Israel's HK point man defends war on Hamas

Israel is at war with Hamas, not Palestinian civilians, and will do whatever it needs to protect its citizens, said the country's consul-general in Hong Kong, Amir Lati.

Hamas is a terror group whose sole aim is to destroy Israel, he said, adding that it had been exploiting humanitarian supplies for refugees.

The consulate is in close contact with Israelis here and will help to those in need, he said.

Lati said yesterday more than 1,300 Israelis were killed by Hamas in its October 7 attack, "a date to be remembered infamously in the history of our nation and the most tragic single day since the establishment of the state of Israel."

The number of Israeli hostages has hit 199, including children and elderly, and it's unsure whether they are still alive.

"Israel internally is united now to fight a just war with the terrorist organizations of Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, a fight for our peaceful existence as a state," Lati said.

"I emphasize that we aren't in a war with the Palestinians, we are in a war with terrorists. We have to take all measures to protect Israelis while, of course, being committed to international law in military operations; and needless to say the terrorists who we are fighting are not."

Asked if Israel would protect foreign firms, including Hong Kong ones, Lati said his county had always been a "start-up nation" focusing on technology and its economy will recover after the war.

"We have 8,000 tech companies. They are there and they will stay there. The fountains of ideas in Israel and its potential are still there and will remain there. Yes, we are now in a state of war. We will eliminate the terrorists and the economy will blossom back," he said.

Lati also said Hamas knowingly and purposely used schools, hospitals and mosques as sites to launch missiles. Although Israel has asked people in northern Gaza Strip to evacuate to the south, Hamas forbade them from doing so to use them as human shields.

"Israel will act to depose the Hamas regime, destroy its military capabilities and remove the terrorist threat posed to Israel from the Gaza Strip, and we will make the maximum efforts to resolve the hostage issue," he said.

Lati said his country only targeted terrorists' infrastructure and would not attack purely civilian buildings.

He also accused Hamas of stealing humanitarian support, including medical supplies and 24,000 liters of fuel.

Israel, he said, had been easing border restrictions, increasing water and construction material supply to Gaza Strip and allowing over 20,000 people there to work in Israel, he said.

"But as it turns out, instead of thinking about the welfare of its own people, Hamas had been planning the terrorist attack for years," he said.

"We have discovered on terrorists' bodies detailed plans of the attack's aims, including kidnapping and murdering."

Hamas is "a long arm of Iran" and it aims to destroy Israel and establish a radical Islamic state instead, he said.

"Two-state solution? They don't believe in that as much as they don't believe in Israel's right to exist," he said.

Lati also said China and Israel have mutual respect and "common values."

"I've lived in China for 11 years - nine years in the mainland and two more in Hong Kong, and I know how much respect exists between [people from the two countries]," he said.

Lati also said the recent attack on an Israeli diplomat in Beijing was "concerning," but he believes China is "one of the safest places" he has ever been.