Fico Condemns Hamas Attack on Israel, Rejects Idea of Razing Gaza to Ground

Bratislava, October 19 (TASR) - Smer-SD head Robert Fico condemned the attack by Hamas on Israel, recognising Israel's right to protect its sovereignty, TASR learnt from a video he posted on a social network on Thursday. Fico fears the consequences of conflict in the world. He rejects considerations of razing the Gaza Strip to the ground or denying humanitarian aid in this area. "I also recognise that there's a right for the Israeli political and military structures to defend Israel's sovereignty and to take the necessary tough measures to prevent similar attacks as demonstrated by Hamas from happening again. But we can't agree to the plans to raze Gaza to the ground and tolerate thousands of dead Palestinian civilians, as collateral damage," said Fico, adding that he doesn't agree with denying humanitarian aid to people stuck in the Gaza Strip. Fico also noted that this isn't just a local conflict and drew attention to the risk of the involvement of other Arab countries or the risk of an increase in militant and terrorist organisations in the world. He pointed out that if Israel's military retaliation doesn't focus only on Hamas and results in many civilian casualties in Palestine, Israel's conflict with the Arab countries may intensify. am/mcs