Thousands in Buenos Aires Rally Support for Israel Amid Escalating Conflict with Hamas
Description
Thousands of Argentineans gathered in Buenos Aires on Monday to express support for Israel, demonstrating their solidarity with the Jewish people while condemning Hamas actions. The footage features the Israeli community in Argentina gathering with Israeli flags and chanting slogans in support of the country. "We demand justice, we demand human rights, we ask the world to stand with us, we ask the world to show solidarity for what is happening. We are all accomplices to what is happening. Silence is complicity," stated Lonatan Lutzker, a demonstrator. Fanny Mandelbaum, a journalist, decried the recent violence, saying, "There is a war against Israel, and they massacred many civilians, entire families. They entered homes and killed indiscriminately: children, adults, the elderly, the young." The demonstration in Buenos Aires comes in the wake of a surprise attack by Hamas on Israel on Saturday, October 7, during which thousands of rockets were fired into Israeli territory as part of what Hamas referred to as 'Operation Al-Aqsa Flood.' Israel responded with airstrikes on the Gaza Strip and issued a formal declaration of war on Hamas, warning residents in Gaza to leave their homes. Hamas said the operation was due to the long-running Israeli blockade, raids on West Bank cities and other attacks, while Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed 'mighty vengeance' on the group. At the time of publication, over 1,600 have been reported dead across both sides in the most deadly escalation of the ongoing conflict in decades.