Texas Gov. Greg Abbott plans to hold a state-wide moment of silence at 7 a.m. on Oct. 7 to mark the one-year anniversary of Hamas’s invasion of southern Israel.
The governor, a pro-Israel Republican, also announced that state and U.S. flags will be at half-staff in Texas that day.
“I ask all Texans to join me in a moment of silence to remember the men, women and children who were brutally murdered or injured during acts of war committed by Hamas and for the seven Americans still held hostage,” Abbott stated.
“Texas will always stand with the State of Israel and the Israeli people as they continue to defend their freedoms in the face of pure evil,” he added. “Cecilia and I continue to pray that this war will be brought to a swift, victorious conclusion for the Jewish community and the State of Israel.”
Abbott added in a proclamation that he saw the “carnage caused by Hamas” firsthand when he visited Israel in November.
“Meeting with displaced Israelis, including many families, and visiting with victims recovering in a hospital in Tel Aviv, it was sheer evil and savagery unmatched by anything I’ve ever seen,” he stated. “What we have seen is gut-wrenching acts of war committed by Hamas.”
“The State of Israel is right and, moreover, righteous in pursuing the elimination of Hamas, and the State of Texas will do everything in our power to support the Jewish people here in Texas and in their defense of their homeland,” he added.
