Hotovely told Dale that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have found that „every school, every mosque, every second house, has an access to tunnel,“ referring to the tunnels used by Hamas—which were first built when Gaza was under Israeli control in 1980.

„That‘s an argument for destroying the whole of Gaza, every single building,“ Dale said, prompting Hotovely to ask, „Do you have another solution, how to destroy the underground tunnel city?“

Journalist Hamza Ali Shah said the ambassador‘s statement amounted to „a clear call for genocide.“