15So does Israel believe in the value of human life across borders?
27:20I mean, because that needs to be stated at this point in time.
27:22What's your response on both these?
27:23Absolutely.
27:24I think I've mentioned this before.
27:25Israel did whatever it could in order to avoid casualties, especially in – well,
27:32not especially.
27:33Now in Lebanon, before in Gaza.
27:35But the thing is that when Hezbollah hides weapons inside homes and houses, to eliminate
27:41the weapons, we have to go into these houses and take out the weapons.
27:45But Israel gave warning to all these civilians that we're hoping that once the area is secure
27:51and they can go back to their houses, once Hezbollah – that's why I'm saying Hezbollah
27:54is harming not only Israelis, but harming Lebanese life.
27:57So once Hezbollah is out of the picture and they can go back to living their peaceful
28:01life and have a peaceful life, if the border is safe, then the border is safe.
28:06Then they can live on one side of the border, we can live on the other side of the border,
28:09and there should be no threat.
28:11Israel, I think, values life very, very much, no matter what life it is.
28:18Unfortunately, we're dealing, like I said before, with an enemy that doesn't value
28:23life, even their own lives, even their own children.
28:28So that's why you see the difference in the way they treat things and the way we do.
28:34And we see this, especially now with the first part of your question, with the families of
28:37the hostages that are yearning to get their people back.
28:42And if I had news about what would happen with the hostages, I wish I did, but unfortunately
28:48I don't.
28:49But I hope that we have good news soon, and I can only pray for a better future for everybody,
28:54for the hostages themselves, for the families of the hostages, for Israelis, and for Palestinian
28:59Lebanese people who are suffering because of the terrorist organizations with their
29:04being held captive.
29:05I hope that we all live peacefully in the near future.
29:09Thank you, ma'am.
29:10We all hope that peace is restored in the region.
29:13And going forward, I hope that no country, including Israel, sees a day like 7th of October
29:172023 once again.
29:19Thank you so much for speaking to us.
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