Italian Ambassador to Tel Aviv: “I hope ceasefire dialogue will start between Sunday and Monday”

After the escalation of the past few hours, with the new massive bombing of Gaza also by the Israeli land forces, there have been no missile attacks in Tel Aviv and the surrounding areas. In this context, the Italian ambassador to Tel Aviv, Gianluigi Benedetti, hopes that in a few days the hostilities between Israel and Hamas, which began last Monday and continue with an escalation of rocket launches from Gaza and attacks by the Israeli Defense Forces as not seen since 2014, from Operation Protective Edge. “Tomorrow the Palestinians remember the Naqba (the day of the ‘Catastrophe’, which marks the forced exodus of about 700 thousand Palestinians from the territories occupied by Israel after the birth of the Jewish state in 1948, ed) and between Sunday and Monday Pentecost is celebrated Jewish – says the ambassador to Adnkronos – After these symbolic days, I hope that between Sunday and Monday we can start talking about a ceasefire also thanks to international mediation “. From Tel Aviv, however, the news arrived that the Egyptian delegation sent to mediate has left the city after Israel’s new no to truce. “One thing is what you say, one thing is what you do – comments the ambassador – The propaganda statements are calibrated on the adversary’s behavior: if from Hamas there is no sign of willingness to reduce the attack terrorist, it is obvious that on the Israeli side there cannot be a willingness to lower the defense “. But “I have a lot of confidence in the work of my Egyptian colleagues, who have been in contact with both parties since the beginning and our hope – Benedetti insists – is that, after these two symbolic days, the reason will prevail and there is a lowering of tones “. As for the hypothesis of a ground operation with the entry of Israelis into Gaza, the ambassador, while admitting the difficulty of making predictions in a similar situation, underlines that “we are not at a level that can justify the the risks of an entry by troops that could have a very high cost to the Jewish state “. Benedetti then talks about the situation of our compatriots in these days of great fear, in which the embassy has done everything possible to reach them and reassure them. “When you live in Israel you must always be a little prepared, but clearly in the face of attacks of this size, preparation gives way to a little fear – is the ambassador’s testimony – In Tel Aviv we lived two difficult nights , with a lot of fear and apprehension, waiting for the sound of the sirens and the blows to end. And then you think of those who have lost their lives, those who have lost their homes “. Fortunately, there are no emergencies among our compatriots. “I spoke yesterday with all our honorary consuls, with our so-called ‘shirt heads – assures Benedetti – and up to now the Italian community has not suffered any negative consequences. a leg is broken slipping down the stairs to go down to the shelter “. Among the people assisted a small group of students, who have experienced the rocket launches of recent days with great fear, to whom “we explained that the Israeli defense and protection system works and that, once the security procedures are respected , the risks are minimized, “says the ambassador. Then there are some companies that have reduced the presence of staff, bringing them back to Italy, “but everything is under control – concludes Benedetti – No one has asked us to leave the country and in any case even with the few remaining flights they can do so”. In total, just under 17,000 Italians live in the Jewish state, 43% of whom are concentrated in the central part of the country, between Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Netanya.