Israel Hamas war David Roet comments: There is a video going viral on social media, claiming to show David Roet, an Israeli diplomat, suggesting that there should be a 'death sentence' for Palestinian teens involved in the Gaza war. While much of the audio is not entirely audible, it appears he was speaking in the context of teenagers using guns and grenades to fight against Israel in the ongoing Gaza war against the Hamas militant group.

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The video was reportedly recorded secretly by an activist, during a closed-door meeting of Roet had with a local Jewish community in Innsbruck, Austria. Roet is the Israeli ambassador to Austria.

What exactly did David Roet say?

If the audio and transcripts doing the rounds of social media are to be believed, Roet said at the March 20 meeting that "there should be a death sentence" for teens "holding a gun" or a "grenade" in Gaza against Israeli forces. 

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The video emerged two days after Israel pounded Gaza in a break from the fragile truce on March 18, killing at least 500 people including children and women according to Palestinian accounts. 

"If you are still believing that Israel is targeting babies intentionally, which is not correct, there should be a death sentence...to be killed off, in war if you are holding a gun...even if you are a 16-year-old under the UN [United Nations], whatever it is called Charter...a 17-year old who is holding a grenade," Roet can be heard saying. 

"Will Europe be crazy enough to invest money again in Gaza? So we will have to destroy it the next time," he added.

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He was probably warning that the European Union's reconstruction efforts and funds for Gaza would be wasted if Hamas continued to exist and Israel continued its military operations in the Palestinian enclave.

Watch the purported video below, shared on X by the handle @ronnie_barkan

Disclaimer: WION cannot take responsibility for visuals shared on social media

Meanwhile, former Consul Wiehl-Volgger, who was also present at the meeting, said he would 'play golf in Gaza, whether you like it or not"

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This was probably a reference to US President Donald Trump's reconstruction ideas for the Palestinian strip, which he had shared recently through an AI-generated video.

Ronnie Barken, who is among the first to share the video on social media, quoted the activist who recorded it secretly as saying: "I felt sickened by the calm in Mr Roet's voice. No one intervened when Roet suggested the death penalty for children."

Disclaimer: WION takes the utmost care to accurately and responsibly report ongoing developments in the Israel-Palestine conflict after the Hamas attacks. However, we cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, photos, and videos.

(With inputs from agencies)