Twelve international ambassadors to the United Nations completed a two-day visit to the Israel Defense Forces, the military announced on Monday.
The group hailed from Albania, Argentina, Bulgaria, Burundi, Croatia, Ecuador, Hungary, Palau, South Korea, Samoa, Uruguay and Zambia. They met with senior IDF officials and were presented with briefings on the range of challenges facing the Israeli military.
During a visit to Palmachim Air Force Base south of Tel Aviv, the ambassadors viewed the Iron Dome air-defense system and other missile-defense systems.
“These systems play an integral part in the IDF’s ability to save lives when terror groups indiscriminately fire rockets at Israeli civilians. The ambassadors then visited a viewpoint near the Gaza border and were briefed about terrorist organizations and the threats they pose. Hamas and other terrorist organizations are continuing to invest and divert funds into terrorist activities, prioritizing their military force buildup over the necessities of the civilians of Gaza,” said the IDF.
Towards the end of the visit, the ambassadors toured the Israeli Air Force’s F-35 squadron at Nevatim Air Force base in southern Israel.
The delegation was hosted in cooperation with Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and was accompanied by the Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Gilad Erdan.
Earlier, it visited the IDF’s 91st Galilee Division and toured underground cross-border attack tunnels dug by Hezbollah from Lebanon into Israel.
“The ambassadors were briefed about Hezbollah’s attempts to hide its terrorist activities behind the civilian population in Southern Lebanon,” said the IDF. “Hezbollah continues exploiting the ongoing humanitarian crisis to further promote its terrorist agenda while endangering the lives of the people of Lebanon.”