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Middle East is a better place than it was a year ago, Israeli ambassador claims
10 October 2024, 21:55 | Updated: 10 October 2024, 21:56
Israeli Ambassador claims the Middle East is in a 'better place' than a year ago
The Middle East is a better place than it was a year ago, Israeli ambassador Tzipi Hotovely has claimed.
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Speaking to LBC's Iain Dale, Ms Hotovely said she felt the situation had improved since the October 7 Hamas attacks.
Her remarks come just days after the first anniversary, which saw mourners gather at the site of the Nova festival massacre to commemorate the victims.
"It's a better Middle East than it was on October 7," Ms Hotovely said.
"Hezbollah, Hamas and later on the Houthis joined into a circle of fire, they were certain Israel could be easily defeated if they used all their ammunition and support from Iran to kill innocent Jews.
"But a year after the resilience of the Israeli people is incredible. Iran wanted to threaten us via the proxies.
"We managed to take off 60pc of their rocket arsenal...Hamas is not functionally operating.
"We've managed to hurt those terror organisations.
"This is why I believe it's a better Middle East than it was a year ago."
Ms Hotovely later added: "Some people believe terror cannot be defeated - we do. Ideology can't be defeated - but their (military) ability can be. I think Hamas and Hezbollah will not be able to hurt our people."
Israeli Ambassador to the UK speaks to LBC | Key moments
Addressing anti-Semitism in the UK, Ms Hotovely said: "We believe anti-Semitism is a problem for all countries. We are 100 per cent sure this government is committed to fighting it.
"But we see signs in London (protests) like 'I love Hezbollah'.
"We want to make sure every Jew can live safely."
When asked by a caller if Israel's actions will increase the cycle of violence, she said she still believed "peace is possible".
"On October 7, Israelis lost their children, some families were wiped out, Israelis want to have peace with all their neighbours, we will move forward to that," the ambassador said.
"You know from your own history you had wars in Europe, now you live peacefully.
"Peace is possible."
Israel has continued to strike at what it says are militant targets across the Palestinian enclave even as attention has shifted to its war against Hezbollah in Lebanon and rising tensions with Iran.
Israel has been carrying out a days-long air and ground operation against Hamas in northern Gaza while Hamas has continued to launch attacks on Israeli forces and fire occasional rockets into Israel more than a year after its October 7 attack.
Hamas-led militants stormed into Israel and rampaged through army bases and farming communities in that attack, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting around 250 others.
They are still holding around 100 captives, a third of whom are believed to be dead.
Israel's offensive has killed over 42,000 Palestinians, according to local health authorities, who do not say how many were fighters but say women and children make up more than half of the fatalities.
The war has destroyed large areas of Gaza and displaced around 90% of its population of 2.3 million people, often multiple times.
The Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon began firing rockets into Israel on October 8, 2023, in support of Hamas and the Palestinians, drawing Israeli airstrikes in retaliation.
The fighting steadily escalated, and eventually boiled over into all-out war in recent weeks, with Israel carrying out waves of heavy strikes across Lebanon and launching a ground invasion.
