October 7, 2023: a wound that remains open

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"October 7, 2023, marked a profound rupture, the wound from which remains open to this day.
On that day, Hamas unleashed a terrorist attack of unprecedented ferocity against the people of Israel, deliberately targeting defenseless civilians, killing, wounding, and kidnapping women, men, the elderly, and children. This inhumane and unjustifiable act set off a spiral of violence with dramatic consequences.
There is no possible justification. Our condemnation of Hamas must remain firm and unambiguous. Terrorism cannot be tolerated or subject to relativism. And there can be no room for antisemitism, which must be rejected without hesitation and without ambiguity.
But let us always remember that Hamas is not the people of Gaza, nor does it represent the Palestinian people. Our condemnation must therefore remain equally firm regarding any violence against the civilian population of Gaza, which has paid—and continues to pay—an intolerable price.
The suffering of one people cannot make us indifferent to that of another. Victims can never become mere collateral damage of war.
Protecting the civilian population, respecting international humanitarian law, and affirming Israel’s right to live in security are principles that must be upheld together—without pitting them against one another—with a view toward two states living side by side within recognized borders.
Three years after that tragic October 7, I once again express my sympathy to the victims and their families, also on behalf of the Ministry of Defense.”

So said Defense Minister Guido Crosetto.