The Shocking International Scale of the Israeli Terror Attacks

In a sign of the international scale of the terror attacks last weekend, citizens of 36 nations are believed to have been murdered or are missing at Israel, according to U.S. officials.Among the nations affected are five European Union member states, America, and the United Kingdom. On Thursday, a spokesman for the National Security Council, John Kirby, said that at least 27 American citizens were killed and another 14 remain unaccounted for. A “handful” of them are believed to be held hostage at Gaza.“In Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas,” Secretary of State Blinken noted Wednesday. “No region has escaped Hamas’s bloody reach.”In Europe, citizens from the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Ukraine, and Russia, among others, have been reported as missing or killed. The youngest European victim of the attack is a one-year old Italian child who was reported as missing Tuesday, according to a statement to the Sun by an Italian embassy official. The European country with the highest death toll and reported missing citizens is France, which has reported 12 murdered and 17 missing. The Asian countries with victims include Azerbaijan, Cambodia, Communist China, Thailand, the Philippines, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. Subsequent rocket attacks injured one Indian national as well. The prime minister of Thailand said that 21 Thai employees have been reported killed and another 14 taken hostage. Six Filipinos have been reported to be either killed or missing. Outside of the United States, countries in the Americas that have reported casualties include Canada, Colombia, Paraguay, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, and Peru. On Monday, Brazil was one of the earliest countries to repatriate its citizens, dispatching a total of six aircraft, including two large commercial airliners. The reaction across the world by states impacted has been unilaterally one of condemnation against Hamas, echoing President Biden’s sentiments. In a statement Tuesday, President Macron of France denounced the hostage-taking as unacceptable. “The blackmail by Hamas after its terrorist acts” was “odious and unacceptable,” he said during a state visit to Germany.Similar sentiment was echoed across the channel. During a visit to Israel, the British foreign minister, James Cleverly, stated that Israel had a “right to defend itself” and to “try and regain those people who have been kidnapped.” In an earlier statement Tuesday, King Charles stated that he was “appalled by and condemns the barbaric acts of terrorism in Israel.” Since the weekend, foreign nationals have come out to describe the attacks in harrowing detail. American Abby Onn described how she “lost contact with” her cousins when their kibbutz was infiltrated. Pictures of the cousins, including a 12-year-old boy, surfaced online in Hamas captivity shortly after, according to Fox News. When asked about the involvement from the United States, Ms. Onn did not clarify whether American entities had taken action but that she had been “working with the State Department” and that they are “following the protocol” of American hostages. As of 2002, American protocol regarding citizens taken hostage is to offer “no concessions to individuals or groups holding U.S. nationals hostage.” A Pentagon official told the Sun that the Defense Secretary, Lloyd Austin, “offered hostage rescue support” to Israel’s Minister of Defense, Yoav Gallant, on the phone last weekend. Secretary Austin directed the Joint Special Operations Command, among other military agencies, to “lean forward with planning and intel support to IDF,” an American military official tells the Sun. The Department of Defense made clear, however, that there are no American “boots on the ground” at the moment.

The Shocking International Scale of the Israeli Terror Attacks

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