Argentina's Jewish community, the largest in Latin America, has expressed support for Israel's actions in the Gaza Strip and "profound sorrow" at the loss of innocent lives in the conflict. In a statement read before 1,500 community members, the Argentine-Israeli Mutual Association (AMIA) affirmed its "solidarity with the people and the State of Israel subjected to the terrorist group Hamas, which has launched missiles and mortars at the Israeli civilian population for the last seven years."
The group said it felt "deep sorrow at the loss of innocent lives, both Palestinian and Israeli," adding that "all of them are victims of the terrorist actions of Hamas." At the rally, convened under the slogan "for peace, for life and against terrorism", Israel’s ambassador to Argentina, Daniel Gazit, gave a forceful defense of his country's military campaign initiated in retaliation for the barrage of rockets fired from the Gaza Strip to southern Israel by Hamas. Gazit said he was "moved by these expressions of solidarity" at the meeting, but acknowledged that civilians were suffering from the fighting. He blamed the death toll on Hamas, the Islamist movement that has ruled Gaza since June 2007 after ousting forces loyal to moderate Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas. "They fell because Hamas was there," he said in reference to buildings in Gaza targeted by Israel.
