NNA – The European Union has quot;unequivocallyquot; condemned attacks by the Palestinian group Hamas on Israel and called for an immediate stop to the violence.
quot;We follow with anguish the news coming from #Israel. We unequivocally condemn the attacks by Hamas.
quot;This horrific violence must stop immediately. Terrorism and violence solve nothing. The EU expresses its solidarity with Israel in these difficult moments,quot; EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said.
The Palestinian Islamist group Hamas has launched the biggest attack on Israel in yearsnbsp;in a surprise assault that combined gunmen crossing into several Israeli towns with a heavy barrage of rockets fired from Gaza.
Israel#39;s Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said Palestinian militant group Hamas has quot;launched a war against the State of Israel.quot;
quot;Troops are fighting against the enemy at every location,quot; he said in a statement.
Israeli rescue teams tend to a man at the entrance of a building that received a direct hit in Ashkelonnbsp;
Germany#39;s foreign minister said Israel has its quot;full solidarityquot;.
Germany quot;firmly condemns the terrorist attacks from Gaza against Israelquot;, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said.
Israel quot;has our full solidarityquot; and quot;the right, guaranteed by international law, to defend itself against terrorismquot;, Ms Baerbock said on social media.
Britain#39;s Foreign Minister James Cleverly said the UK unequivocally condemns the quot;horrific attacksquot; by Hamas on Israel.
He said the UK will always support Israel#39;s right to defend itself.
Egypt warned of quot;grave consequencesquot; from an escalation in tensions between Israel and the Palestinians in a statement from the foreign ministry carried by the state news agency.
It called for quot;exercising maximum restraint and avoiding exposing civilians to further dangerquot;.
Meanwhile, Italy said it backed quot;Israel#39;s right to defend itselfquot; against the quot;brutal attackquot; by Hamas.
The government said it quot;condemns in the strongest terms the terror and the violence under way against innocent civiliansquot;, adding: quot;We back the right of Israel to defend itselfquot;.
Ukraine also expressed solidarity with Israel after a barrage of rockets was fired from Gaza.
quot;Ukraine strongly condemns the ongoing terrorist attacks against Israel, including rocket attacks against the civilian population in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. We express our support for Israel in its right to defend itself and its people,quot; the Ukrainian foreign ministry said on social media. — Reuters/AFP
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