NIR’OZ, Israel: Argentina’s President Javier Milei on Thursday likened Hamas’s attacks on southern Israel to the Holocaust, after touring a kibbutz targeted in the October 7 raids.
Milei joined Israel’s President Isaac Herzog on a visit to Nir Oz near the border with Gaza, where residents were killed or taken hostage by the Palestinian militant group.
They were accompanied by former hostage Ofelia Roitman, an elderly Argentinian national who moved to Israel in 1985, making her first visit back to the farming community since she was released.
Milei, who was elected in November and is on his first official state visit as president, has appeared visibly emotional during his time in Israel, and said Thursday’s tour was “very moving.”
He again gave his backing to Israel’s fight-back against Hamas, calling the Palestinian Islamists a “terrorist group” who had committed “a crime against humanity.”
“The free world can’t remain indifferent in this case, as we see clear examples of terrorism and anti-Semitism and what I would describe as 21st century Nazism,” he said.
“When we hear about the methods that were used this time, it reminds us of the atrocities of the Holocaust,” he added, according to remarks translated from Spanish by Herzog’s office.
Many traumatized Israelis have likened the attacks, which left 1,160 dead according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli statistics, to the horrors of the Holocaust.
A total of 132 of the 250 hostages taken are still in Gaza, but 29 are presumed dead, Israel has said.
But the head of Jerusalem’s Yad Vashem memorial center, has described comparisons as “simplistic... even if there are similarities in the genocidal intentions, sadism and barbarism of Hamas.”
“The crimes that took place on October 7 are on the same level as Nazi crimes, but they are not the Shoah,” Dani Dayan told AFP last year, using another term for the Holocaust.
Milei, who was raised in a Catholic family but has studied Jewish scripture, placed a wreath near the eternal flame at the Hall of Remembrance at Yad Vashem on Wednesday.
He arrived in Israel on Tuesday on a four-day visit and immediately announced plans to move the Argentinian embassy to Jerusalem.
Only a handful of countries have their embassy to Israel in Jerusalem, rather than Tel Aviv, and any international recognition of the city’s status as a capital is deeply controversial.
Hamas, which runs Gaza, said in response that Jerusalem remains “occupied Palestinian land.”
Argentina’s Milei likens Hamas attack on Israel to the Holocaust
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Argentina’s Milei likens Hamas attack on Israel to the Holocaust
- Milei joined Israel’s President Isaac Herzog on a visit to Nir Oz near the border with Gaza
- Milei has appeared visibly emotional during his time in Israel and said Thursday’s tour was “very moving”
Syria announces new currency framework, 2-zero redenomination
- Under the plan, every 100 Syrian pounds will be converted into one unit of the new Syrian Arab Republic’s pound
- Governor calls move ‘pivotal milestone within a comprehensive strategy’
DAMASCUS: Syria’s Central Bank announced executive instructions on Sunday to introduce a new Syrian currency, launching a monetary reform that includes removing two zeros from the pound and allowing a 90-day period of dual circulation.
The announcement was made during a press conference at the bank’s headquarters in Damascus.
Central Bank Gov. Abdulkader Husrieh said the step was part of a comprehensive institutional strategy to restore confidence and achieve sustainable economic stability.
He said: “The launch of the new currency is not a formal measure, but a pivotal milestone within a comprehensive strategy based on solid institutional foundations.”
Under the plan, every 100 Syrian pounds will be converted into one unit of the new Syrian Arab Republic’s pound. The old and new currencies will circulate together for 90 days, a period which may be extended.
All bank balances will be converted to the new currency at the beginning of next year, while the overall money supply will be maintained without increase or reduction.
Husrieh said the economic strategy was based on five pillars: monetary stability, a stable and transparent foreign-exchange market, effective and accountable financial institutions, secure digital transformation, and balanced international economic relations.
He said the move required updating financial laws and regulations, improving data systems, keeping pace with global digital developments, and ensuring sustainable financing and training for the financial sector.
The currency exchange will be provided free of charge, with no commissions, fees, or taxes.
All public and private entities must apply the official conversion standard to prices, salaries, wages, and financial obligations. Official exchange-rate bulletins will be issued in both currencies to ensure transparency and prevent speculation.
The governor said the central bank was closely monitoring markets to stabilize the exchange rate and would supply Syrian pounds if demand for foreign currency rises, adding that citizens will feel the impact more clearly after the exchange process is completed.
“Our policy is financial discipline, with no room for inflation,” Husrieh added.
He confirmed that the decree regulating the exchange limits the process to Syrian territory, and said the measures fell within the bank’s 2026-2030 strategy to align with international standards.
The new banknotes, he added, were being printed by leading international companies to prevent counterfeiting.
