US Diplomat Speaks Emotionally From Site of Hamas Attack in Israel: 'It Is Evil'

The charge d’affaires for the US Embassy in Israel, Stephanie Hallett, choked up as she spoke about the “evil” of Hamas’s Saturday attack from a zone in the “Gaza periphery” in a video released on Wednesday, October 11.

In footage posted to her official X profile, Hallett’s voice catches as she talks about the scene, destroyed structures behind her. Standing alongside her is US defense attache Captain Frank Schlereth.

“We’ve come down here along the Gaza periphery to bear witness to the atrocities that were committed here on Saturday. And it’s really unbelievable,” Hallett said.

“As a mother and just as a human being, to see and to know what happened here is really important. To say that we’ve been here, we’ve seen it, and it is evil. And we stand with Israel. All of us,” she added.

The death toll from the Hamas attack on Israel rose to 1,200 on Wednesday, the Times of Israel reported.

The number of dead from Israel’s strikes on Gaza climbed to 1,055, according to Palestinian officials. Credit: Chargé d’Affaires a.i. Stephanie Hallett via Storyful

Video transcript

STEPHANIE HALLETT: Stephanie Hallett here, the chargé of the US embassy. I'm here with our senior defense official and defense attaché, Captain Frank Schlereth. We've come down here along the Gaza periphery to bear witness to the atrocities that were committed here on Saturday. And it's really unbelievable.

As a mother and just as a human being, to see and to know what happened here is really important to say that we've been here, we've seen it, and it is evil. And we stand with Israel. All of us, we stand with Israel.

Stephanie Hallett here, the chargé of the US embassy. I'm here with our senior defense official and defense attaché, Captain Frank Schlereth. We've come down here along the Gaza periphery to bear witness to the atrocities that were committed here on Saturday. And it's really unbelievable.

As a mother and just as a human being, to see and to know what happened here is really important to say that we've been here, we've seen it, and it is evil. And we stand with Israel. All of us, we stand with Israel.