Nikki Haley blames China, Iran and Russia for the October 7 Hamas attacks

New Delhi:

Former US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley blamed Iran, Russia and China for the October 7 attack on Israel by the Palestinian group Hamas. While touring a site in Israel destroyed in the attack, Haley warned of similar attacks on American soil if the US continues to do nothing.

In the Hamas attack on October 7, 1,200 people were killed and 250 were taken hostage. It was one of the most devastating terrorist attacks in recent history.

“If we are arrogant enough, such an attack could easily happen in America,” Ms. Haley said.

The former Florida governor claimed that Iran orchestrated the attack, that Russian intelligence provided crucial support and that the operation was funded by Chinese money, although she offered no evidence to support these claims. “China has been funding Iran all along. Russian intelligence helped them know where everything was. Iran helped train them. So this is not Hamas. These are all murderers and accomplices,” Ms Haley said, according to the Times of Israel.

Despite Ms Haley’s allegations, there is no concrete evidence of Russian or Chinese involvement in the attack.

The government of Russian President Vladimir Putin has been particularly critical of Israel since the conflict in the Gaza Strip escalated. Moscow submitted a resolution to the UN Security Council calling for a halt to the fighting and criticizing Israel’s methods in the fight against Hamas.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry is taking a different approach and announced plans to receive Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi and other Arab heads of state in Beijing to promote a unified stance on the Palestinian issue.

Gaza has been subjected to Israeli bombardment and ground attacks since October 7, resulting in the deaths of 36,050 people, mostly civilians, according to the Hamas-controlled territory’s Health Ministry.