President: Israel’s military operations in Gaza fully comply with international law

Israeli President Isaac Herzog has said that the operations of the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) in the Gaza Strip are being carried out in full compliance with international law and the accusations of war crimes are taken "totally out of context".

"Israel abides by international law, operates by international law. Every operation is secured, and covered, and reviewed legally," he said during a briefing at his Jerusalem residence, TASS reports.

He noted that accusing Israel of committing war crimes is taken "totally out of context".

The politician also noted that he was disappointed by such questions from the media. "Haven’t you seen [what Hamas did]? You’ve seen, you’ve all seen. You were all there, you’ve seen. So, now we’re starting in with the rhetoric about war crimes?" he noted.

He reiterated that the HAMAS militants are launching missiles "from the [Palestinian] kitchen onto [Israeli] children."

"We have to defend ourselves, we have the full right to do so. And it’s about time that the world understands it," Herzog emphasised.

The Israeli Ministry of Health reported that at least 3,297 Israeli citizens were injured, while over 1,300 killed since a surprise attack by the Palestinian group Hamas early Saturday (October 7) that involved dozens of fighters who infiltrated Israeli towns.

In the meantime, at least 1,448 Palestinians were killed and another 6,049 injured in the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian Ministry of Health reported.