A man with dual Estonian-Israeli citizenship was killed in the terror attacks launched by Hamas in Israel near Gaza last weekend.
The Estonian foreign ministry announced the death on 12 October.
“I was deeply saddened to hear the shocking news about the death of an Estonian citizen in the terror attack against Israel near Gaza. On behalf of all the people of Estonia, I am extending our deepest condolences to the family and loved ones of the victim,” the Estonian foreign minister, Margus Tsahkna, said in a statement.
In line with the protection of personal data, the ministry declined to make any further comment on the issue.
According to the foreign ministry’s data, approximately 900 Estonian citizens live in Israel.
Terrorist organisation
Hamas, officially the Islamic Resistance Movement, is a Sunni Islamist political and militant organisation, governing the Gaza Strip of the Palestinian territories since 2007.
On 7 October, thousands of Hamas’ militants broke through the Gaza–Israel barrier, attacking nearby Israeli communities and military bases. At least 1,300 Israelis were killed, including a massacre at a music festival that killed at least 260 people. Israeli soldiers and civilians, including women and children, were taken as hostages to the Gaza Strip. The day was described by the US president, Joe Biden, as “the worst single-day massacre of Jews since the Holocaust”.
The invasion was followed by an Israeli counteroffensive and Israel formally declared war on Hamas a day later.
Many Western countries, including the US and the UK, have designated Hamas as a terrorist organisation, citing the militants’ usage of human shields; methods of hostage-taking of civilians; and history of violence against non-combatants, including massacres of civilian populations, suicide bombings, and indiscriminate rocket attacks on Israeli population centres.
The Gaza Strip, a narrow piece of land located on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea, is bordered by Israel to the east and north and Egypt to the southwest. It is one of the two Palestinian territories, alongside the West Bank and has a population of two million.
