Israel's ambassador-designate calls for hostages' return during Oct. 7 anniversary speech

Rafael Harpaz, Israel’s ambassador-designate to Korea, delivers the opening remarks during a ceremony in Yongsan District, central Seoul, on Monday to mark the one-year anniversary of Hamas's attack on Israel.

Rafael Harpaz, Israel’s ambassador-designate to Korea, delivers the opening remarks at a ceremony in Yongsan District, central Seoul, on Monday to mark the one-year anniversary of Hamas's surprise attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and expressed hope for the safe return of 101 Israeli hostages still held in unknown conditions in Gaza. [MICHAEL LEE]

Rafael Harpaz, Israel’s ambassador-designate to Korea, called on members of the local diplomatic community and the Korean government to “stand firm by opposing and fighting terrorism” on Monday, which marked the one-year anniversary of Hamas’s attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

In his remarks at a ceremony organized by the Israeli Embassy in Yongsan District, central Seoul, Harpaz said Israel’s ongoing “self-defense” war is intended to “curb Hamas” and expressed hope for the safe return of 101 hostages still held in the Gaza Strip by the militant organization a year after its mass offensive into Israeli territory.

Approximately 1,300 people were killed by Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants during what Barak Shine, the Israeli Embassy’s deputy chief of mission, described as a “relentless wave of terror” directed against Israeli villages, military bases and a music festival near Gaza.

Monday’s anniversary ceremony featured speeches by Israeli Defense Attache Capt. Asaf Livneh, retired conservative lawmaker Hwang Woo-yea, former Foreign Minister Park Jin, Deputy Director-General Kwang-yong Chung of the Foreign Ministry’s Middle East and Africa Bureau and U.S. Ambassador to Korea Philip Goldberg, whose remarks were delivered by U.S. Deputy Chief of Mission Joy Sakurai.

Testimonies from survivors and stories of those killed during the Hamas assault were read aloud during the ceremony, which also featured musical elegies and a prayer by Rabbi Osher Litzman.

Speaking in Hebrew, Livneh paid tribute to the “brave” members of the Israeli military, intelligence, reserve forces and emergency services who lost their lives defending communities attacked by militants who broke through the border fence that encircles the strip.

Hwang, who serves as the chair of the Korea-Israel Friendship Association, quoted passages from the Bible to express hope for “true peace” in the wider Middle East and Jerusalem, which Israel defines as its “undivided” capital but whose eastern section is claimed by Palestinians for their own future capital.

The former lawmaker also said the international community “must strive to keep the flame of hope” from the 2020 Abraham Accords, which saw Israel establish diplomatic ties with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco and raised the possibility of mutual recognition between Israel and Saudi Arabia.

The Jewish state’s efforts to establish formal relations with more Arab-majority states have stalled due to public outrage in those countries over the civilian toll of Israel’s military operations inside the Gaza Strip and more recently Lebanon.

Gaza’s health ministry estimates that almost 42,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces, while Beirut believes that more than 2,000 people in Lebanon have been killed over the past three weeks by Israeli air, missile and cyber attacks targeting Hezbollah, a paramilitary organization that began exchanging fire with the Israeli military over a year ago in support of Hamas.

In his prepared comments, Goldberg said Israel should remember it is “not alone” and reiterated the U.S. commitment to “standing with Israel against terrorists and state sponsors of terrorism” in reference to Iran, which provides funding to Hamas, Hezbollah and other proxies in the region.

BY MICHAEL LEE [lee.junhyuk@joongang.co.kr]