PM to Politico: Israel ‘has the right to defend itself’ but ‘proportionality’ matters
Israel has the right to defend itself following the devastating terrorist attack launched by Hamas on October 7 but the level of aggressiveness of its military response should be proportional, Greek Premier Kyriakos Mitsotakis said over the ongoing war in the Middle East.
“While we recognize that Israel has the right to defend itself, how it does so actually matters, and it matters considerably,” Mitsotakis told Politico’s Power Play podcast this week.
“As Israel continues with this very, very aggressive military campaign, yes, there will be an increased concern about the proportionality of the Israeli response,” he continued.
“I’m speaking as a friend of Israel,” he added. “And I think that sometimes friends have to speak hard truths to friends.”
More than 1.5 million people — or about 70% of Gaza’s population — have fled their homes, and an estimated $1.2 billion is needed to respond to the crisis in Palestinian areas.
More than 1,400 people have died in Israel since the start of the war, most of them civilians killed by Hamas militants during their incursion. Israel says 32 of its soldiers have been killed in Gaza since the ground offensive began, and Palestinian militants have continued to fire rockets into Israel on a daily basis.
