Taipei, Oct. 26 (CNA) Israel’s representative to Taiwan Maya Yaron on Thursday called on Taiwanese to continue to pay attention to the more than 200 Israelis taken hostage after Hamas attacked Israel earlier this month, based on the two countries shared values.
The head of the Israel Economic and Cultural Office in Taipei (ISECO) made the remarks at an event organized to brief media and the Jewish community on the latest information provided by the Israeli government about the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas.
Following the attack by Hamas on Israel on Oct. 7, the death toll in Israel has reached 1,400, including infants, children, women and the elderly, while another 5,240 people have been injured and 226 confirmed as being kidnapped by Hamas, Yaron said.
Since then, Israel has responded with continuous airstrikes on Gaza, killing at least 7,028 people, including 2,913 children, 1,709 women and 397 seniors, according to the health ministry run by Hamas as cited by international media on Thursday. In addition, over 100 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank.
During the event, Yaron reiterated her government’s stance that the ongoing war is not against the Palestinians but Hamas, which she called a “terrorist organization.”
The goal for Israel is to dismantle Hamas, Yaron said.
Yaron expressed gratitude to Taiwan’s government for a “very high level of political support” for Israel, referring to words of encouragement from President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), Vice President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) and Foreign Minister Joseph Wu (吳釗燮).
In respective statements, shortly after the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas Tsai, Lai, and Wu condemned terrorist threats and acts of violence against civilians and expressed condolences to those who have been injured or lost loved ones.
Yaron also thanked the monetary donation of US$70,000 made by Taiwanese representative to Israel Abby Lee (李雅萍) on Oct. 23 to Pitchon-Lev, meant to help the Israeli NGO with relief supplies to Israeli people affected by the war.
“A friend in need is a friend indeed,” Yaron said.
Asked by reporters about growing criticism worldwide against Israel following the war in Gaza, Yaron said such incidents do not happen by themselves but because “extreme terrorist Hamas leaders” are “calling for all Muslims around the world to go after and kill Jews wherever they are.”
“There are more Jews around the world than in Israel, which means that this is a problem for every country in the world. This is something that we’re really working to raise attention to,” she said.
The envoy said so far Taiwan “has been a safe haven for us to live in.”
Meanwhile, Yaron called on everyone in Taiwan not to remain silent and to speak out so Israeli hostages taken by Hamas can go home as soon as possible.
“If people let this go unnoticed, it will happen again,” she added.
Thursday’s event began with the lighting of candles and 30 seconds of silence was observed in memory of the Oct. 7 attack victims, led by Yaron, the founder of the Jewish Taiwan Cultural Association, Jeffrey D. Schwartz and his wife Na Tang; Rabbi Shlomi Tabib of the Chabad Taipei Jewish Center and Rabbi Cody Bahir, the religious leader of the Taiwanese Jewish community.
The one-hour-long event was attended by around 200 participants including members of the media and Jewish community in Taiwan.
Over the last weekend, Islamic communities in Taiwan organized a two-day charity sale at Taipei Grand Mosque to raise funds for Palestinians facing the devastating consequences of the conflict in the Gaza Strip, attended by about 200 Taiwanese people and migrant workers showing their support.
