The Israeli Ambassador has said the conflict in Gaza is “not about numbers” as the territory’s death toll continues to rise. 

On October 7th, Hamas launched a devastating attack on southern Israel, killing over a thousand Israelis and kidnapping hundreds more. 

Israel responded by declaring war and since then an estimated 20,000 people in Gaza have been killed by the IDF. 

Speaking on The Pat Kenny Show, Ambassador Dana Erlich defended the Israeli Government from accusations its military response to the attack has been disproportionate. 

“This is not an equation,” she said. 

“In wars there are no victories, there is no victory photo or image. 

“What we want is the same objective that we’ve said from October 7th when we realised the scale of this horrific atrocity. 

“We want our kidnapped back and we want our borders safe and we want to eliminate the threat of Hamas. 

“So, this is not about numbers or an equation you can make because this is tragic.

“We don’t have a disagreement about that.” 

Ambassador Erlich described every Palestinian death as a “tragedy” but questioned the accuracy of the data from Gaza's Health Ministry. 

“We don’t have the actual number,” she said. 

“Unfortunately we may never know the actual numbers because the numbers we’re getting are by the Hamas-lead Ministry of Health. 

“But we do know is that this can stop tomorrow if Hamas stops.” 

UN vote

The vote on a UN resolution on Gaza calling for a "suspension" of hostilities was delayed again today, amid heated disagreement on the precise wording of the text. 

Ambassador Erlich said whatever wording is agreed upon, unless it fails to condemn Hamas and calls for the immediate release of the hostages, the resolution is “not really relevant”. 

“Palestinian civilians are hostages of Hamas - in the same way that we are,” she said. 

“That is why we need to stop them; this is not helping the Palestinian cause in any way and we hear the outcry of the Palestinian people. 

“What I’m surprised [by] is that we don’t hear that outcry from the UN organisations, we don’t hear that outcry from people here in Ireland who are so supportive of the Palestinian cause. 

“Palestinians need help from Hamas, they need to be liberated from Hamas.” 

Prospects for peace

Last week, the Israeli Ambassador to Britain Tzipi Hotovely ruled out support for a two state solution on the grounds Palestinians want to “have a state from the river to the sea”. 

Some have suggested this means there is little prospect for peace in the region but Ambassador Erlich said it was still possible.

“We’ve shown time and time again, when a viable option comes and when there is an opportunity for peace, we will do everything in our power in order to advance that,” she said. 

“We’ve done it with Egypt, we’ve done it with Jordan, we’ve done it with the Abraham Accords… So, for us peace is an option and we need it.”

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Main image: Israeli Ambassador Dana Erlich. 21/12/2023. Image: Newstalk