"This is not a moment for moral equivalency:" Gov. Josh Shapiro calls on people and governments to denounced Hamas attacks on Israel
HARRISBURG (KDKA) - On Wednesday, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro expressed his outrage over the attack on Israelis.
He told KDKA Radio that he's concerned about his niece, who is trying to get home from Israel.
He said he and Senator Bob Casey are working to help many Pennsylvanians trying to get out of the area.
Gov. Shapiro also had quite a bit to say to those here at home who have demonstrated support for Hamas.
"I think this is a moment where we all need to come together to recognize what is so clearly wrong, the acts of Hamas, and what is right, and that is Isreal, our key ally's right to defend herself in the face of this barbarism," Shapiro said. "This is not a moment for moral equivalency. Hamas is hellbent on destroying Israel and ridding the region of Jews."
Shapiro said it's a moment of global crisis and it's important for people and governments around the world to denounce those attacks.
RELATED: What we know about the Hamas attack on Israel, and Israel's response in Gaza
On Saturday, the Hamas Militant group attacked Israel, and since then, at least 1,200 Israelis have been killed, most of them civilians.
At least 22 Americans were among those killed, according to the U.S. State Department earlier this week. It's also believed that a number of Americans were taken hostage.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that Israel is at war and would use its military strength to respond and destroy Hamas.
"The enemy will pay an unprecedented price," he said, promising that Israel would "return fire of a magnitude that the enemy has not known."