[WATCH] Metsola on Hamas attacks: ‘Not the time for whataboutism. This is terror in its worst form’

The EU’s highest officials gathered outside the European Parliament in Brussels for a ‘solemn moment’ to remember the victims killed in Hamas’s attack on Israel.

European Parliament President Roberta Metsola, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Charles Michel were joined by MEPs and the Israeli ambassador to the EU Haim Regev for the ceremony on Wednesday.

In a short speech, in which she condemned the attacks Metsola said Hamas was a terrorist organisation and it does not represent the “legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people”.

“They do not offer solutions. They offer bloodshed. This is not the time for ‘whataboutism’. This is terror in its worst form,” Metsola said.

The event which lasted a few minutes was in remembrance of the victims killed by Hamas militants inside Israel following a multipronged coordinated attack on villages around Gaza on Saturday. The attacks left almost 1,200 people dead and more than 3,000 injured. Around 150 people were also abducted and are being held hostage in undisclosed whereabouts in Gaza.

“October 7 is a day that will go down in global infamy; the world has witnessed Jews being murdered simply because they were Jewish,” Metsola said, condemning the act of terrorism and demanding the immediate release of hostages held by Hamas.

Turning to the Israeli ambassador, Metsola said Europe was standing in solidarity with Israel. “This is Europe and we stand with you,” she said to applause.

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Figures released by the Israeli authorities show that 1,200 people were killed and more than 3,000 injured as Hamas gunmen ran riot through Israeli communities last Saturday.

As the full extent of the attacks emerged over the past couple of days, the Israeli Defence Force discovered a brutal massacre in the kibbutz community of Kfar Azza. Women, children, toddlers and elderly were among the people butchered in the kibbutz.

Additionally, almost 300 young people were killed when Hamas militants gate-crashed an open-air rave party.

Israel responded to this deadliest attack ever on its territory by Hamas with a relentless bombing campaign on Gaza that has left more than 1,000 people dead. Israel is preparing for a ground invasion of the Palestinian enclave and is massing troops outside Gaza’s boundary. Some 300,000 reservist troops have been called up.

Meanwhile, Gaza is facing a humanitarian crisis as a result of the bombing campaign and Israel’s decision to enforce a blockade and stop all essential supplies from crossing into the territory.